View source for English-language vowel changes before historic /r/

{{Short description|none}}
{{English phonology topics}}
{{IPA notice}}
In [[English language|English]], many [[vowel shift]]s affect only vowels followed by {{IPA|/r/}} in [[rhotic and non-rhotic accents|rhotic dialects]], or vowels that were historically followed by {{IPA|/r/}} that has been elided in non-rhotic dialects. Most of them involve the merging of [[vowel]] distinctions, so fewer vowel [[phonemes]] occur before {{IPA|/r/}} than in other positions of a word.

== Overview ==
{{See also|Rhoticity in English}}

In rhotic dialects, {{IPA|/r/}} is pronounced in most cases. In [[General American English]] (GA), {{IPA|/r/}} is pronounced as an approximant {{IPAblink|ɹ}} or {{IPAblink|ɻ}} in most positions, but after some vowels, it is pronounced as [[r-colored vowel|''r''-coloring]]. In [[Scottish English]], {{IPA|/r/}} is traditionally pronounced as a flap {{IPAblink|ɾ}} or trill {{IPAblink|r}}, and there are no ''r''-colored vowels.

In non-rhotic dialects like [[Received Pronunciation]] (RP), historic {{IPA|/r/}} is [[elision|elided]] at the [[Syllable#Coda|end of a syllable]], and if the preceding vowel is stressed, it undergoes [[compensatory lengthening]] or [[vowel breaking|breaking]] (diphthongization). Thus, words that historically had {{IPA|/r/}} often have [[vowel length|long vowels]] or [[centering diphthong]]s ending in a schwa {{IPA|/ə/}}, or a diphthong followed by a schwa.
* ''earth'': GA {{IPA|[ɝθ]}}, RP {{IPA|[ɜːθ]}}
* ''here'': GA {{IPA|[ˈhɪɚ]}}, RP {{IPA|[ˈhɪə]}}
* ''fire'': GA {{IPA|[ˈfaɪɚ]}}, RP {{IPA|[ˈfaɪə]}}

In most English dialects, there are vowel shifts that affect only vowels before {{IPA|/r/}} or vowels that were historically followed by {{IPA|/r/}}. Vowel shifts before historical {{IPA|/r/}} fall into two categories: mergers and splits. Mergers are more common, so most English dialects have fewer vowel distinctions before historical {{IPA|/r/}} than in other positions of a word.

In many [[North American English|North American dialects]], there are ten or eleven stressed [[monophthongs]]; only five or six vowel (rarely seven) contrasts are possible before a preconsonantal and word-final {{IPA|/r/}} (''beer, bear, burr, bar, bore, bor, boor''). Often, more contrasts exist if {{IPA|/r/}} appears between vowels of different syllables. In some American dialects and in most native English dialects outside North America, for example, ''mirror'' and ''nearer'' do not [[feminine rhyme|rhyme]], and some or all of ''marry'', ''merry'', and ''Mary'' are pronounced distinctly. (In North America, those distinctions are most likely to occur in [[New York City English|New York City]], [[Philadelphia dialect|Philadelphia]], some of Eastern New England (including [[Boston accent|Boston]]), and in conservative [[Southern American English|Southern accents]].) In many dialects, however, the number of contrasts in that position tends to be reduced, and the tendency seems to be towards further reduction. The difference in how the reductions have been manifested represents one of the greatest sources of cross-dialect variation.

Non-rhotic accents in many cases show mergers in the same positions as rhotic accents even though there is often no {{IPA|/r/}} phoneme present. That results partly from mergers that occurred before the {{IPA|/r/}} was lost and partly from later mergers of the centering diphthongs and long vowels that resulted from the loss of {{IPA|/r/}}.

The phenomenon that occurs in many dialects of the United States is one of [[tense–lax neutralization]]{{sfnp|Wells|1982|pp=479–485}} in which the normal English distinction between [[tense and lax vowels]] is eliminated.

In some cases, the quality of a vowel before {{IPA|/r/}} is different from the quality of the vowel elsewhere. For example, in some dialects of [[American English]], the quality of the vowel in ''more'' typically does not occur except before {{IPA|/r/}}, and it is somewhere in between the vowels of ''maw'' and ''mow''. It is similar to the vowel of the latter word but without the [[diphthong|glide]].

