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    /r/-deletion in simplex words
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    It is generally assumed that in simplex words postvocalic /r/ has been deleted when preceding a coronal consonant (see Visser (2014) for an overview of the literature). This then implies that /r/ is only part of the orthographic, but no longer of the underlying (phonological) representation of such words. An example is the word kers candle; cherry which, though spelled with r, is realized as [kɛs], without [r]. There seems to be evidence, however, that /r/ is still part of the underlying representation of words like these, hence that kers is to be represented as /kɛrs/. This topic deals with the status of postvocalic, precoronal /r/ in simplex words.

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    It is generally assumed that in simplex words postvocalic /r/ has been deleted when preceding a coronal consonant (see Visser (2014) for an overview of the literature). This implies that /r/ is only part of the orthographic, but no longer of the phonological representation of such words, hence that /r/-deletion only holds in a historical sense here. Examples of the latter are given in (1):

    Example 1

    Examples of simplex words which have lost their postvocalic /r/ when it preceded a coronal consonant
    a. Preceding /s/
    hars /has/ resin; rosin
    foars /fwas/ sturdy
    dwars /dwas/ transverse; crossgrained
    farsk /fask/ fresh
    fers /fɛs/ verse
    kers /kɛs/ candle; cherry
    hoars /hoəz/ horse (obsolete)
    boarstel /bwasəl/ brush
    goarsel(je) /ɡwasəl/ qto drill, to urge (on) (obsolete)
    b. Preceding /z/
    lears /lɪəz/ boot
    gers /ɡɛ:z/ grass
    beurs /bøəz/ purse; scholarship; fair
    oars /oəz/ different
    floers /fluəz/ crape, crepe; veil
    c. Preceding /d/
    aard /a:d/ nature
    swaard /swa:d/ rind
    weard /vɪəd/ landlord
    board /boəd/ collar; freeboard; (medium) hardboard
    board /buad/ plate
    akkoard /akoəd/ chord
    moard /moəd/ murder
    boerd /buəd/ shelf; board
    burd /bød/ beard
    hurd /hød/ hard; stove; hearth
    murd /mød/ polecat
    swurd /swød/ sword
    wurd /vød/ word
    ierde /iədə/ earth
    keardel /kɪədəl/ fellow, guy
    oarder /vwadər/ order
    d. Preceding /t/
    kaart /ka:t/ card
    taart /ta:t/ cake; tart, pie
    feart /fɪət/ canal
    hart /hat/ heart
    koart /kwat/ short
    akkoart /akoət/ agreement; agreed!
    swart /swat/ black
    wart /vat/ wart, verruca
    ploert /pluət/ cad, scab
    beurt /bøət/ turn
    fuort /fwot/ gone, away; immediately
    sturt /støt/ tail
    berte /bɛtə/ birth
    soarte /soətə/ sort, kind
    derten /dɛtən/ playful, wanton
    e. Preceding /n/
    earn /ɪən/ eagle
    fearn /fɪən/ quarter
    kearn /kɪən/ core
    (dún)doarn - /doən/ sea buckthorn
    (reid)foarn - /foən/ rudd
    hoarn /hoən/ horn
    koarn /koən/ barley
    moarn /moən/ morning; tomorrow
    bern /bɛ(:)n/ child
    jern /jɛn/ thread, yarn
    earne /ɪənə/ somewhere
    lantearne /lɔntɪənə/ lantern; streetlamp
    boarne /bwanə/ well, spring; source
    herne /hɛnə/ corner
    skerne /skɛnə/ dunghill
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    Also the nominalizing suffix -ert is never realized with [r], see the examples in (2):

    Example 2

    leffert [lɛfət] coward (next to lef [lɛf] cowardly )
    rikert [rikət] rich man (next to ryk [rik] rich, wealthy )
    liepert [liəpət] slyboots (next to liep [liəp] cunning, sly )
    swietert [swiətət] darling (next to swiet [swiət] sweet )

    The same holds for the ending -wert in placenames, see the examples in (3):

    Example 3

    Boarnwert [bwã:vət]
    Ferwert [fɛrvət]
    Holwert [holvət]
    Wânswert [vɔ̃:zvət]
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    The liquid /l/ is also a coronal consonant. This means that /r/ should have been deleted in words ending in -rl. See word-final sequences of a liquid and a liquid for an approach in which the word-final sequence -rl − as in kjirl (big) fellow, (big) guy and guorl(je) to gargle− is analyzed as /-rəl/ in underlying representation, so that -rldoes not have reality beyond the purely orthographic.

