American pronunciation

[Quizmonster]

Can any of our cousins across the Pond comment on the following quirk in (some) Americans' pronunciation of words containing an 'r' sound with a vowel immediately before and after it? In Britain, for example, we quite clearly - especially if we are Scots - pronounce the 'r' exactly where it occurs in the word. Thus, orange has quite distinctly an 'o' followed by an 'r' and then an 'a'. Many Americans seem to bring the second vowel forward so that it is between the first one and the 'r'. So, orange sounds more like oarnge, forest sounds more like foerst. One that especially fascinates me is the word 'mirror', which they pronounce almost as mia - with no detectable 'r' at all - just as in Mia Farrow! Is this a dialect thing or do you all do it?

[swedeheart]

I know what you mean, Quizmonster. They do it down south don't they?

[B00]

They also talk funny down south too ;-)

[dr b]

Having lived in the US for all 49 of my 49 years, I haven't ever heard "mirror" pronounced "mia". Sounds like someone trying to imitate a Boston or New York accent.

[swedeheart]

As opposed to oop north, B00;-)

As I was reading the examples in the question, James Woods as Byron De La Beckwith in Ghosts of Mississippi came to mind.

[ll_billym]

Well seeing as QM has actually asked a question I feel I must try to give some kind of answer as I definately owe a few...

I have wondered about 'mirror' myself but it is actually quite similar to how some Irish accents pronounce it. Not the word sound as such but the way that it sound like 'mur' without much definition of the individual sounds. So I have always thought some parts of the Boston accent have Irish influences... Possibly wrongly though!

[Clanad]

Although mirror could be pronounced as Q observes and that probably in the South (as already suggested) it would more than likely be pronounced something approaching "mir" with the last syllables simply run together with the preceding ones.

I suspect the answer to the entire question hinges on laziness in speech patterns and lack of accurate spelling skills. Not unlike the comments I see on this site pertaining to equivalent problems in the U.K., no? The example posed about 'orange' and 'forest' is sufficient to demonstrate the problems seen here in the U.S. Rather, however, than misplacing (more accurately replacing) vowels, the speaker is just to careless to use the correct pronouncitation.

Employing generational chauvansim is an easy out, of course, but it does appear that the last generation or two (preceding mine) have considerably less appreciation for language and its nuances.

Welcome back, by the way, Q. Apologies for lack of daedalistic adornement by way of "boldened" Q, but, so far the Ed hasn't seen fit to reinstate those functions to the site. Nevertheless, no jacquerie planned as yet...

[Quizmonster]

Thanks, SH, for recognising what I was getting at and the film suggestion. I haven't actually seen it but tried to get a flavour of its sounds via Youtube. Sadly to little avail.
Are you suggesting, Dr B, that - with the possible exception of 'mirror' - the examples I give are pretty close to New York and Boston speech? Presumably, that's what any imitator would be striving for, after all.
Yes, II_b, that seems to confirm a conceivable Boston connection. I never heard President Kennedy saying 'mirror', but it somehow seems likely that he said it along such lines. Maybe my whole query IS partly at least about Boston Irish.
Thanks, C, you seem to confirm the above. To be honest, though, I find the sounds I refer attractive rather than lazy. Accordingly, if I ever do hit the shores of the US of A, it seems I'd better head for Massachusetts/New York or Louisiana/Mississippi.

Thanks to all of you.

[beso]

A Brit posting about pronounciation anomalies. What a joke.

[Quizmonster]

So have a laugh, Beso. I referred to a (quote) 'quirk', not an anomaly or an error, and I DID say I found it attractive. You yourself may care to look into spelling anomalies!

[BOBBYPERU]

Listen to "Born to run" by Bruce Springsteen, there is a line in the song where he appears to say " Girls comb their hair in rear view "mias"

[Quizmonster]

Thanks for that, Bobby. I just watched the video on youtube and it certainly sounded very much like mia to me! Springsteen was born in Noo Joisey, so I guess that's close enough to New York for speech patterns to be similar. Cheers