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Inphonetics,rhotic consonants, or "R-like" sounds, areliquid consonants that are traditionally representedorthographically by symbols derived from theGreek letterrho (Ρ and ρ), including⟨R⟩,⟨r⟩ in theLatin script and⟨Р⟩,⟨p⟩ in theCyrillic script. They are transcribed in theInternational Phonetic Alphabet by upper- or lower-case variants of Roman⟨R⟩,⟨r⟩:[1] ⟨r⟩, ⟨ɾ⟩, ⟨ɹ⟩, ⟨ɻ⟩, ⟨ʀ⟩, ⟨ʁ⟩, ⟨ɽ⟩, and ⟨ɺ⟩. Transcriptions for vocalic or semivocalic realisations of underlying rhotics include the ⟨ə̯⟩ and ⟨ɐ̯⟩.
This class of sounds is difficult to characterise phonetically; from a phonetic standpoint, there is no single articulatorycorrelate (manner orplace) common to rhotic consonants.[2] Rhotics have instead been found to carry out similar phonological functions or to have certain similar phonological features across different languages.[3]
Being "R-like" is an elusive and ambiguous concept phonetically and the same sounds that function as rhotics in some systems may pattern withfricatives,semivowels or even stops in others.[4] For example, thealveolar flap is a rhotic consonant in multiple languages, but inNorth American English, the alveolar tap is an allophone of the stop phoneme/t/, as inwater. It is likely that rhotics are not a phonetically natural class but a phonological class.[5]
Some languages haverhotic andnon-rhotic varieties, which differ in the incidence of rhotic consonants. Innon-rhotic accents of English,/ɹ/ is not pronounced unless it is followed directly by a vowel.
The most typical rhotic sounds found in the world's languages are the following:[1]
Furthermore, there is also a non-syllabic open vowel[ɐ̯] (conventional transcription, the exact quality varies) that patterns as/r/ in some Germanic languages such as German, Danish andLuxembourgish. It occurs only in the syllable coda.
In broad transcription rhotics are usually symbolised as/r/ unless there are two or more types of rhotic in the same language; for example, mostAustralian Aboriginal languages, which contrast approximant[ɻ] and trill[r], use the symbolsr andrr respectively. The IPA has a full set of different symbols which can be used whenever more phonetic precision is required: anr rotated 180°[ɹ] for the alveolar approximant, a small capitalR[ʀ] for the uvular trill, and a flipped small capitalR[ʁ] for the voiced uvular fricative or approximant.
The fact that the sounds conventionally classified as "rhotics" vary greatly in both place and manner in terms of articulation, and also in their acoustic characteristics, has led several linguists to investigate what, if anything, they have in common that justifies grouping them together.[5] One suggestion that has been made is that each member of the class of rhotics shares certain properties with other members of the class, but not necessarily the same properties with all; in this case, rhotics have a "family resemblance" with each other rather than a strict set of shared properties.[2] Another suggestion is that rhotics are defined by their behaviour on thesonority hierarchy, namely, that a rhotic is any sound that patterns as being more sonorous than alateral consonant but less sonorous than avowel.[3] The potential for variation within the class of rhotics makes them a popular area for research in sociolinguistics.[9]
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English has rhotic and non-rhotic accents. Rhotic speakers pronounce a historical/r/ in all instances, while non-rhotic speakers only pronounce/r/ at the beginning of a syllable.
