Editing Rhotic consonant (section)

==Rhotics and rhoticity in the world's languages==
===English===
{{main|Rhoticity in English|Pronunciation of English /r/}}
English has rhotic and non-rhotic accents. Rhotic speakers pronounce a historical {{IPA|/r/}} in all instances, while non-rhotic speakers only pronounce {{IPA|/r/}} at the beginning of a syllable.

===Dutch===
Colloquial Northern Dutch speech of the [[Randstad]] region is variably rhotic. In the syllable coda, the sequences {{IPA|/ɛr, ɑr, aːr, ɔr, oːr/}} may be realized as {{IPA|[ɛ̝j, ɑj, aːj, ö̞j, öːj]}}, which may be close to or the same as the vowels or sequences {{IPA|/eː, ɑj, aːj, ɔj, oːj/}}, resulting in a variable merger. For instance, ''kerk'' 'church' and ''cake'' 'pound cake' may become homophonous as {{IPA|[kɛ̝jk]}}, whereas ''maar'' 'but' can be homophonous with ''maai'' '(I) mow' as {{IPA|[maːj]}}. {{IPA|/ɔr/}} and {{IPA|/oːr/}} are usually somewhat distinct from {{IPA|/ɔj/}} and {{IPA|/oːj/}} as the former feature vowels that are more central (and {{IPA|/oːj/}} features a diphthong {{IPA|[əuj]}} in certain dialects, such as Rotterdam Dutch).{{sfnp|Collins|Mees|2003|pp=112, 130, 134, 200–1}}

After {{IPA|/ə/}}, {{IPA|/r/}} may be dropped altogether, as in ''kilometer'' {{IPA|[ˈkilömeitə]}} 'kilometer'. This is commonly heard in [[The Hague]]. It is not necessarily restricted to the word-final position, as it can also happen in word-final clusters in words such as ''honderd'' {{IPA|[ˈɦɔndət]}} 'hundred'.{{sfnp|Collins|Mees|2003|p=201}}

After {{IPA|/i/}}, {{IPA|/y/}}, {{IPA|/u/}}, {{IPA|/eː/}} and {{IPA|/øː/}}, {{IPA|/r/}} may be realized as a centering glide, as in ''mier'' {{IPA|[mïːə̯]}} 'ant', ''muur'' {{IPA|[mÿːə̯]}} 'wall', ''moer'' {{IPA|[müːə̯]}} 'queen bee', ''meer'' {{IPA|[mɪːə̯]}} 'lake' and ''deur'' {{IPA|[dʏːə̯]}} 'door'. As with {{IPA|/ɔ/}} and {{IPA|/oː/}}, these vowels are more central (and also longer) than in other contexts. Furthermore, both {{IPA|/eː/}} and {{IPA|/øː/}} are [[Relative articulation#Raised and lowered|raised]] in this context, so that ''meer'' becomes a near-homophone of ''mier'', whereas ''deur'' becomes a quasi-rhyme of ''muur''.{{sfnp|Collins|Mees|2003|pp=130, 132, 134, 200}}

In citation forms, {{IPA|/r/}} in the syllable coda is pronounced as a [[Pharyngealization|pharyngealized]] [[velar bunched approximant|pre-velar bunched approximant]] {{IPA|[ɰ̟ˤ]}} (known in Dutch as the ''[[w:nl:Gooise r|Gooise r]]'') that is acoustically similar to {{IPAblink|ɻ}}: {{IPA|[kɛ̝ɰ̟ˤk, ˈkilömeitəɰ̟ˤ, mïə̯ɰ̟ˤ]}} etc. Other realizations ([[alveolar tap]]s and [[voiced uvular fricative]]s) are also possible, depending on the region and individual speaker, so that ''mier'' may be also pronounced {{IPA|[mïə̯ɾ]}} or {{Audio-IPA|Nl-mier.ogg|[mïə̯ʁ]|help=no}}. The pre-velar bunched approximant as well as the palatal approximant realization of {{IPA|/r/}} described above are virtually unknown in southern varieties of Dutch. In the varieties where they do occur, they are restricted to the syllable coda. In other environments, {{IPA|/r/}} is realized as {{IPAblink|ɾ}} or {{IPAblink|ʁ}}.{{sfnp|Collins|Mees|2003|pp=200–1}}

===Other Germanic languages===
The rhotic consonant is dropped or vocalized under similar conditions in other Germanic languages, notably [[German language|German]], [[Danish language|Danish]], western [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]] and southern [[Swedish language|Swedish]] (both because of Danish influence), rendering the English accents that native speakers of these languages speak with as non-rhotic as well.

