| Kenneth G. Wilson (1923–). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993. |
| |
| INTRUSION, INTRUSIVE R, INTRUSIVE SOUND OR LETTER |
| |
| |
| Intrusion is the process of change in pronunciation wherein unanticipated sounds come into a word, usually because of their phonetic environment (the cluster of sounds around them and the transitions between them): dialectal pronunciations such as EL-uhm for elm and ATH-uh-leet for athlete illustrate Nonstandard intrusions of vowels. Intrusions such as the medial consonant -p- in something (SUHMP-thing) and the -k- in the midst of the consonant cluster at the end of length (LENGKTH) are normal Standard pronunciations at all levels. Sometimes spelling errors result when the inexperienced try to spell a word the way they incorrectly pronounce it, with three syllables—e.g., athalete for athlete. | 1 |
| In Eastern New England, Metropolitan New York City, and Southern regional dialects, the intrusive r can be heard at the ends of open syllables before vowels, as in John F. Kennedy’s KYOO-buhr (for Cuba) and in the phrase law and order (pronounced LOR uhn AW-duh). | 2 |
| |
| | | The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. Copyright © 1993 Columbia University Press. |
|
|
