How do you pronounce R?

Blisterman · 08-12-2004 07:12PM #1

Is it pronounced "or" or "are". I've always pronounced it "or" but everyone here has trouble when I spell things out with an r. Is it an Irish thing or just me.

woosaysdan · 08-12-2004 07:13PM

are???

SantaHoe · 08-12-2004 07:14PM

"or" as in "dorsh" roish?

Ro: maaan! · 08-12-2004 07:15PM

I always used to get slagged for saying "or". Too American my arse! I stuck to my guns though.

simu · 08-12-2004 07:18PM

I say "or" (grew up in Cork), never heard anyone say "are".

Must be a lot of people where you live who think they're pirates.

steveland? · 08-12-2004 07:19PM

I'd say Or...

Canis Lupus · 08-12-2004 07:29PM

OR but ppl seem to have difficulty when u pronounce it that way.

My pet hate working in a call centre is the is the way Irish ppl pronounce "a" and ah and not ay (as in hay without the h)

Boberto · 08-12-2004 07:29PM

I used to pronounce it 'or' but the british customers didn't understand so then it became 'arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrre'

Oriel · 08-12-2004 07:30PM

"are"

Sarky · 08-12-2004 07:31PM

I pronounce it with lots of clicking sounds.

Or, when I want to pretend to be a pirate, like "Arrrrr!"

Capt'n Midnight · 08-12-2004 07:36PM

Blisterman wrote:

Is it pronounced "or" or "are". I've always pronounced it "or" but everyone here has trouble when I spell things out with an r. Is it an Irish thing or just me.

In London they mistake "or" and "are", bit like they way they get words starting with "s" and "f" mixed up. I'd say you should do it with round lips and not sounding like a pirate (except on that special day)

international phonetic langague - each of these characters have a standard sound
http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/wells/ipa-unicode.htm
sure someone will be along in a minute to tell us which one is used for the letter "R"

CJ_Will · 08-12-2004 07:37PM

I tend to say "are"... But I also have always liked pirates.

Blisterman · 08-12-2004 07:39PM

Ro: maaan! wrote:

I always used to get slagged for saying "or". Too American my arse! I stuck to my guns though.

Well the american person I asked prononced it somewhere between or and are, which I can't pronounce.

solas · 08-12-2004 07:39PM

the only time I have heard anyone say "are" is on the are tee ee voice over.

"good evening, you are watching are tee ee one."

gnu · 08-12-2004 07:41PM

I say "or"

dewsbury · 08-12-2004 07:49PM

"or" is an Irish thing. I switched to "are" after living in London a while - now back in Dublin and use both "or" and "are".

Stephen · 08-12-2004 07:50PM

"or" here.

simu · 08-12-2004 07:55PM

dewsbury wrote:

"or" is an Irish thing. I switched to "are" after living in London a while - now back in Dublin and use both "or" and "are".

I can see how Englanders would pronounce "r" like "are" because they don't pronounce the "r" in the word "are" but Irish people saying "r" the way Irish people say "are" (rhymes with yarr) sounds crazy. Anybody who pronounces it like that care to record yourself and post it here?

Oriel · 08-12-2004 07:57PM

Is that "or" as in "ore"?

dannyd20 · 08-12-2004 07:58PM

are but not overstated (piratey) 'or' is boggerish like a (ah/ay) as CL said

Canis Lupus wrote:

My pet hate working in a call centre is the is the way Irish ppl pronounce "a" and ah and not ay (as in hay without the h)

bennyx_o · 08-12-2004 07:58PM

"or". Can't say I've heard anyone pronounce it "are".

Blisterman · 08-12-2004 07:59PM

As in rymes with bore

Ro: maaan! · 08-12-2004 08:00PM

Wouldn't the English say "aw"?

Oriel · 08-12-2004 08:02PM

It all comes down to accent I guess. I'm from the north and say "are". I find the idea of me pronoucing it "or" just plain stupid.

simu · 08-12-2004 08:03PM

Sinecure wrote:

Is that "or" as in "ore"?

No "or" as in tea or coffee.

"are" for "r" sounds boggerific to me.

Oriel · 08-12-2004 08:03PM

If they're from London, yeah.

Ro: maaan! wrote:

Wouldn't the English say "aw"?

Oriel · 08-12-2004 08:04PM

Exactly, imagine a cockney perfectly pronoucing "or"...

simu wrote:

No "or" as in tea or coffee.

"are" for "r" sounds boggerific to me.

simu · 08-12-2004 08:07PM

Sinecure wrote:

Exactly, imagine a cockney perfectly pronoucing "or"...

Well, I was talking about Irish people there. I know little about cockney speech tbh.

Sev · 08-12-2004 09:56PM

'R'.. not so much, my problem has always been with the letter 'H'

'Aytch' or 'Haytch'?

Capt'n Midnight · 08-12-2004 10:53PM

Sev wrote:

'R'.. not so much, my problem has always been with the letter 'H'
'Aytch' or 'Haytch'?

English people have awful problems with F H R S
It's reckoned that hiberno-english is closer to what Shakespere spoke and wrote then what is spoken across the pond.
BTW: Scots pronounce G as guy - but it's totally unambigious so that's not a problem

Again a handy Guide to English sounds.

A as in BREAD
B as in DEBT
C as in INDICTMENT
D as in HANDKERCHIEF
E as in GIVE
F as in HALFPENNY
G as in GNAW
H as in HOUR
I as in FRIEND
J as in MARIJUANA
K as in KNOW
L as in Walk
M as the first M in MNEMONIC
N as in AUTUMN
O as in PEOPLE
P as in PSALM
Q as in Acquiai
R as in the first R in February
S as in ISLAND
T as in CASTLE
U as in GUARD
V as in MILNGAVIE (a Scottish place name) *can anyone find a better one*
W as in Wrap
X as in SIOUX
Y as in PEPYS
Z as in RENDEZVOUS

http://members.aol.com/Fanetiks And of course many Britons don't pronounce R at the end of a word or before a consonant.

TCamen · 09-12-2004 03:18AM

I used to pronounce it like 'ore' but now I use 'are'. However I don't sound like a pirate when I say it! I think it's more neutral/American 'ar' than pirate 'aare'

^^ Good list Capt'n Midnight

How do you pronounce R?

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