pronunciation - Why the extra syllable in words like these ending in -r and -l?

First-off, I'm not a native speaker.

I've noticed that a lot of words ending in -r and -l are pronounced as if they had an extra syllable. Especially when they have a -ee- or -ai- sound.

Consider

• reap


• real


• rear

The last two are pronounced ree-ul and ree-ur. Reap is a one-syllable word. Others aren't.

More examples: beep/beer, cake/care, laid/lair

Also, words with most other sounds preceding -r don't seem to follow the pattern. Car is not caa-ur. More is not mo-ur.

So my questions are:

1. Is the extra syllable just something I'm hearing, or is it actually pronounced?


2. If it is pronounced, why do only -r and -l follow the rule?

Answer

Yes, the extra syllable is there. Like most such changes, it happens in order to simplify the pronunciation. The English long/tense vowels are diphthongs -- they end in a glide -y or -w, so when a diphthong is followed by a -l or -r in the same syllable, you're left with syllables ending in -yl, -wl, -yr, -wr, which are hard to pronounce.

In my speech, which is a Midwestern variety of Standard English, what happens to simplify the pronunciation is that either the -l or -r becomes syllabic, so you get an extra syllable (as you've observed), or else the glide -y or -w drops out, and you're left with a simple vowel preceding the -l or -r instead of a diphthong.

Personally, I make the -l syllabic in your example "real": [ɹɪjl] ==> [ɹɪj.l̩], but in "rear", instead the glide is dropped: [ɹɪjɹ] ==> [ɹɪɹ]. However, I believe syllabifying the -r and leaving the glide is also common.

I also drop the glide, making the preceding vowel a monophthong in your examples "beer", "care", and "lair", but again, I think the two syllable pronunciations are common.