It is important to note, however, that different mergers occur in different dialects. Generally, these correlate to accents with [[R-colored vowel|rhotic vowels]], as opposed to non-rhoticity (as in most of [[British English]]) or fully pronounced [[Voiced dental, alveolar and postalveolar trills|/r/]] (as in [[Scottish English]]).

== Mergers before intervocalic ''R'' ==
Most North American English dialects merge the lax vowels with the tense vowels before {{IPA|/r/}}, so "marry" and "merry" have the same vowel as "mare", "mirror" has the same vowel as "mere", "forest" has the same vowel as the stressed form of "for", and "hurry" has the same vowel as "stir" as well as that found in the second syllable of "letter". The mergers are typically resisted by non-rhotic North Americans and are largely absent in areas of the United States that are historically largely non-rhotic.

=== ''Hurry''–''furry'' merger ===
{{listen
| type = speech
| filename = En-ne-hurry furry.ogg
| title = Distinction between ''hurry'' and ''furry''
| description = ''Hurry'' vs. ''furry'' ({{IPA|[ˈhʌri] vs. [ˈfɝi]}})
}}
{{listen
| type         = speech
| filename     = En-us-worry.ogg
| title        = Speaker with merger: ''worry'' {{IPA|cat=no|[ˈwɝi]}}
| description  = 
| filename2    = En-us-ne-worry.ogg
| title2       = Speaker without merger: ''worry'' {{IPA|cat=no|[ˈwʌri]}}
| description2 = 
}}

The ''hurry''–''furry'' merger occurs when the vowel {{IPA|/ʌ/}} before intervocalic {{IPA|/r/}} is merged with {{IPA|/ɜ/}}. That is particularly a feature in many dialects of [[North American English]] but not [[New York City English]], [[Mid-Atlantic American English]], [[older Southern American English]], some speakers of [[Eastern New England English]],{{sfnp|Wells|1982|pp=201–2, 244}} and speakers of [[New England English|Southeastern New England English]]. Speakers with the merger pronounce ''hurry'' to rhyme with ''furry'' and ''turret'' to rhyme with ''stir{{nbsp}}it''.

To occur, the merger requires the [[nurse mergers|{{allcaps|nurse}} mergers]] to be in full effect, which is the case in nearly all English dialects worldwide, particularly outside the British Isles. However, in Scotland, ''hurry'' {{IPA|/ˈhʌre/}} is a perfect rhyme of ''furry'' {{IPA|/ˈfʌre/}}, but also the {{smallcaps2|nurse}} mergers have never developed there, meaning that {{smallcaps2|strut}}, {{smallcaps2|dress}} and {{smallcaps2|kit}} can all still exist before both intervocalic and coda {{IPA|/r/}}; thus, ''fur'', ''fern'', and ''fir'' have distinct vowels: {{IPA|/fʌr, fɛrn, fɪr/}}.

Dialects in England, Wales, and most others outside North America maintain the distinction between both sounds, so ''hurry'' and ''furry'' do not rhyme.{{sfnp|Wells|1982|pp=201–2, 244}} However, in dialects without the [[foot–strut split|''foot''–''strut'' split]], ''hurry'' has an entirely different vowel: {{IPA|/ˈhʊri/}} (in a number of those dialects, a [[square–nurse merger|''square''–''nurse'' merger]] is in effect instead).

[[General American]] has a three-way merger between the first vowels in ''hurry'' and ''furry'' and the unstressed vowel in ''letters''. In Received Pronunciation, all of them have different sounds ({{IPA|/ʌ/}}, {{IPA|/ɜː/}} and {{IPA|/ə/}}, respectively), and some minimal pairs exist between unstressed {{IPA|/ɜː/}} and {{IPA|/ə/}}, such as ''foreword'' {{IPA|/ˈfɔːwɜːd/}} vs. ''forward'' {{IPA|/ˈfɔːwəd/}}. In General American, they collapse to {{IPA|[ˈfɔrwɚd]}}, but in phonemic transcription, they can still be differentiated as {{IPA|/ˈfɔrwɜrd/}} and {{IPA|/ˈfɔrwərd/}} to facilitate comparisons with other accents.{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}} General American also often lacks a proper opposition between {{IPA|/ʌ/}} and {{IPA|/ə/}}, which makes minimal pairs such as ''unorthodoxy'' and ''an orthodoxy'' variably homophonous as {{IPA|/ənˈɔrθədɑksi/}}.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Wells|1982|pp=132, 480–481}}</ref> See the [[strut–comma merger|''strut''–''comma'' merger]] for more information.

