Editing General American English (section)

====Vowel mergers before R====
Most North American accents are characterized by the mergers of certain vowels when they occur before [[intervocalic]] {{IPA|/r/}}. The only exceptions exist primarily along the [[East_Coast_of_the_United_States|East Coast]].
*[[Mary-marry-merry merger|''Mary–marry–merry'' merger]] in transition: According to the 2003 dialect survey, nearly 57% of participants from around the country self-identified as merging the sounds {{IPA|/ær/}} (as in the first syllable of ''parish''), {{IPA|/ɛr/}} (as in the first syllable of ''perish''), and {{IPA|/ɛər/}} (as in ''pear'' or ''pair'').<ref>Vaux, Bert and Scott Golder (2003). "[http://www4.uwm.edu/FLL/linguistics/dialect/staticmaps/q_15.html How do you pronounce Mary / merry / marry?]" The Harvard Dialect Survey. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Linguistics Department.</ref> The merger is largely complete in most regions of the country, the major exceptions being much of the Atlantic Coast and southern [[Louisiana]].{{sfnp|Kortmann|Schneider|2004|p=295}}
*[[hurry-furry merger|''Hurry–furry'' merger]]: The pre-{{IPA|/r/}} vowels in words like ''hurry'' {{IPA|/ʌ/}} and ''furry'' {{IPA|/ɜ/}} are merged in most American accents to {{IPA|[ɚ]}} or a syllabic consonant {{IPA|[ɹ̩]}}. Roughly only 10% of American English speakers acknowledge the distinct ''hurry'' vowel before {{IPA|/r/}}, according to the same dialect survey aforementioned.<ref>Vaux, Bert and Scott Golder (2003). "[http://dialect.redlog.net/staticmaps/q_12.html fl''ou''rish] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150711123931/http://dialect.redlog.net/staticmaps/q_12.html |date=2015-07-11}}". The Harvard Dialect Survey. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Linguistics Department.</ref>
*[[Mirror–nearer merger|''Mirror–nearer'' merger]] in transition: The pre-{{IPA|/r/}} vowels in words like ''mirror'' {{IPA|/ɪ/}} and ''nearer'' {{IPA|/i/}} are merged or very similar in most American accents. The quality of the historic ''mirror'' vowel in the word ''miracle'' is quite variable.<ref>Vaux, Bert and Scott Golder (2003). "[http://www4.uwm.edu/FLL/linguistics/dialect/staticmaps/q_17.html the first vowel in "m''i''racle"]". The Harvard Dialect Survey. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Linguistics Department.</ref>
*Americans vary slightly in their pronunciations of [[R-colored vowel#Rhotacization|R-colored vowels]] such as those in {{IPA|/ɛər/}} and {{IPA|/ɪər/}}, which sometimes monophthongizes towards {{IPA|[ɛɹ]}} and {{IPA|[ɪɹ]}} or [[tenseness|tensing]] towards {{IPA|[eɪɹ]}} and {{IPA|[i(ə)ɹ]}} respectively. That causes pronunciations like {{IPA|[pʰeɪɹ]}} for ''pair''/''pear'' and {{IPA|[pʰiəɹ]}} for ''peer''/''pier''.{{sfn|Wells|1982|pp=481–482}} Also, {{IPA|/jʊər/}} is often reduced to {{IPA|[jɚ]}}, so that ''cure'', ''pure'', and ''mature'' may all end with the sound {{IPA|[ɚ]}}, thus rhyming with ''blur'' and ''sir''. The word ''sure'' is also part of the rhyming set as it is commonly pronounced {{IPA|[ʃɚ]}}.
* [[Horse–hoarse merger|''Horse–hoarse'' merger]]: This merger makes the vowels {{IPA|/ɔ/}} and {{IPA|/o/}} before {{IPA|/r/}} homophones, with homophonous pairs like ''horse/hoarse, corps/core, for/four, morning/mourning, war/wore,'' etc. homophones. Many older varieties of American English still keep the sets of words distinct, particularly in the extreme Northeast, the South (especially along the Gulf Coast), and the central Midlands,{{sfn|Labov|Ash|Boberg|2006|p=52}} but the merger is evidently spreading and younger Americans rarely show the distinction. This merger is also found in most modern varieties of [[British English]].
* [[Mergers of /ɒr-/ and /ɔːr-/|"Short ''o''" before ''r'' before a vowel]]: In typical North American accents (both U.S. and Canada), the historical sequence {{IPA|/ɒr/}} (a short ''o'' sound followed by ''r'' and then another vowel, as in ''orange'', ''forest'', ''moral'', and ''warrant'') is realized as {{IPA|[oɹ~ɔɹ]}}, thus further merging with the already-merged {{IPA|/ɔr/–/oʊr/}} ([[horse–hoarse merger|''horse''–''hoarse'']]) set. In the U.S., a small number of words (namely, ''tom{{under|orr}}ow, s{{under|orr}}y, s{{under|orr}}ow, b{{under|orr}}ow,'' and ''m{{under|orr}}ow'') usually contain the sound {{IPA|[ɑɹ]}} instead and thus merge with the {{IPA|/ɑr/}} set (thus, ''sorry'' and ''[[sari]]'' become homophones, both rhyming with ''starry'').{{sfnp|Wells|1982|p=476}}
{{English -or- table|header=General American {{IPA|/ɑr/}} and {{IPA|/ɔr/}} followed by a vowel, compared with other dialects|hidden=yes}}