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    Deletion of /r/ preceding coronal consonants affected loanwords as well. The older loanwords in (4) testify to this (as with native words, r is still written):

    Example 4

    apart [apat] separate; special; unusual
    biljert [bɪljɛt] billiard table
    foarsje [fwasjə] energy, drive
    kefert [kəfɛt] envelope
    lúsjefers [lysjəfɛs] match
    oarder [vwadr̩] order
    party [pati] many; some

    More recent loanwords no longer drop their /r/, which is exemplified in (5):

    Example 5

    arts [arts] doctor
    eksport [ɛkspɔrt] export
    ekstern [ɛkstɛrn] external
    erts [ɛrts] ore
    fjord [fjɔrt] fjord
    fort [fɔrt] fort, fortress
    katern [katɛrn] quire
    kazerne [kasɛrnə] barracks
    konsert [kõsɛrt] concert
    luzerne [lysɛrnə] lucerne
    mars [mars] march
    miljard [mɪljart] billion
    modern [mo:dɛrn] modern
    nokturne [nɔktørnə] nocturne
    port [pɔrt] port(-wine)
    rapport [rapɔrt] report; school report
    sport [spɔrt] sports
    start [start] start
    urn [ørn] urn
    ymport [impɔrt] import, importation
    yntern [intɛrn] internal

    Words like rekord record, dessert dessert and ekspert expert, though written with final -r{d/t, are realized with a long vowel + [r]: [rəkɔ:r], [dɛsɛ:r], [ɛkspɛ:r]. This equals the Dutch pronunciation.

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    The deletion of /r/ before coronal consonants could evoke the insertion of /r/ in that position, a case of rule inversion. This occurred with the place name Ternaard (from older Tunnawerth), the suffix -ernôch (from older -ānoch), the word sinters costing a cent (< sintes //sɪnt+əs//), and the loanwords obsternaat obstinate, stubborn (< obstinaat) and otterdoks orthodox (< ottedoks, < ortedoks, < ortodoks), to give a few examples.

    There is a good deal of evidence that in earlier stages of Frisian /r/ was part of words like those in (1) (see Visser (2014)). But it is also clear that a postvocalic /r/ has been deleted when preceding a coronal consonant with which it is tautomorphemic. Several pieces of evidence testify to this.

    Firstly, words with r before a coronal consonant rhyme with words which lack r, as exemplified in (6):

    Example 6

    Examples of rhyming words with and without <r> before coronal consonants
    fers [fɛs] ~ les [lɛs] verse~lesson
    lears [lɪəs] ~ kreas [krɪəs] boot~good-looking
    hurd [høt] ~ nut [nøt] hard~usefulness
    feart [fɪət] ~ neat [nɪət] canal~naught, nothing
    moarn [moən] ~ soan [soən] morning~son
    woartel [vwatl̩] ~ skoattel [skwatl̩] root~bolt

    Secondly, the sequence of an oral vowel + the coronal nasal /n/ is turned into a nasal vowel when preceding one of the consonants /f,v,s,z,r,l,j,w/ (see the vowel nasalization scheme). Now, r before /n/ does not prevent vowel nasalization from applying, which means that the condition that the vowel and /n/ should be adjacent is met. Some examples are given in (7):

    Example 7

    Examples of vowel nasalization with words having <r> before /n/ in their orthography
    moarn sill' [mõə̃ sɪ] wy de hjouwer slaan tomorrow will we reap the oaths (first line of a popular folk song)
    sok jern rekket [jɛ̃ rɛkət] samar yn 'e tiis such thread easily ends up in a tangle
    bern wolle [bɛ̃: volə] altyd wat oars children always want something else
    de Boarn rint [bõə̃ rɪnt] hjir lykop mei de dyk the road follows the course of the river de Boarn here
    fearnsjier [fɪ̃ə̃ziər] quarter (of a year)
    bernsk [bɛ̃:sk] senile

    With respect to vowel nasalization then words ending in -rn behave like words ending in /-n/, like soan /soən/ son, sjen /sjɛn/ to see, and lean /lɪən/ pay, wages.

    The pattern is different for (recent) loanwords ending in the sequence /-rn/, see (8):

    Example 8

    Examples of loanwords in -/rn/, which do not undergo vowel nasalization
    de urn fan [ørn fɔn] [*ø̃r fɔn] ús pake sil hjoed ynmitsele wurde today my grandfather's urn (ashes) wille be placed in the urn wall
    in modern stik [mo:dɛrn stɪk] [*mo:dɛ̃r stɪk] a modern piece (of art, music)

    In the above examples, the vowel and /n/ are not adjacent. They are separated by /r/, as a result of which vowel nasalization is prevented from applying, so urn and modern are realized with an oral vowel.

