r-dropping

[ahr-drop-ing]

adjective

Phonetics.

1. (of certain pronunciations of English) characterized by the absence of the sound (r) in postvocalic position in the same syllable, as often encountered in speech identified with the southern and eastern United States and with most of England; r-less.

Word History and Origins

Origin of r-dropping¹

Probably earlier than 1960–65

Example Sentences

For example, when it comes to the Boston dialect, a key feature of its accent is r-deletion, or r-dropping.

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O’Connell, who won a Tony this year for her performance in Lucas Hnath’s “Dana H.,” elevates the not quite three-dimensional Becky, giving her a rough-around-the-edges New England charm — along with the nasal, r-dropping accent to match.

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Whether or not it's within the R-dropping, Lobster-loving confines of New England, however, remains to be seen.

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In other words, if English-derived words in a Creole exhibit r-dropping, we might hypothesize that the English speakers present when the Creole formed also dropped their r’s.

Read more on Scientific American

For instance, linguists know that dropping the “r” sounds at the end of words is actually common in many English dialects; they can map in space and time how r-dropping is widespread in the London area and has become increasingly common in England over the years.

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