In most varieties of German (with the notable exception of [[Swiss Standard German]]), {{IPA|/r/}} in the [[syllable coda]] is frequently realized as a vowel or a [[semivowel]], {{IPA|[ɐ]}} or {{IPA|[ɐ̯]}}. In the traditional standard pronunciation, this happens only in the unstressed ending ''-er'' and after long vowels: for example ''besser'' {{IPA|[ˈbɛsɐ]}}, ''sehr'' {{IPA|[zeːɐ̯]}}. In common speech the vocalization is usual after short vowels as well, and additional contractions may occur: for example ''Dorn'' {{IPA|[dɔɐ̯n]}} ~ {{IPA|[dɔːn]}}, ''hart'' {{IPA|[haɐ̯t]}} ~ {{IPA|[haːt]}}.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wiese |first=Richard |title=The Phonology of German |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2000 |isbn=0-19-829950-8 |edition=2nd |location=Oxford, New York |author-link=Richard Wiese (linguist)}}</ref> Commonplace mergers include that of {{IPA|/ar/}} with {{IPA|/aː/}} (leading to homophony of e.g. ''warten, waten'') and loss of length distinctions before coda {{IPA|/r/}} (e.g. homophony of ''Herr, Heer'').<ref>{{Cite book|last=Pracht|first=Henrike|title=Schemabasierte Basisalphabetisierung im Deutschen. Ein Praxisbuch für Lehrkräfte|publisher=Waxmann Verlag|year=2012|page=67}}</ref> Compare [[German phonology]].

Similarly, Danish {{IPA|/r/}} after a vowel is, unless followed by a stressed vowel, either pronounced {{IPA|da|ɐ̯|}} (''mor'' "mother" {{IPA|da|moɐ̯|}}, ''næring'' "nourishment" {{IPA|da|ˈneːɐ̯e̝ŋ|}}) or merged with the preceding vowel while usually influencing its [[vowel quality]] ({{IPA|/a(ː)r/}} and {{IPA|/ɔːr/}} or {{IPA|/ɔr/}} are realised as long vowels {{IPA|da|ɑː|}} and {{IPA|da|ɒː|}}, and {{IPA|/ər/}}, {{IPA|/rə/}} and {{IPA|/rər/}} are all pronounced {{IPA|da|ɐ|}}) (''løber'' "runner" {{IPA|da|ˈløːpɐ|}}, ''[[Søren Kierkegaard]]'' (personal name) {{IPA|da|ˌsœːɐn ˈkʰiɐ̯kəˌkɒˀ|}}).

===Astur-Leonese===
In [[Asturian language|Asturian]], word-final {{IPA|/r/}} is always lost in [[infinitives]] before an [[enclitic]] pronoun, which is reflected in writing. For example, the infinitive form ''dar'' {{IPA|[dar]}} plus the third-person plural dative pronoun "-yos" ''da-yos'' {{IPA|[ˈdaʝos]}} ("give to them") or the accusative form "los" ''dalos'' {{IPA|[ˈdalos]}} ("give them"). That happens also in [[Leonese language|Leonese]] in which the infinitive form is "dare" {{IPA|[ˈdare]}}, and both the {{IPA|/r/}} and the vowel are dropped (''da-yos'', not *''dáre-yos''). However, most speakers also drop rhotics in the infinitive before a lateral consonant of a different word, but that is not shown in writing: ''dar los dos'' {{IPA|[daː los ðos]}} (give the two [things]). That does not occur in the middle of words: the name ''Ca'''rl'''os'' {{IPA|[ˈkarlos]}}.

===Catalan===
In some [[Catalan language|Catalan]] dialects, word-final {{IPA|/r/}} is lost in coda position not only in suffixes of nouns and adjectives denoting the masculine singular and plural (written as ''-r'', ''-rs''; as well as in words like ''llavors'' {{IPA|[ʎəˈβɔs]}} "then; so"), but also in the "-''ar'', -''er'' and -''ir''" suffixes of infinitives: ''forner'' {{IPA|[furˈne]}} "(male) baker", ''forners'' {{IPA|[furˈnes]}}, ''fer'' {{IPA|[ˈfe]}} "to do", ''lluir'' {{IPA|[ʎuˈi]}} "to shine, to look good". However, rhotics are "recovered" when followed by the feminine suffix ''-a'' {{IPA|[ə]}}, and when infinitives have single or multiple [[Clitic|enclitic]] pronouns (notice the two rhotics are neutralized in the coda, with a [[flap consonant|flap]] {{IPA|[ɾ]}} occurring between vowels, and a [[trill consonant|trill]] {{IPA|[r]}} elsewhere); e.g. ''fornera'' {{IPA|[furˈneɾə]}} "(female) baker", ''fer-lo'' {{IPA|[ˈferɫu]}} "to do it (masc.)", ''fer-ho'' {{IPA|[ˈfeɾu]}} "to do it/that/so", ''lluir-se'' {{IPA|[ʎuˈir.sə]}} "to excel, to show off".

