Does R go with the vowel before it or after it?

Question

How do you pronounce terrible? /'ter?bl/ (R goes with the vowel after it, doesn't affect the vowel before it ) or /'t??bl/ (R colors the vowel before it, doesn't affect the vowel after it )

And similarly, how do you pronounce horrible? /'h?r?bl/ or /'h???bl/
moral? /'m?r?l/ or /'m???l/
When the R is between two vowels, does it go with the vowel after it? or goes with the preceding vowel?

Robinjw13 · Accepted Answer

I may be out of my depth here (wait for other answers) but your soundtrack was very helpful. In the three specific cases you give, the vowel before the r is a short vowel, i.e. e as in bet and o as in hot. (I think this equates to the first cases in the examples on your soundtrack and above). This is British English.

Pronunciationkaren · Answer

It is going to depend on which type of English accent the words are being said in. In BrE the 'r' goes with the second syllable and the preceding vowel is not r-coloured.

Check out the pronunciation of those words here:

http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/dictionary/horrible

http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/dictionary/terrible

http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/dictionary/moral

Btw. be careful with your pronunciation of 'it' after 'before' and 'after'. Check the pronunciation here:

http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/dictionary/it_2

CharmYou · Answer

pronunciationkarenIt is going to depend on which type of English accent

If it is the AmE that I'm talking about, how the 'r' goes?

I once asked 3 of my foreign teachers from USA the pronunciation of "moral". I am used to pronouncing it as /'m??r?l/ (which is in the webpage you provided) but they told me it was not correct to say /'m??r?l/, the correct way is /'m??r?l/. I asked why, and one of them said it was because of the 'r', wherever there is an preceding r, the vowel /?/ becomes /??/. (R colors it to become /??/)
I wonder if there really is anyone in USA pronouncing moral as /'m??r?l/

CharmYou · Answer

pronunciationkarenBtw. be careful with your pronunciation of 'it' after 'before' and 'after'.

I think I am able to correctly pronounce 'it' individually. But I am not sure how to pronounce it after an 'r'. Should I glide the 'r' directly into the 'it' to make a 'rit' sound, or should I put a 'w' between them?

Pronunciationkaren · Answer

CharmYou pronunciationkarenBtw. be careful with your pronunciation of 'it' after 'before' and 'after'. I think I am able to correctly pronounce 'it' individually. But I am not sure how to pronounce it after an 'r'. Should I glide the 'r' directly into the 'it' to make a 'rit' sound, or should I put a 'w' between them?Your browser does not properly support audio yet.Listen: [ogg] or [mp3]

Yes, your pronunciation of 'it' on its own is fine. You should glide the 'r' into 'it'. Your pronunciation of 'it' in this recording sounds better, but be careful not to change the quality of the vowel when gliding the 'r' which was what was happening in your original recording.

CharmYou · Answer

pronunciationkaren CharmYou pronunciationkarenBtw. be careful with your pronunciation of 'it' after 'before' and 'after'. I think I am able to correctly pronounce 'it' individually. But I am not sure how to pronounce it after an 'r'. Should I glide the 'r' directly into the 'it' to make a 'rit' sound, or should I put a 'w' between them?Your browser does not properly support audio yet.Listen: [ogg] or [mp3]Yes, your pronunciation of 'it' on its own is fine. You should glide the 'r' into 'it'. Your pronunciation of 'it' in this recording sounds better, but be careful not to change the quality of the vowel when gliding the 'r' which was what was happening in your original recording.

Thanks

Does R go with the vowel before it or after it?

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