    Thirdly, the voiced alveolar plosive /d/ may alternate with /r/, provided a) it is in intervocalic position and b) it is the onset of an unstressed syllable (see intervocalic /d/ and /r/). Some examples are given in (9):

    Example 9

    Examples of the alternation between /d/ and /r/
    Fedde / Fêde /fɛ(:)də/ men's name ~ [fɛ(:)rə]
    noadich /noədəɣ/ necessary ~ [noərəx]
    pudding /pødɪŋ/ pudding ~ [pørɪŋ]
    hâlde /hɔ:də/ hold ~ [hɔ:rə]

    This /d/-rhotacism has also affected words with <rd>, see (10):

    Example 10

    Words with <rd> affected by /d/-rhotacism
    aardich /a:dəɣ/ nice ~ [a:rəx]
    oardel /o.ədəl/ one and a half ~ [o.ərəl]
    wurde /vødə/ to become ~ [vørə]

    For the words in (10) to meet the conditions on /d/-rhotacism, /r/ had to delete first.

    All in all then there seems to be strong evidence that /r/ is no longer part of the words in (1), (6), (7), and (10) or, put differently, that it is no more than an orthographic reality.

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    Those who are not used to writing Frisian often misspell the quantifier (in) soad [soət] a lot, lots, heaps as (in) soart, so with -rt. This is a strong indication that (in) soad and soart sort, kind are homophonous.

    However, there also seems to be evidence to the contrary, viz. that r preceding coronal consonants, though not realized, has phonological reality and that /r/ is part of the underlying representation of the morphemes in question (see Visser (2014)). This evidence pertains to generalizations concerning phonotactic restrictions and sound patterns.

    Firstly, /r/ may not be preceded by a (short or long) close or a long half-close vowel. In effect, the sequences /{i(:),y(:),u(:),e:,ø:,o:}r/ are out. It appears to be the case that these vowels do not occur before coronal consonants if the latter are preceded by a written r, whereas most of them can precede coronals, as exemplified in (11):

    Example 11

    Examples of close vowels and long half-close vowels preceding a coronal consonant
    bliid /bli:d/ glad
    rizel /ri:zəl/ lard
    ridel(je) /ridəl/ to shiver, to tremble
    húd /hy:d/ skin (of a living creature)
    húl /hyl/ skin (of berries and dried vegetables)
    hûd /hu:d/ skin (of a living creature)
    hûs /hu:z/ house
    poes /puz/ (pussy)cat
    skeel /ske:l/ dispute, disagreement
    freze /fre:zə/ fear, fright
    reus /rø:z/ giant
    heul /hø:l/ whole; very (much)
    soon /so:n/ healthy; sound
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    húd, heul, and soon are dialectal forms, the Standard Frisian counterparts of which are hûd, hiel, and sûn, respectively.

    So, whereas bliid and hûd are fine, *bliird and *hûrd are out. A general distributional statement is only possible here if /r/ is assumed to be part of the underlying representation of the morphemes concerned.

    Secondly, the distribution of the long half-close monophthong /e:/ and the 'corresponding' centring diphthong /ɪə/ is such that both can precede /d/ and /t/, as the minimal pairs in (12a) show. When followed by /r/, only /ɪə/ is allowed, a pattern which also holds before rt and rd, as shown in (12b) and (12c), respectively.

    Example 12

    The distribution of /e:/ (<ee>) and /ɪə/ (<ea>) preceding /{t/d}, /r/, and <r{t/d}>
    a. Minimal pairs preceding /t/ and /d/
    sleat ditch ~ sleet sale
    keat pastern, link ~ keet hut, shed
    lead lead ~ leed sorrow; grief
    read red ~ reed skate; dirt road
    b. No minimal pairs preceding /r/
    fear feather ~ *feer
    wear wether, doctored ram ~ *weer
    c. No minimal pairs preceding <rt> and <rd>
    feart canal ~ *feert
    Geart man's name ~ *Geert
    weard landlord ~ *weerd
    sweard lee board ~ *sweerd
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    sweard is a dialectal form, the Standard Frisian counterpart of which is swurd.

    Assuming /r/ to be part of the underlying representation of morphemes like those in (12c) enables us to arrive at a uniform explanation of the distributional differences between /e:/ en /ɪə/. Without underlying /r/ such an explanation is hardly possible, if at all. In any case will it be much more complex.

