To wonder why people put "r"s where they don't belong?

[somebloke123]

A trivial matter in the grand scheme of things of course but:

I first noticed this as a school boy "oop north" when a teacher from down south joined the staff and caused great hilarity by saying "drawrings" instead of "drawings".

It seems to be a southern phenomenon but not at all a type of chavspeak. Some of the worst offenders are media types who speak middle class "received" or "BBC" English.

It amounts to an inability to pronounce two successive vowel sounds without putting an "r" between.

A few examples I have heard in the radio, mainly over the past week or so:

West Brom managed a one-all drawragainst Aston Villa.

Planning the withdrawral from Afghanistan.

Chris Grayling is seeking a change in the lawron reasonable force against burglars.

The police are trying to restore Laura Norder.

And on Radio 4's "Poetry Please" in an otherwise moving reading of Oscar Wilde's "Ballad of Reading Jail":

"But I never sawraman who looked
So wistfully at the day.
I never sawraman who looked
With such a wistful eye."



Grrrrrrrrr!

[MyLastDuchess]

It's called a 'bridging r'; it's not incorrect.

[MaBaya]

Londoner and I do this. Its just a regional quirk. It could be worse. We could all be Brummies

[BunnyLebowski]

MIL keeps writing 'carnt' for 'can't' on FB.

Stupid sow.

at Laura Norder.

[imnotmymum]

I say this. Am from the Midlands originally and it is much more comfortable to say than pausing draw-ing. That feels odd. Really have not noticed this though tbh

[Lakota]

I have a feeling I do this. It's just how it comes out... I can pronounce the sounds separately if I try.

[somebloke123]

Of course one has to accept that there are such things as regional variations and it's not really a matter of correct or incorrect.

I guess since I never came across it until late childhood it has always struck me as a bit otiose.

[imnotmymum]

But it is useful imo to make words flow when conversing

[HyvaPaiva]

How about 'brought' when the speaker means 'bought'? Is it regional or a bridging 'r'? It drives me to distraction!

[DeWe]

Hyva a mistake

[imnotmymum]

Hyva that is just not speaking proper

[AreAllMenTheSame2]

I think i do the "sawrawoman" lol and my dp allways saying "drownding" or "drownded" drives me mad!!

[GoldPlatedNineDoors]

People who pronounce Bath as Barth rather than BAth get my goat too.

[AreAllMenTheSame2]

Oops... My dp is always saying

[Vagndidit]

Perrrr-zhoh Peugeot.

[impty]

As a northerner married to a southerner I am constantly corrected by PIL and told to speak properly. It drives me insane. Especially as PIL have fairly strong accents which is a million miles from RP, and I have a fairly unregional accent having moved around a lot.

What's more I can spell and use grammar correctly (mostly) which is something they've yet to master.... Phew rant over!

[TooMuchRain]

There's a wikipedia article on it if you want to know more

[Wetthemogwai]

In Liverpool they replace all the Rs with Ls but as midlander I too do the 'sawraman' and 'drawrings'. I sound very odd if I don't!

[Psammead]

Drawrings and withdrawral are plain wrong, as it brought instead of bought. The rest is good old fashioned linking r, or intrusive r. It just makes things flow more reasily.

[Wetthemogwai]

So yes, yabu and you talk strange :D

[Psammead]

Sorry, I shouldn't have called them wrong - but they are not standard english.

[SnowWide]

Oh yes, these superfluous 'r's set my teeth on edge every time. The first few tines I heard someone use it, I yelled at the TV. Hubby very confused, because those 'r's never registered in his hearing...thought I was making it up.

[BreconBeBuggered]

My parents were exiled Scots and I wasn't allowed to adopt the local intrusive 'r', so it makes me wince a little bit, not when it sounds like a natural component of a regional accent, but when people are very well-spoken. Clear, authoratitive tones, undermined in seconds by a little drawring.

[Wetthemogwai]

X posts psam sorry that wasn't aimed at you!

[MaryZed]

I'm Irish, and I see it as a very English thing. I must say, my aunt considers herself to speak properly, but does it all the time. And it drives me mad that she will say ar instead of ah in words like pass (she says parse the parcel), but will criticise my kids for using the soft Irish t at the end of words.

I don't mind so much if it is connecting two vowels (though it's still wrong) in drawing, but it drives me mad in draw on its own - draur is a drawer, not the verb to draw [mutter]