In [[New Zealand English]], there is a consistent contrast between ''hurry'' and ''furry'', but the unstressed {{IPA|/ə/}} is lengthened to {{IPA|/ɜː/}} (phonetically {{IPAblink|ɵː}}) in many positions, particularly in formal or slow speech and especially when it is spelled {{angbr|er}}. Thus, ''boarded'' and ''bordered'' might be distinguished as {{IPA|/ˈbɔːdəd/}} and {{IPA|/ˈbɔːdɜːd/}}, which is homophonous in [[Australian English]] as {{IPA|/ˈbɔːdəd/}} and distinguished in Received Pronunciation as {{IPA|/ˈbɔːdɪd/}} and {{IPA|/ˈbɔːdəd/}}, based on the length and the rounding of {{IPA|/ɜː/}}. The shift was caused by a complete phonemic merger of {{IPA|/ɪ/}} and {{IPA|/ə/}}, a [[weak vowel merger]] that was generalized to all environments.{{sfnp|Bauer|Warren|2004|pp=582, 585, 587–588, 591}}

{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|+ class="nowrap" | ''hurry''–''furry'' merger homophones
! {{IPA|/ʌr/}}
! {{IPA|/ʊr/}}
! {{IPA|/ɜr/}}
! IPA
|-
| currier
| courier
|
| {{IPA|/ˈkɜriər/}}
|-
| demurrer (''legal objection'')
| 
| demurrer (''one who demurs'')
| {{IPA|/dɪˈmɜriər/}}
|-
| furrier (n.)
| Fourier
| furrier (adj.)
| {{IPA|/ˈfɜriər/}}
|}

===''Mary''–''marry''–''merry'' merger===<!-- linked from redirect [[Mary–marry–merry merger]] -->
{{Listen
| type        = speech
| filename    = Mary-marry-merry.ogg
| title       = Mary–marry–merry
| description = Example of an American speaker without the ''Mary''–''marry''–''merry'' merger
| pos         =}}

One notable merger of vowels before {{IPA|/r/}} is the '''''Mary''–''marry''–''merry'' merger''',<ref name="dialectsurvey">{{cite web|url=http://cfprod01.imt.uwm.edu/Dept/FLL/linguistics/dialect/staticmaps/q_15.html|title=Dialect Survey Question 15: How do you pronounce Mary/merry/marry?|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061125223544/http://cfprod01.imt.uwm.edu/Dept/FLL/linguistics/dialect/staticmaps/q_15.html|archive-date=November 25, 2006|url-status=dead}}</ref> a merging of the vowels {{IPA|/æ/}} (as in the name ''[[Carrie (name)|Carrie]]'' or the word ''marry'') and {{IPA|/ɛ/}} (as in ''[[Kerry (name)|Kerry]]'' or ''merry'') with the historical {{IPA|/eɪ/}} (as in ''[[Cary (given name)|Cary]]'' or ''[[Mary (given name)|Mary]]'') whenever they are realized before intervocalic {{IPA|/r/}}. No contrast exists before a final or preconsonantal {{IPA|/r/}}, where {{IPA|/æ/}} merged with {{IPA|/ɑ/}} and {{IPA|/ɛ/}} with {{IPA|/ɜ/}} (see [[nurse mergers]]) centuries ago.{{sfnp|Wells|1982|pp=199–203, 211–12, 480–82}} The merger is fairly widespread and is complete or nearly complete in most varieties of North American English,<ref group="sample">{{cite web |url=http://www.alt-usage-english.org/mmm_bc.wav |title=Sample of a speaker with the ''Mary''–''marry''–''merry'' merger Text: "Mary, dear, make me merry; say you'll marry me. |website=alt-usage-english.org |access-date=2005-05-22 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050930121346/http://www.alt-usage-english.org/mmm_bc.wav |archive-date=2005-09-30}}</ref> but it is rare in other varieties of English. The following variants are common in North America:
* The full ''Mary''–''marry''–''merry'' merger (also known, in this context, as the three-way merger) is found throughout much of the United States (particularly the Western and Central United States) and in all of Canada except Montreal.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}} This is found in about 57% of American English speakers, according to a 2003 dialect survey.<ref name="dialectsurvey" /> The merger is highlighted in the song ''[[Merry Go 'Round (Kacey Musgraves song)|Merry Go 'Round]]'', whose central wordplay revolves around "Mary", "marry", and "merry" having the exact same pronunciation in the singer's accent.
* No merger, also known as a three-way contrast, exists in North America primarily in the Northeastern United States and is most clearly documented in the accents of [[Philadelphia accent|Philadelphia]], [[New Jersey]], [[New York City English|New York City]], [[Rhode Island]], and [[Boston accent|Boston]]. In the [[Philadelphia]] accent, the three-way contrast is preserved, but ''merry'' tends to be merged with ''Murray'' (see [[#Merry–Murray merger|''merry''–''Murray'' merger]] below). The three-way contrast is found in about 17% of American English speakers overall.<ref name="dialectsurvey" /><ref>{{Harvp|Labov|Ash|Boberg|2006|pp=56}}</ref><ref group="sample">{{cite web |url=http://www.alt-usage-english.org/mmm_rf.wav | title=Sample of a speaker with the three-way distinction of ''Mary'', ''marry'', and ''merry''|website=alt-usage-english.org |access-date=2005-05-22 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050930121353/http://www.alt-usage-english.org/mmm_rf.wav |archive-date=2005-09-30}}</ref>
* The ''Mary''–''marry'' merger is found alone with 16% of American English speakers overall, with the highest concentration in [[New England]], especially [[New Hampshire]].<ref name="dialectsurvey" />
* The ''Mary''–''merry'' merger is found alone among 9% of American English speakers overall, concentrated in the American South, especially [[Louisiana]] where it is the most common variant,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cfprod01.imt.uwm.edu/Dept/FLL/linguistics/dialect/staticmaps/state_LA.html|title=Dialect Survey Results: LOUISIANA|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060909170817/http://cfprod01.imt.uwm.edu/Dept/FLL/linguistics/dialect/staticmaps/state_LA.html|archive-date=September 9, 2006|access-date=September 16, 2023|url-status=dead}}</ref> and the Southern part of the [[Mid-Atlantic (United States)|Mid-Atlantic region]].<ref name="dialectsurvey" />{{sfnp|Labov|Ash|Boberg|2006|pp=54, 56}} It is also found among [[Quebec English|Anglophones]] in [[Montreal]].
* The ''merry''–''marry'' merger is found alone rarely, with about 1% of American English speakers.