    Thirdly, quite some words show a (dialectal) alternation between /ɛr/ and /ar/, exemplified in (13):

    Example 13

    Examples of the alternation between /ɛr/ (<er>) and /ar/ (<ar/)
    berm ~ barm verge, side of the road
    ferve ~ farve paint
    herberge ~ harbarge inn
    reberber ~ rebarber rhubarb
    dwerrelje ~ dwarrelje to whirl, to swirl

    Words with <r> followed by a coronal consonant may show the same alternation, see the examples in (14):

    Example 14

    Examples of the alternation between /ɛr/ (<er>) and /ar/ (<ar/) with words with <r> followed by a coronal consonant
    hert ~ hart heart
    herne ~ harne corner
    skerne ~ skarne dunghill
    hers ~ hars resin; rosin
    fersk ~ farsk fresh
    kers ~ karse candle; cherry
    berst(e) ~ barst(e) to burst

    Assuming /r/ to be part of the underlying representation of the words in (14) increases the scope of the /ɛr/~ /ar/-alternation to a great extent. It enables us to arrive at a uniform, insightful analysis. Besides, in not doing so, we are forced to assume an /ɛ/~ /a/-alternation before coronal consonants, which lacks any generality.

    Fourthly, when preceding a nasal consonant, the short, half open front vowel /ɛ/ has for the most part turned into the short, half close front vowel /ɪ/ (Sytstra and Hof (192:15), Hoekstra (2001b:724)). This is exemplified in (15):

    Example 15

    Examples of the historical change from /ɛ/ (<e>) to /ɪ/ (<i>) before a nasal consonant
    a. Words with only /ɪ/
    rinne to walk (cf. Dutch rennen )
    himd vest (cf. Dutch hemd )
    kring carrion (cf. Dutch kreng )
    b. Words which show an alternation between /ɛ/ and /ɪ/
    st{e/i}mme to vote (cf. Dutch stemmen )
    sw{e/i}mme to swim (cf. Dutch zwemmen )
    bed{e/i}mje to suppress
    p{e/i}nne pen; pin (cf. Dutch pen )
    [Note: Since the Dutch cognates all have /ɛ/ ( e), the forms with /ɪ/ ( i) are propagated in Standard Frisian.]
    c. Words which systematically have /ɛ/ preceding <rn>
    beskern befallen, granted
    jern thread, yarn
    ferlern lost
    jerne gladly, with pleasure
    tsjerne milk churn
    bern child (~ barn )
    herne corner (~ harne )
    skerne dunghill (~ skarne )

    The words in (15c) are not in conformity with the generalization that the tautomorphemic sequence /ɛ/ + nasal consonant does not occur. Assuming /r/ to be part of the underlying representation of these words gives an explanation for their deviant behaviour in this respect. The final three words ‒ bern, herne, and skerne ‒ alternate with forms with /a/; this is another indication for an underlying /r/, since it enables these words to participate in the independently motivated /ɛr/~ /ar/-alternation.

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    As to their form, beskern and ferlern are past participles. The accompanying verb of beskern is no longer in use, in the case of ferlern, it is ferlieze. Both forms stand in a relation of allomorphy at best. Therefore, it can be safely assumed that both past participles are morphemes/words in their own right.

    Fifthly, the centring diphthongs /ɪə/ ( ea) and /iə/ ( ie) and /oə/ ( oa) and /uə/ ( oe) may alternate when preceding /r/ (see Sytstra and Hof (1925:37,40)). The word pairs for which this is the case are enumerated in (16):

    Example 16

    Word pairs with the alternation /iə/ ~ /ɪə/ and /oə/ ~ /uə/ preceding /r/
    a. With a plain centring diphthong
    hier ~ hear hair (in: yn syn hiele hear en fear completely )
    fier ~ fear far (in: fearrekiker binoculars , fearskoan beautiful at a distance )
    ier ~ ear early (in: earder earlier , earst first )
    kier ~ kear chink
    manier ~ manear manner
    riere ~ reare to stir
    moar ~ moer mother
    tsjoar ~ tsjoer tether
    b. With a broken (centring) diphthong
    stjir(re) ~ stjer(re) star
    djirre ~ djerre (egg) yolk
    boarrel ~ buorrel drink
    goarrelje ~ guorrelje to gargle
    hoarre! ~ huorre! call to urge on pigs
    toarre ~ tuorre beetle
    enoar ~ enuor each other, one another
    snoarje ~ snuorje period, time
    c. Preceding <r> + coronal consonant
    ierde ~ earde earth
    gjirde ~ gearde twig, sprig
    foart ~ fuort gone, away
    woartel ~ wuortel root, carrot

    Assuming /r/ to be part of the underlying representation of the words in (16c) increases the scope of this alternation, at the same time enabling us to arrive at a uniform, insightful analysis. In not doing so, we are forced to assume an /iə/~ /ɪə/- and /oə/~ /uə/-alternation before coronal consonants, which lacks any generality.

