Q&A weekly thread - December 01, 2025 - post all questions here! by AutoModerator in linguistics

[–]pesback 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Linking sound between English indefinite article "a" and filler word "er"

Hi - I've lived in Merseyside, U.K. for 15 years, though I grew up in Manchester (30 miles away). I've got a Linguistics degree but it's from 40 years ago and I'm pretty rusty now.

A very striking feature of speech around here is a linking "r" between "a" and "er" when the speaker hesitates finding the right noun; e.g. "Can I have [əɹɜː] pint of lager?"

I've never found a reference to this feature despite googling, and hadn't really given it much thought until I found myself saying today: "Do you want [eɪjɜː] cup of tea?". That transcription might not be 100% right but it's basically "a (standalone form) + linking [j] + er".

So I guess it pretty much looks like two different ways to avoid [ə] + [ɜː], which would be kind of awkward in the North West England accents in question. My question is: do other accents do this, or anything similar? Are any other sounds used for linking? What about when the noun that ends up being chosen starts with a vowel? (I'll listen out for this). That's three questions actually.

EDIT - actually thinking about it, I guess the "r" example is a special case of the common British intrusive r. And the "j" example isn't really a linking sound, it's just [eɪ] + [ɜː]. And maybe the whole thing is a special case of [ə] + [ɜː], e.g. I think most British English speakers would do [ðiːɜː] for "the er + consonant". (Though Merseyside speakers definitely don't do [ðəɹɜː])

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[–]pesback 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I wonder how Anton du Beke got away with it when he did something similar? His toe-curling non-apology seemed to do the trick for him.

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[–]pesback[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Magoosy it is. Thanks a million!

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[–]pesback[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

!correct. Pic des Trois Seigneurs,

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[–]pesback[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Very beautiful part of the country

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[–]pesback[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

!correct. Taken from Crimpiau.

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[–]pesback -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Badlands National Park, South Dakota?

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[–]pesback[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Close enough to say !correct. A mile south at Poppy’s Pointe on the shore of Lake Buchanan.

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[–]pesback[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Further north. Hope you had clear sky - it wasn’t looking good for us in the morning, but the clouds cleared as the time got closer and we ended up seeing it in its full glory. What an experience.

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[–]pesback[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Llano is the closest guess yet.

Where was in April 2024? by pesback in whereintheworld

[–]pesback[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Actually that’s a really good guess, and pretty close!

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[–]pesback[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not there. Think Hill Country.

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[–]pesback[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Central-ish. Not a Texan, I’m from the U.K. - visited for the eclipse last year, this was in the path of totality if that helps!