Colloquial Northern Dutch speech of theRandstad region is variably rhotic. In the syllable coda, the sequences/ɛr,ɑr,aːr,ɔr,oːr/ may be realized as[ɛ̝j,ɑj,aːj,ö̞j,öːj], which may be close to or the same as the vowels or sequences/eː,ɑj,aːj,ɔj,oːj/, resulting in a variable merger. For instance,kerk 'church' andcake 'pound cake' may become homophonous as[kɛ̝jk], whereasmaar 'but' can be homophonous withmaai '(I) mow' as[maːj]./ɔr/ and/oːr/ are usually somewhat distinct from/ɔj/ and/oːj/ as the former feature vowels that are more central (and/oːj/ features a diphthong[əuj] in certain dialects, such as Rotterdam Dutch).[10]
After/ə/,/r/ may be dropped altogether, as inkilometer[ˈkilömeitə] 'kilometer'. This is commonly heard inThe Hague. It is not necessarily restricted to the word-final position, as it can also happen in word-final clusters in words such ashonderd[ˈɦɔndət] 'hundred'.[11]
After/i/,/y/,/u/,/eː/ and/øː/,/r/ may be realized as a centering glide, as inmier[mïːə̯] 'ant',muur[mÿːə̯] 'wall',moer[müːə̯] 'queen bee',meer[mɪːə̯] 'lake' anddeur[dʏːə̯] 'door'. As with/ɔ/ and/oː/, these vowels are more central (and also longer) than in other contexts. Furthermore, both/eː/ and/øː/ areraised in this context, so thatmeer becomes a near-homophone ofmier, whereasdeur becomes a quasi-rhyme ofmuur.[12]
In citation forms,/r/ in the syllable coda is pronounced as apharyngealizedpre-velar bunched approximant[ɰ̟ˤ] (known in Dutch as theGooise r) that is acoustically similar to[ɻ]:[kɛ̝ɰ̟ˤk,ˈkilömeitəɰ̟ˤ,mïə̯ɰ̟ˤ] etc. Other realizations (alveolar taps andvoiced uvular fricatives) are also possible, depending on the region and individual speaker, so thatmier may be also pronounced[mïə̯ɾ] or[mïə̯ʁ]ⓘ. The pre-velar bunched approximant as well as the palatal approximant realization of/r/ described above are virtually unknown in southern varieties of Dutch. In the varieties where they do occur, they are restricted to the syllable coda. In other environments,/r/ is realized as[ɾ] or[ʁ].[13]
In most varieties of German (with the notable exception ofSwiss Standard German),/r/ in thesyllable coda is frequently realized as a vowel or asemivowel,[ɐ] or[ɐ̯]. In the traditional standard pronunciation, this happens only in the unstressed ending-er and after long vowels: for examplebesser[ˈbɛsɐ],sehr[zeːɐ̯]. In common speech the vocalization is usual after short vowels as well, and additional contractions may occur: for exampleDorn[dɔɐ̯n] ~[dɔːn],hart[haɐ̯t] ~[haːt].[14] Commonplace mergers include that of/ar/ with/aː/ (leading to homophony of e.g.warten, waten) and loss of length distinctions before coda/r/ (e.g. homophony ofHerr, Heer).[15] CompareGerman phonology.
Similarly, Danish/r/ after a vowel is, unless followed by a stressed vowel, either pronounced[ɐ̯] (mor "mother"[moɐ̯],næring "nourishment"[ˈneːɐ̯e̝ŋ]) or merged with the preceding vowel while usually influencing itsvowel quality (/a(ː)r/ and/ɔːr/ or/ɔr/ are realised as long vowels[ɑː] and[ɒː], and/ər/,/rə/ and/rər/ are all pronounced[ɐ]) (løber "runner"[ˈløːpɐ],Søren Kierkegaard (personal name)[ˌsœːɐnˈkʰiɐ̯kəˌkɒˀ]).
InAsturian, word-final/r/ is always lost ininfinitives before anenclitic pronoun, which is reflected in writing. For example, the infinitive formdar[dar] plus the third-person plural dative pronoun "-yos"da-yos[ˈdaʝos] ("give to them") or the accusative form "los"dalos[ˈdalos] ("give them"). That happens also inLeonese in which the infinitive form is "dare"[ˈdare], and both the/r/ and the vowel are dropped (da-yos, not *dáre-yos). However, most speakers also drop rhotics in the infinitive before a lateral consonant of a different word, but that is not shown in writing:dar los dos[daːlosðos] (give the two [things]). That does not occur in the middle of words: the nameCarlos[ˈkarlos].
In someCatalan dialects, word-final/r/ is lost in coda position not only in suffixes of nouns and adjectives denoting the masculine singular and plural (written as-r,-rs; as well as in words likellavors[ʎəˈβɔs] "then; so"), but also in the "-ar, -er and -ir" suffixes of infinitives:forner[furˈne] "(male) baker",forners[furˈnes],fer[ˈfe] "to do",lluir[ʎuˈi] "to shine, to look good". However, rhotics are "recovered" when followed by the feminine suffix-a[ə], and when infinitives have single or multipleenclitic pronouns (notice the two rhotics are neutralized in the coda, with aflap[ɾ] occurring between vowels, and atrill[r] elsewhere); e.g.fornera[furˈneɾə] "(female) baker",fer-lo[ˈferɫu] "to do it (masc.)",fer-ho[ˈfeɾu] "to do it/that/so",lluir-se[ʎuˈir.sə] "to excel, to show off".
Final ⟨r⟩ is generally not pronounced in words ending in ⟨-er⟩. The R inparce que ("because") is not pronounced in informal speech.
The pronunciation of final/r/ inMalay andIndonesian varies considerably. In Indonesian,Baku (lit. 'standard') Malay, andKedah Malay, the final/r/ is pronounced, but in the Johor-Riau accent, the standard accent of Malay in Brunei and Malaysia, and several other dialects, it is not.