===French===
Final ⟨r⟩ is generally not pronounced in words ending in ⟨-er⟩. The R in ''parce que'' ("because") is not pronounced in informal speech.

===Malay (including Indonesian)===
The pronunciation of final {{IPA|/r/}} in [[Malay language|Malay]] and [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]] varies considerably. In Indonesian, {{Lang|ms|Baku}} ({{lit|standard}}) Malay, and [[Kedah Malay]], the final {{IPA|/r/}} is pronounced, but in the Johor-Riau accent, the standard accent of Malay in Brunei and Malaysia, and several other dialects, it is not.

The quality of the realization of the phoneme varies too. In the syllable onset, in Indonesian, {{Lang|ms|Baku}} Malay, and standard Johor-Riau Malay, it varies between a trill {{IPAblink|r}}, a flap {{IPAblink|ɾ}}, and sometimes, even an approximant {{IPAblink|ɹ̠}}. In many dialects of Malay, such as those of [[Kedah Malay|Kedah]], [[Kelantan-Pattani Malay|Kelantan-Pattani]] and [[Terengganu Malay|Terengganu]], onset {{IPA|/r/}} is usually realized as a [[Velar consonant|velar]] fricative {{IPAblink|ɣ}}. In [[Perak Malay]], a [[Uvular consonant|uvular]] pronunciation, {{IPAblink|ʁ}} is more common.

In Kedah Malay, final {{IPA|/r/}} is uniquely realized as a pharyngeal fricative {{IPAblink|ʕ}}. In the dialect of Malacca, when it appears after {{IPA|/a/}}, final {{IPA|/r/}} is vocalized into {{IPAblink|w}} or {{IPAblink|u}}.

===Portuguese===
In some dialects of [[Brazilian Portuguese]], {{IPA|/ʁ/}} is unpronounced or aspirated. That occurs most frequently with verbs in the [[infinitive]], which is always indicated by a word-final {{IPA|/ʁ/}}. In some states, however, it happens mostly with any {{IPA|/ʁ/}} when preceding a consonant. The "[[Carioca]]" accent (from the city of [[Rio de Janeiro]]) is notable for this. The [[Caipira dialect]] (from São Paulo countryside) usually realizes {{IPA|/ʁ/}} as {{IPA|[ɻ]}}, {{IPA|[χ]}}, or {{IPA|[r̪̊]}}. 

===Spanish===
Among the [[Spanish dialects and varieties|Spanish dialects]], [[Andalusian Spanish]], [[Caribbean Spanish]] (descended from and still very similar to Andalusian and [[Canarian Spanish]]), [[Castúo]] (the Spanish dialect of [[Extremadura]]), Northern [[Colombian Spanish]] (in cities like [[Cartagena, Colombia|Cartagena]], [[Montería]], [[San Andrés, San Andrés y Providencia|San Andrés]] and [[Santa Marta]], but not [[Barranquilla]], which is mostly rhotic) and the [[Languages of Argentina#Spanish|Argentine dialect]] spoken in the [[Tucumán Province|Tucumán province]] may have an unpronounced word-final {{IPA|/r/}}, especially in infinitives, which mirrors the situation in some dialects of Brazilian Portuguese. However, in Antillean Caribbean forms, word-final {{IPAblink|r}} in infinitives and non-infinitives is often in free variation with word-final {{IPAblink|l}}, which may be [[Delateralization|delateralized]] to {{IPAblink|j}}, forming a rising diphthong with the preceding vowel (as in ''dar'' {{IPA|[daj]}} 'to give').