    Sixthly, Frisian has the phonotactic restriction that the open vowel /a/ is not allowed to precede a coronal consonant with which it is tautomorphemic (see gaps in the distribution of the single consonants in word-final position); this is illustrated in (17):

    Example 17

    Examples of words with <a> preceding a coronal consonant
    fan /fɔn/ of, from
    jas /jɔs/ coat
    kat /kɔt/ cat
    panne /pɔnə/ pan; tile; plate
    bal /bɔl/ ball
    kladde /klɔdə/ (paper) bag; (rough) draft
    plasse /plɔsə/ puddle; brainpan
    latte /lɔtə/ slat

    The above words are written with a, but their (full) vowel is the half open back vowel /ɔ/. There are several classes of exceptions to this restriction. The one of interest for the issue at hand is the following:

    One of the classes of exceptions to the /a/ + coronal-restriction
    If the coronal consonant is preceded by r, the word in question is realized with the (full) vowel [a]

    The words in (18) illustrate this pattern:

    Example 18

    Examples of wors illustrating the pattern of exceptions stated above
    hart heart [hat]
    wart wart, verruca [vat]
    hars resin; rosin [has]
    swart black [swat]
    parse press [pasə]
    flarde shred [fladə]
    barte loose wooden bridge without rails [batə]
    skarne dunghill [skanə]

    Assuming /r/ to be part of the underlying representation of the words in (18) increases the scope of this class of exceptions to the /a/ + coronal-restriction to a considerable extent. If we do not assume this, these words have to be marked as exceptional on an individual basis, for the formulation of which written r must be invoked.

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    When not assuming an underlying /r/ in wart, the word pair wat /vɔt/ what ~ wart /vat/ wart, verruca constitutes a full-fledged minimal pair. In the approach put forward here, it does not: /vɔt/ ~ /vart/.

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    It is an inevitable consequence of the assumption that /r/ is part of the underlying representation of the words concerned that some procedure of /r/-deletion has to be assumed as well − from which loanwords must be exempted. This leads to questions concerning a) the level of abtractness in phonology, b) the learnability of phonological patterns, c) the relation between phonology and orthography (see, for instance, chapter 12 of Berent (2013)), d) the relation (and huge overlap) between the Dutch and Frisian lexicon. This will not be taken up here.

    References:
    • Berent, Iris2013The Phonological MindCambridge
    • Hoekstra, Jarich2001An Outline History of West FrisianMunske, Horst Haider, Århammar, Nils, Hoekstra, J.F., Vries, O., Walker, A.G.H., Wilts, O. & Faltings, V.F. (eds.)Handbuch des Friesischen/ Handbook of Frisian StudiesMax Niemeyer722-734
    • Sytstra, Onno H. & Hof, Jan J1925Nieuwe Friesche SpraakkunstLeeuwardenR. van der Velde
    • Sytstra, Onno H. & Hof, Jan J1925Nieuwe Friesche SpraakkunstLeeuwardenR. van der Velde
    • Visser, Willem2014Hoe stom is de stomme /r/?Philologia Frisica anno 2012. Lezingen fan it njoggentjinde Frysk Filologenkongres fan de Fryske Akademy op 13, 14 en 15 juny 2012243-268
    • Visser, Willem2014Hoe stom is de stomme /r/?Philologia Frisica anno 2012. Lezingen fan it njoggentjinde Frysk Filologenkongres fan de Fryske Akademy op 13, 14 en 15 juny 2012243-268
    • Visser, Willem2014Hoe stom is de stomme /r/?Philologia Frisica anno 2012. Lezingen fan it njoggentjinde Frysk Filologenkongres fan de Fryske Akademy op 13, 14 en 15 juny 2012243-268
    • Visser, Willem2014Hoe stom is de stomme /r/?Philologia Frisica anno 2012. Lezingen fan it njoggentjinde Frysk Filologenkongres fan de Fryske Akademy op 13, 14 en 15 juny 2012243-268
    ABOUT THIS TOPIC
    Author(s):
    Willem Visser
    Category:
    Frisian Phonology
    Publication date:
    14 May 2020
    Keywords:
    /r/-deletionsimplex words
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