The quality of the realization of the phoneme varies too. In the syllable onset, in Indonesian,Baku Malay, and standard Johor-Riau Malay, it varies between a trill[r], a flap[ɾ], and sometimes, even an approximant[ɹ̠]. In a number of dialects of Malay, such as those ofKedah,Kelantan-Pattani andTerengganu, onset/r/ is usually realized as avelar fricative[ɣ]. InPerak Malay, auvular pronunciation,[ʁ] is more common.
In Kedah Malay, final/r/ is uniquely realized as a pharyngeal fricative[ʕ]. In the dialect of Malacca, when it appears after/a/, final/r/ is vocalized into[w] or[u].
In some dialects ofBrazilian Portuguese,/ʁ/ is unpronounced or aspirated. That occurs most frequently with verbs in theinfinitive, which is always indicated by a word-final/ʁ/. In some states, however, it happens mostly with any/ʁ/ when preceding a consonant. The "Carioca" accent (from the city ofRio de Janeiro) is notable for this. TheCaipira dialect (from São Paulo countryside) usually realizes/ʁ/ as[ɻ],[χ], or[r̪̊].
Among theSpanish dialects,Andalusian Spanish,Caribbean Spanish (descended from and still very similar to Andalusian andCanarian Spanish),Castúo (the Spanish dialect ofExtremadura), NorthernColombian Spanish (in cities likeCartagena,Montería,San Andrés andSanta Marta, but notBarranquilla, which is mostly rhotic) and theArgentine dialect spoken in theTucumán province may have an unpronounced word-final/r/, especially in infinitives, which mirrors the situation in some dialects of Brazilian Portuguese. However, in Antillean Caribbean forms, word-final[r] in infinitives and non-infinitives is often in free variation with word-final[l], which may bedelateralized to[j], forming a rising diphthong with the preceding vowel (as indar[daj] 'to give').
The native Thai rhotic is thealveolar trill. The English approximants /ɹ/ and /l/ are used interchangeably inThai. That is, Thai-speakers generally replace an English-derivedr (ร) with anl (ล), and when they hear anl (ล), they may write anr (ร).[16]
InIstanbul Turkish,/r/ is always pronounced except in colloquial speech for the present continuous tense suffixyor as ingidiyor ('going') oryazıyordum ('I was writing') andbir ('one') when used as an adjective/quantifier (but not other numbers containing this word, such ason bir ('eleven')). In these cases, the preceding vowel is not lengthened. The unfavorability of dropping/r/ can be explained with minimal pairs, such asçaldı ('stole') versusçaldır (imperative 'ring').[citation needed]
In some parts ofTurkey, likeKastamonu, the syllable-final/r/ is almost never pronounced:gidiya instead ofgidiyor ("she/he is going") andgide instead ofgider ("she/he goes"). Ingide, theprecedinge is lengthened and pronounced somewhat betweene anda.
NorthernChinese accents, centered aroundBeijing, are well known as havingerhua which can be translated as "R-change". This normally happens at ends of words, particularly ones that end in an -n/-ng sound. So a southern Chinese might sayyī diǎn (一点) ("a little bit") but a Beijinger would say it more like [(j)i tʲɚ] which inPinyin is sometimes renderedyī diǎnr to show if the word can be rhotacized. The final "R" sound is strongly pronounced, not unlike Irish or American accents.
Among theTurkic languages,Uyghur displays more or less the same feature, as syllable-final/r/ is dropped, andthe preceding vowel is lengthened:Uyghurlar[ʔʊɪˈʁʊːlaː] 'Uyghurs'. The/r/ may, however, sometimes be pronounced in unusually "careful" or "pedantic" speech; in such cases, it is oftenmistakenly inserted after long vowels even when there is no phonemic/r/.
Similarly inYaqui, an indigenous language of northernMexico, intervocalic or syllable-final/r/ is often dropped with lengthening of the previous vowel:pariseo becomes[paːˈseo],sewaro becomes[sewajo].
Lacid, whoseexonyms in various literature include Lashi, Lachik, Lechi, and Leqi, is aTibeto-Burman language spoken by theLacid people. There are various reports of their population from 30,000 to 60,000 people. Most are inMyanmar, but there are also small groups inChina andThailand.[17] Noftz (2017) reports finding an example of a rhotic alveolar fricative in Lacid while he was doing phonological research at Payap University, inThailand, in 2015. He was not able to continue his research and expressed the need for further examination of the segment to verify his results. It is postulated that the segment is a remnant of the rhotic fricative inProto-Tibeto-Burman.[18]
Syllable-final/r/ is lost in multiple varieties ofRif Berber and is lengthened before/a/ to[aː], and/i/ and/u/ become diphthongs like in English or German. However, a distinct phoneme/ɾ/ from earlier/l/ exists and does not undergo the same development.[19]