6. What is rhoticity? What varieties and dialects of English are rhotic or non-rhotic?

Rhoticity

– the R sound that comes after a vowel, which is either accentuated or silent

o   E.g. – Some people say /hard/, others /hahd/, /other/ or /otha/, /caR/ /ca/

o   If it, however, comes before a vowel, it is normally uttered as /r/, for example in Red or Rod

  Rhotic

• Rhotic accents are the norm in most parts of North America and Canada.

• They were also prevalent throughout Britain in Shakespeare’s time, and still occur in the West Country, Scotland, and other regions distant from London.

   Non-Rhotic

• Standard BBC English is not rhotic

  • In the American South, it is primarily rhotic, but non-rhoticity is found primarily among older speakers in VA, Georgia, Alabama

  • The Northeast region of USA, especially New England or NYC dialects are traditionally also non-rhotic

  • African-American Vernacular English is also largely non-rhotic

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