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1

How do I know when to keep r silent in pronunciation?

Examples:

Not silent

  • cry
  • free
  • friend

Silent

  • German
  • iron
  • learn
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3  
The letter r is not silent (in my pronunciation at least) of iron (very different to ion) or learn (very different to lean). – Matt Эллен May 16 '12 at 8:58
4  
In the former three, the r follows a consonant and precedes a vowel. In the latter three, it follows a vowel, and whether or not it is pronounced depends on the dialect, but in any case it changes the pronunciation of the vowel, so one can argue that in a way it's always present. To make a long story short, simply memorize every single word — just like native speakers do. There is no reliable way to know the pronunciation just by looking at the spelling. See "Hou tu pranownse Inglish", section "Vowels before r". – RegDwighт♦ May 16 '12 at 9:06
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In the US, it's more a matter of where you are in the country, as opposed to where the r is in the word. The closer you get to Boston, the more silent the r's become. – J.R. May 16 '12 at 9:08
@J.R. Most useful point. +1 for '... where you are ...' – Kris May 16 '12 at 9:40
@J.R. Bostoners just move the r's to the ends of words ending in -ea, like idear and gonorrhear. – KitFox♦ May 16 '12 at 11:30
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1 Answer

up vote 3 down vote accepted

Yes. In so-called non-rhotic pronunciations of English (which includes what are perceived as 'standard' British pronunciations), a written 'r' does not actually represent an 'r' sound when it is syllable-final.

On the other hand, the case of "iron" is simply a rare exception.

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Wicked good answer! After I read your response, I found this to be helpful, too. – J.R. May 16 '12 at 9:38
Americans pronounce "iron" as "eye-urn" (ˈaɪərn). So it's not actually an exception to the syllable-final pronunciation rule for 'r'; it's a case where you can't tell that the 'r' is syllable-final from the spelling. – Peter Shor Mar 31 at 16:50

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