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In Australian idiom, a greeting often heard is "'owzit garn?" (how's it going?) or even "airzit garn." Those Rs aren't really pronounced, are they.
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In Australian idiom, a greeting often heard is "'owzit garn?" (how's it going?) or even "airzit garn." Those Rs aren't really pronounced, are they. Yes, they aren't pronounced. It's a non-rhotic dialect. 
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If they aren't pronounced, why did you put them there? Why not "aizit gan" if that's how it's pronounced? And, why "airzit garn" and not "rarirarirt rgrarn"? (^_^)
Sincererly,
Laura Norder
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If they aren't pronounced, why did you put them there?
Because non-rhotic varieties of English use them to distinguish /æ/ from /ɑ/ (i.e., a from ar). Cf. the strange, to USan eyes, reference in the first chapter of Winnie the Pooh contrasting ther Pooh with the Pooh (i.e., /ðə/ and /ðiː/). (It's one of the reasons to use IPA rather than ad hoc pseudo-phonemic spellings.)
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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yes, what he said. Although in Winnie the Pooh, the non-rhotic 'r' was not to distinguish 'ther' from 'the' but to emphasise the definite article. The contrast is between Pooh without the article and 'THE Pooh.' In some mystical, never explained way, somehow Winnie THE Pooh is a boy's name, even though Winnie is a girl's name. Besides, 'aizit' would be pronounced like eye-zit, not the same sound at all. The diphthong 'ai' by itself normally communicates the sound found in 'aisle' and is not the same sound as the ai in air, hair, chair, fair, etc (i.e. æ), whether or not you pronounce the 'r.' "And, why "airzit garn" and not "rarirarirt rgrarn"?" Because that's not where you put intrusive/non-rhotic 'r's - see the thread called 'pigeon towed' pigeon towed for previous discussion about non-rhotic spelling and pronunciation.
Last edited by The Pook; 04/04/08 03:49 AM.
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yes, what he said. Although in Winnie the Pooh, the non-rhotic 'r' was not to distinguish 'ther' from 'the' but to emphasise the definite article. The contrast is between Pooh without the article and 'THE Pooh.' In some mystical, never explained way, somehow Winnie THE Pooh is a boy's name, even though Winnie is a girl's name. Besides, 'aizit' would be pronounced like eye-zit, not the same sound at all. The diphthong 'ai' by itself normally communicates the sound found in 'aisle' and is not the same sound as the ai in air, hair, chair, fair, etc (i.e. æ), whether or not you pronounce the 'r.' "And, why "airzit garn" and not "rarirarirt rgrarn"?" Because that's not where you put intrusive/non-rhotic 'r's - see the thread called 'pigeon towed' pigeon towed for previous discussion about non-rhotic spelling and pronunciation. What Nuncle said.
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The Wikipedia article on Australian English phonology ( link) may be apropos.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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How would you spell it phonetically without using an r then? I'm thinking that you really do say an r (or at least an r-colored vowel) for some reason you'd like to deny that.
Your argument is that aizit would be eye-zit, but why airzit instead of ay-zit or A-zit if there's not a hint of arrrrrrrr sneaking in there?
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How would you spell it phonetically without using an r then?
I would have to hear the speaker say the two phrases, before attempting to transcribe them accurately. I was just saying that some non-rhotic varieties of English use an r in phonic spellings to indicate difference in vocalic quality, and not that there is anythingr-colored about the vowel. On the other hand, some non-rhotic varieties of English exhibit a phenomenon called intrusive-r, where an r intrudes in a word, where it is not phonologically or etymologically motivated: e.g., pronouncing barn /bɑːn/, but idea /ʔəjdiːɹ/ in some varieties of NE US English.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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idea /ʔəjdiːɹ/ And 'round these parts, I occasionally hear an l added on to the end of idea, as in, "I don't think much of that ideal". 
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