Sunday, June 11, 2023

-er Ending in England

The -er ending in pronunciation when what the letters on the page say is -a, as in JFK saying Cuber, or my friend who refers to his Aunts Anner and Teener, is a coastal New England staple.  The Yankee magazine cartoonist Don Bousquet reportedly had a vanity plate HONDER on his Japanese car in the 80s and 90s.

But I hear it on my British and Medieval history podcasts as well, once we get away from Oxonian accents.  Today I heard about Ghaner and Algierier establishing trade links with Indier in medieval times. I'll have to poke around and see what regional accent that is.

Update: It is called an intrusive r and is related to the linking r, which is used at the end of -a words only when it is followed by a word beginning with a vowel, as in "We'll be going to Georgier-and Florida (or Florider-and Georgia)." It is now so common in England that even though it is technically considered incorrect and not absolute best Received Pronunciation, no one much mentions it anymore. Margaret Thatcher was called "Laura Norder" because of that pronunciation of "Law and Order." In America I think the r on the end of "law" is also one of the most common linking r's.

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