===Thai===
The native Thai rhotic is the [[alveolar trill]]. The English approximants /ɹ/ and /l/ are used interchangeably in [[Thai language|Thai]]. That is, Thai-speakers generally replace an English-derived ''r'' (ร) with an ''l'' (ล), and when they hear an ''l'' (ล), they may write an  ''r'' (ร).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kanokpermpoon |first=Monthon |date=2007 |title=Thai and English consonantal sounds: A problem or a potential for EFL learning? |url=http://www.assumptionjournal.au.edu/index.php/abacjournal/article/view/583 |journal=ABAC Journal |volume=27 |issue=1 |pages=57–66}}</ref>

===Turkish===
In [[Istanbul Turkish]], {{IPA|/r/}} is always pronounced except in colloquial speech for the present continuous tense suffix {{lang|tr|yor}} as in {{lang|tr|gidiyor}} ('going') or {{lang|tr|yazıyordum}} ('I was writing') and {{lang|tr|bir}} ('one') when used as an adjective/quantifier (but not other numbers containing this word, such as {{lang|tr|on bir}} ('eleven')). In these cases, the preceding vowel is not lengthened. The unfavorability of dropping {{IPA|/r/}} can be explained with minimal pairs, such as {{lang|tr|çaldı}} ('stole') versus {{lang|tr|çaldır}} (imperative 'ring').{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}

In some parts of [[Turkey]], like [[Kastamonu]], the syllable-final {{IPA|/r/}} is almost never pronounced: ''gidiya'' instead of ''gidiyor'' ("she/he is going") and ''gide'' instead of ''gider'' ("she/he goes"). In ''gide'', the [[compensatory lengthening|preceding ''e'' is lengthened]] and pronounced somewhat between ''e'' and ''a''.

===Chinese===
Northern [[Chinese language|Chinese]] accents, centered around [[Beijing]], are well known as having ''[[erhua]]'' which can be translated as "R-change". This normally happens at ends of words, particularly ones that end in an -n/-ng sound. So a southern Chinese might say ''yī diǎn'' (一点) ("a little bit") but a Beijinger would say it more like [(j)i tʲɚ] which in [[Pinyin]] is sometimes rendered ''yī diǎnr'' to show if the word can be rhotacized. The final "R" sound is strongly pronounced, not unlike Irish or American accents.

===Uyghur===
Among the [[Turkic languages]], [[Uyghur language|Uyghur]] displays more or less the same feature, as syllable-final {{IPA|/r/}} is dropped, and [[compensatory lengthening|the preceding vowel is lengthened]]: ''Uyghurlar'' {{IPA|[ʔʊɪˈʁʊːlaː]}} '[[Uyghur people|Uyghur]]s'. The {{IPA|/r/}} may, however, sometimes be pronounced in unusually "careful" or "pedantic" speech; in such cases, it is often [[linking and intrusive R|mistakenly inserted]] after long vowels even when there is no phonemic {{IPA|/r/}}.

===Yaqui===
Similarly in [[Yaqui language|Yaqui]], an indigenous language of northern [[Mexico]], intervocalic or syllable-final {{IPA|/r/}} is often dropped with lengthening of the previous vowel: ''pariseo'' becomes {{IPA|[paːˈseo]}}, ''sewaro'' becomes {{IPA|[sewajo]}}.

===Lacid===
[[Lacid language|Lacid]], whose [[exonyms]] in various literature include Lashi, Lachik, Lechi, and Leqi, is a [[Tibeto-Burman language]] spoken by the [[Lacid people]]. There are various reports of their population from 30,000 to 60,000 people. Most are in [[Myanmar]], but there are also small groups in [[China]] and [[Thailand]].<ref>Noftz 2017, A Literature Review on Segments in Lacid (Lashi)</ref> Noftz (2017) reports finding an example of a rhotic alveolar fricative in Lacid while he was doing phonological research at Payap University, in [[Thailand]], in 2015. He was not able to continue his research and expressed the need for further examination of the segment to verify his results. It is postulated that the segment is a remnant of the rhotic fricative in [[Proto-Tibeto-Burman]].<ref>A Literature Review on Segments in Lachid (Lashi), Robert Noftz, 2017</ref>

===Berber languages===
Syllable-final {{IPA|/r/}} is lost in many varieties of [[Rif Berber]] and is lengthened before {{IPA|/a/}} to {{IPA|[aː]}}, and {{IPA|/i/}} and {{IPA|/u/}} become diphthongs like in English or German. However, a distinct phoneme {{IPA|/ɾ/}} from earlier {{IPA|/l/}} exists and does not undergo the same development.<ref name="Kossmann 1997">{{cite web| url = https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/bitstream/handle/1887/4150/1267577_033.pdf?sequence=1| title = Kossmann, M.G.; Stroomer, H.J.: "Berber Phonology", p. 469-71, in ''Phonologies of Asia and Africa'' (1997)}}</ref>