Who pronounces wash Warsh?

A listener named Matt wants to know why some speakers of American English pronounce the word “wash” as “warsh.” This pronunciation is sometimes called the “intrusive R,” and like our recent episode on the “pin”/“pen” merger and “cot”/“caught” merger, this question has to do with dialects of American English.

Is Warsh a Southern word?

The pronunciation isn’t so much a southern thing as a midland one. In fact, “warsh” is the predominant characteristic of what linguists call America’s midland accent.

What accent does Washington have?

Pacific Northwest English (also known, in American linguistics, as Northwest English) is a variety of North American English spoken in the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon, sometimes also including Idaho and the Canadian province of British Columbia.

Who says Idear instead of idea?

In practically all dialects of (British) English, the word “idea” would generally be followed by an ‘r’ sound when followed by another word beginning with a vowel. So for example in saying “it was his idea and decision”, this would usually be pronounced “idea-r-and decision”.

What region says Warsh instead of wash?

The accent can be found in the swath of the country that extends west from Washington, taking in Maryland; southern Pennsylvania; West Virginia; parts of Virginia; southern Ohio, Indiana and Illinois; most of Missouri; and Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, much of Kansas and west Texas.

What does the word Warsh mean?

Wash
Filters. (Appalachian) Wash.

Is there a DC accent?

D.C. is no longer majority black, and researchers are seeing the local DC accent start to move into Prince George’s County and the surrounding suburbs, says LCDC’s Minnie Annan. It’s a sort of linguistic gentrification — as people get pushed out, so does their accent.

What state says Warsh instead of wash?

The researchers have found that some distinctive Texas speech patterns, such as saying “warsh” instead of “wash” and “lard” instead of “lord,” are beginning to disappear as younger generations abandon them.

Why do some people pronounce idea with an R at the end?

The short answer is that the addition of an “r” sound at the end of a word like “soda” or “idea” is a regionalism and isn’t considered a mispronunciation. Here’s the story. In English words spelled with “r,” the consonant used to be fully pronounced everywhere.

Is Eastern American rhotic?

American English is predominantly rhotic today, but at the end of the 1800s non-rhotic accents were common throughout much of the coastal Eastern and Southern U.S., including along the Gulf Coast.

What does the word Worsh mean?

1 : to honor or show reverence for as a divine being or supernatural power. 2 : to regard with great or extravagant respect, honor, or devotion a celebrity worshipped by her fans.