In accents without the merger, ''Mary'' has the ''a'' sound of ''mare'', ''marry'' has the "short ''a''" sound of ''mat'', and merry has the "short ''e''" sound of ''met''. In modern Received Pronunciation, they are pronounced as {{IPA|[ˈmɛːɹiː]}}, {{IPA|[ˈmaɹiː]}}, and {{IPA|[ˈmɛɹiː]}}; in Australian English, as {{IPA|[ˈmeːɹiː]}}, {{IPA|[ˈmæɹiː ~ ˈmaɹiː]}}, and {{IPA|[ˈmeɹiː]}}; in New York City English, as {{IPA|[ˈmeɹi⁓ˈmɛəɹi]}}, {{IPA|[ˈmæɹi]}}, and {{IPA|[ˈmɛɹi]}}; and in Philadelphia English, the same as New York City except ''merry'' is {{IPA|[ˈmɛɹi⁓ˈmʌɹi]}}. There is plenty of variance in the distribution of the merger, with expatriate communities of those speakers being formed all over the country.

The ''Mary''–''merry'' merger is possible in New Zealand, and the quality of the merged vowel is then {{IPAblink|e̝}} (similar to {{smallcaps2|kit}} in General American). However, in New Zealand, the vowel in ''Mary'' often merges with the {{smallcaps2|near}} vowel {{IPA|/iə/}} instead (see [[near–square merger|''near''–''square'' merger]]), which before intervocalic {{IPA|/r/}} may then merge with {{IPA|/iː/}}, so ''Mary'' (phonemically {{IPA|/ˈmeəriː/}}) can be {{IPA|[ˈmiəɹiː]}} or {{IPA|[ˈmiːɹiː]}} instead. In all of those cases, there is a clear distinction between ''Mary'' and ''merry'' (regardless of how both are pronounced) and ''marry'' {{IPA|/ˈmɛriː/}} (with the {{smallcaps2|trap}} vowel) on the other.{{sfnp|Bauer|Warren|2004|pp=582–583, 588, 592}}

