In American accent, is /jɪr/ and /ji:r/ pronounced the same?
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3Are you aware that the tense-lax distinction is neutralized before /r/? And that vowel length is not phonemic here so isn't to be used between slashes?– tchrist ♦Commented Jul 10, 2020 at 4:40
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@tchrist I didn't know about it. But after some research, I can infer that what you mean in via the above comment is there's no distinction at all (or it is blurred)?– Khanh TranCommented Jul 10, 2020 at 6:22
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2It varies at the individual and group levels; you find different versions of the neutralization in different lects. And some variation in the phonemes used in certain lexemes, as well. When a contrast becomes hard to make or hear in a phonetic context, different people adopt different ways of making the necessary distinctions, but don't pay much attention to maintaining internal phonological consistency, which is only worthwhile when it predicts accurately. And in the middle of a sound change, nothing predicts accurately.– John LawlerCommented Jul 10, 2020 at 18:16
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1Some Americans pronounce year as /jɪr/ and some as /ji:r/. We don't distinguish between these pronunciations — they're allophones in American English. But if you ask Americans whether the vowel in year is the one in bid or the one in bead, I expect that you'll get different answers from different people.– Peter ShorCommented Mar 4, 2022 at 13:19
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2 Answers
For those who are reading this question:
Tense–lax neutralization refers to a neutralization, in a particular phonological context in a particular language, of the normal distinction between tense and lax vowels.
In some varieties of English, this occurs in particular before /ŋ/ and (in rhotic dialects) before coda /r/ (that is, /r/ followed by a consonant or at the end of a word); it also occurs, to a lesser extent, before tautosyllabic /ʃ/.
Kudo to @tchrist's comment above.
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As it’s currently written, your answer is unclear. Please edit to add additional details that will help others understand how this addresses the question asked. You can find more information on how to write good answers in the help center.– Community BotCommented Mar 3, 2022 at 9:31
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2Would be better to put this in your actual post! :) Commented Mar 3, 2022 at 11:08
Unlike many languages, English permits the palatal glide /j/ to occur before the vowels /ɪ/ and /i(:)/. Setting aside the issue of which of these vowels occurs in ear and year, they are not pronounced the same because year starts with the consonant /j/ (so we say “a year”) and ear starts with a vowel (and so we say “an ear”). Likewise, “east” and “yeast” differ in that one starts with /i(:)/ and the other starts with /ji(:)/.
