The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #141002   Message #3243118
Posted By: Marje
22-Oct-11 - 01:27 PM
Thread Name: Why the 'r' between vowels?
Subject: RE: Why the 'r' between vowels?
The question from the OP was a valid query, as it was causing genuine puzzlement. The answer - that the intrusive R is a feature of some English accents, but not those in Scotland, Ireland or Wales - was still worth noting.

As a speaker who neither uses or likes the intrusive R (on the grounds that it is ugly, unnecessary and sometimes confusing) I'll just add that it is not a parallel to the French "est-il" etc ,as the R is not there in either word in the first place, it's just an extraneous sound with no business being there.

A hint of a glottal stop will do the job of splitting up words nicely.
It's quite different from using the glottal stop instead of a T sound (as in "glottal"). Those who think they never use one, though, should check how they say "Gatwick" before they get superior about it!

Marje