{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|+ class="nowrap" | ''Mary''–''marry''–''merry'' merger homophones
! {{IPA|/ær/}}
! {{IPA|/ɛər/}}
! {{IPA|/ɛr/}}
! IPA
! Notes
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align: center;"| Aaron{{efn|name=Aaron|''Aaron'' may be pronounced either {{IPA|/ˈærən/}} or {{IPA|/ˈɛərən/}} by speakers without the merger<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/aaron|title=Aaron - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and notes|publisher=[[Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary]]|access-date=2025-01-16}}</ref>.}} || [[Erin]] || {{IPA|ˈɛrən}} || with [[weak-vowel merger]]
|-
| apparel 
| - || a peril || {{IPA|əˈpɛrəl}} || with [[weak-vowel merger]]
|-
| arable 
| airable || errable || {{IPA|ˈɛrəbəl}} ||
|-
| - 
| airer || error || {{IPA|ˈɛrə(r)}} ||
|-
| barrel 
| - || beryl || {{IPA|ˈbɛrəl}} || with weak-vowel merger before {{IPA|/l/}}
|-
| barrier 
| - || burier || {{IPA|ˈbɛriə(r)}} ||
|-
| [[Barry (name)|Barry]] 
| - || berry || {{IPA|ˈbɛri}} ||
|-
| Barry 
| - || bury || {{IPA|ˈbɛri}} ||
|-
| [[Carrie (name)|Carrie]] 
| [[Cary (disambiguation)|Cary]] || [[Kerry (name)|Kerry]] || {{IPA|ˈkɛri}} ||
|-
| carry 
| Cary || [[Kerry (disambiguation)|Kerry]] || {{IPA|ˈkɛri}} ||
|-
| - 
| chary || cherry || {{IPA|ˈtʃɛri}} ||
|-
| - 
| dairy || [[Derry]] || {{IPA|ˈdɛri}} ||
|-
| - 
| fairy || ferry || {{IPA|ˈfɛri}} ||
|-
| [[Farrell (surname)|Farrell]] 
| - || feral || {{IPA|ˈfɛrəl}} || with weak-vowel merger before {{IPA|/l/}}
|-
| farrier 
| - || ferrier || {{IPA|ˈfɛriə(r)}} ||
|-
| farrow 
| [[Faroe Islands|Faroe]]‡ || - || {{IPA|ˈfɛroʊ}} ||
|-
| farrow 
| pharaoh‡ || - || {{IPA|ˈfɛroʊ}} ||
|-
| harrowing 
| - || heroin || {{IPA|ˈhɛroʊɪn}} || with [[G-dropping]]
|-
| harrowing 
| - || heroine || {{IPA|ˈhɛroʊɪn}} || with [[G-dropping]]
|-
| [[Harry (given name)|Harry]] 
| hairy || - || {{IPA|ˈhɛri}} ||
|-
| - 
| haring || herring || {{IPA|ˈhɛrɪŋ}} ||
|-
| [[Harold (given name)|Harold]]
| - || herald || {{IPA|ˈhɛrəld}} ||
|-
| marry 
| [[Mary (given name)|Mary]] || merry || {{IPA|ˈmɛri}} ||
|-
| parish 
| - || perish || {{IPA|ˈpɛrɪʃ}} ||
|-
| parry 
| - || [[Perry]] || {{IPA|ˈpɛri}} ||
|-
| - 
| scary || skerry || {{IPA|ˈskɛri}} ||
|-
| - 
| [[Tara (disambiguation)|Tara]]‡ || [[Terra (disambiguation)|Terra]] || {{IPA|ˈtɛrə}} ||
|-
| tarrier 
| - || terrier || {{IPA|ˈtɛriə(r)}} ||
|-
| tarry 
| - || [[Terry]] || {{IPA|ˈtɛri}} ||
|-
| - 
| tearable || [[wikt:terrible|terrible]] || {{IPA|ˈtɛrəbəl}} || with weak-vowel merger before {{IPA|/b/}}
|-
| - 
| tearer || terror || {{IPA|ˈtɛrə(r)}} || 
|-
| - 
| vary‡ || very || {{IPA|ˈvɛri}} ||
|-
| - 
| wary || wherry || {{IPA|ˈwɛri}} || with [[wine–whine merger|''wine''–''whine'' merger]]
|-
|colspan="4"|‡In a [[New York accent]], many of the words spelled with <ar> use {{IPA|/ær/}}.
|}

