Linking and Intrusive /r/

Linking /r/ is a kind of r-liaison, or r-sandhi, that takes place in nonrhotic accents of English. It is a hiatus-breaking mechanism, which implies the insertion of a historical /r/ –historical in that it was once pronounced, as is indicated by the <r> that remains in the spelling– in coda position when there is a vowel following. Thus, the word far is pronounced /fɑː/ in non-rhotic accents, but far away is pronounced / fɑːrəweɪ/. Linking /r/ happens both across word boundaries, as in the previous example, or across morphemes, as in fear /fɪə/ fearing /fɪərɪŋ/.

There is another type of r-sandhi, intrusive /r/, by which an unetymological /r/ is inserted in the same contexts as linking /r/ takes place, i.e.after the vowels /ɑː, ɔː, ɜː, ɪə, eə, ʊə, ə/, as in the phrase the idea is /ði aɪˈdɪərɪz/.

More information on linking and intrusive r here and here.

Contrary to what is sometimes taught, intrusive /r/ is a widespread phenomenon and it appears in the speech of some upper-class speakers. Proof of this is this production of prince William’s “Kenia [r] and“. Here are some more examples of intrusive /r/:


I took her up somewhere nice in Kenya[r] and I proposed.	In those days… the Bafta[r] awards…
He didn’t draw[r] a flattering picture of me.	Somebody told me that I looked a bit like Kenneth Branagh, but Kenneth Branagh[r] is Henry V.