Linking, intrusive, and rhotic /r/ in pronunciation models

Abstract

This article examines two related phenomena concerning the English phoneme /r/:linking/intrusive/r/ andrhotic/r/. The former is usually discussed in RP-oriented pronunciation drill books and phonetics textbooks. However, unless one adopts the narrow view that RP is the only feasible pronunciation model in a given situation, it is not legitimate to discuss linking/intrusive /r/ without mention of the second phenomenon – rhoticity. Indeed, as is shown below, these may be thought of not as two separate phenomena, but as two branches of the same phenomenon. Further, it is argued that linking/intrusive /r/ is not of great importance in English pronunciation teaching world-wide, and that the potential advantages of rhoticity are often underestimated.