[ə]→[r]Certainty: 5/5Commonality: 5/5

Mid central vowel to Alveolar trill

The shift from the neutral schwa [ə] to the rhotic consonant [r] is a process known as 'intrusive R'. In many non-rhotic English dialects, an [r] is inserted between a word-final schwa and a following vowel to prevent hiatus (vowel clash), effectively turning the vocalic ending into a consonant-glide sequence.

Phonetic Effects

Intrusive R, Hiatus Resolution, Epenthesis

Language Examples

Non-rhotic English (RP / Australian) Germanic

China and Japan [ə]→China-r-and [əɹə]— Intrusive R: the [r] is inserted to resolve the hiatus between the two vowels.

idea of→idea-r-of

Related Transformations

Reverse

More Germanic Shifts

[a] → [ã] — Assimilatory Nasalization [a] → [∅] — Elision [a] → [ʔ] — Glottalization [a] → [ə] — Vowel Reduction [æ] → [ɛ] — Vowel Raising

Sources & References

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