Prof Francisco Zabala - 2016 Linking /r/ In General British, people not pronounce the sound q either when it is followed by a consonant or silence To put it differently, the consonant q is only pronounced before vowels This makes this accent non-rhotic (.!mPm
!q?TsHj.), unlike Spanish or other varieties of English, such as General American or Standard Scottish E.g.: store !rsN9 carpark !j@9o@9j Vs very !udqh Rome !q?Tl Now, this q sound emerges again when there is a final in the spelling or a word and the next word starts with a vowel We call this “linking q.” Compare: My car is red .l`H
!j@9q
Hy
!qdc For Easter .e?q
!h9rs? • Vs For your son .e?
iN9
!rUm For one day .e?
!vUm
!cdH Can you tell us why the examples on the right not take a linking q.? The only vowels that allow a linking q to occur before another vowel sound are: ?.: Her eyes g?q
!`Hy N9.: Poor aunt !oN9q
!@9ms .H?.: Here and there !gH?q
?m
!Cd? @9.: Far away !e@9q
?!vdH .d?.: There it is !Cd?q
Hs
!Hy .29.: Blur it !ak29q
Hs .H?.: Poor aunt !oT?q
!@9ms • Decide whether the shaded areas are examples of linking q.: Peter Adder is a London lawyer.{{ He works for a big firm, { Walter M Brooks, { which has branches in other UK cities {{ He wants his brother Edgar { to get a position there {{ However, { Edgar is not interested {{ He’s more into parties { than into applying for a job {{ Anyway, { Peter has made arrangements { for his brother {{ Edgar is meeting the manager in four hours {{ Their father is enthusiastic about it, { but their mother is more intelligent {{ Although she loves her younger son, { she’s sure it’s a waste of time {{