=== ''Merry''–''Murray'' merger ===
The ''merry''–''Murray'' merger, also known as the ''furry''–''ferry'' merger, is a merger of {{IPA|/ɛ/}} and {{IPA|/ʌ/}} before {{IPA|/r/}}, with the resulting vowel being {{IPA|[ʌ]}}. It is common in the [[Philadelphia accent]],{{sfnp|Labov|Ash|Boberg|2006|pp=54, 238}} which does not usually have the ''marry''–''merry'' merger; its "short a" {{IPA|/æ/}}, as in ''marry'' and its SQUARE vowel {{IPA|/e/}} remain distinct unmerged classes before {{IPA|/r/}}.<ref>{{cite book|title=A Handbook of Varieties of English Volume 1: Phonology|editor=Bernd Kortmann and Edgar W. Schneider |author=Matthew J. Gordon |publisher=De Gruyter|year=2004|pages=290, 292}}</ref> Therefore, ''merry'' and ''Murray'' are both pronounced as {{IPA|[ˈmʌri]}}, but ''marry'' {{IPA|[ˈmæri]}} and ''Mary'' {{IPA|[ˈmeri]}} are distinct from this merged pair (and each other).
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|+ class="nowrap" | ''merry''–''Murray'' merger homophones
! {{IPA|/ɛr/}}
! {{IPA|/ʌr/}}
! IPA
! Notes
|-
| ferrier || furrier (n.) || {{IPA|ˈfʌriər}}
|
|-
| Kerry || curry || {{IPA|ˈkʌri}}
|
|-
| merry || Murray || {{IPA|ˈmʌri}}
|
|-
| skerry || scurry || {{IPA|ˈskʌri}}
|
|}

=== ''Mirror''–''nearer'' and {{IPA|/ʊr/–/uːr/}} mergers ===
The mergers of {{IPA|/ɪr/}} and {{IPA|/iːr/}} (as in ''mirror'' and ''nearer'', or ''Sirius'' and ''serious'', respectively) and {{IPA|/ʊr/–/uːr/}} occur in North American English as a part of pre-{{IPA|/r/}} laxing, together with the [[Mary–merry merger|''Mary''–''merry'']] and [[horse–hoarse merger|''horse''–''hoarse'' mergers]]. The phonetic outcome of the first merger is either a lax vowel {{IPAblink|ɪ}}, or a somewhat raised vowel that approaches the monophthongal allophone of {{smallcaps2|fleece}}: {{IPA|[i̞]}}, often diphthongal as {{IPA|[ɪə ~ iə]}}. In the case of the {{IPA|/ʊr/–/uːr/}} merger, it tends to approach the monophthongal variant of {{smallcaps2|goose}}: {{IPA|[ʊ̝]}}.{{sfnp|Wells|1982|pp=153–54, 162–63, 242–43, 479, 481, 484}}

The ''mirror''–''nearer'' merger is absent from traditional, local, or non-standard accents of the Southern and Eastern United States, where ''nearer'' is pronounced with a tense monophthong {{IPA|[i]}} or a centering diphthong {{IPA|[iə ~ ɪə]}} (phonemicized as {{IPA|/i/}} or {{IPA|/ɪə/}}, depending on whether the accent is rhotic or not), whereas ''mirror'' has a lax monophthong {{IPA|[ɪ]}}.{{sfnp|Wells|1982|p=481}}

In the case of the first merger, only a handful of minimal pairs (e.g., ''cirrus''–''serous'' and ''Sirius''–''serious'') illustrate the contrast, in addition to morphologically distinct pairs (e.g., ''spirit''–''spear{{nbsp}}it''), all of which are rendered homophonous by the merger. Indeed, the number of the words containing {{IPA|/ɪr/}} is itself low. There are a few minimal pairs contrasting {{IPA|/ʊə/ and /u:ə/}} in conservative Received Pronunciation: ''dour''–''doer'', ''sure''–''shoer'' and ''cure''-''queuer''. Furthermore, the [[hurry–furry merger|''hurry''–''furry'' merger]] that occurs in most varieties of North American English results in a merger of {{IPA|/ʌr/}} with {{IPA|/ɜr/}}, removing almost any trace of the historical {{smallcaps2|foot}} vowel in this position. Instead, it is a simple replacement of one phoneme with another, so that the word ''tour'' {{IPA|/tʊr/}} is perceived to contain the {{smallcaps2|foot}} vowel, rather than the {{smallcaps2|goose}} vowel. However, this change may not hold where morpheme boundaries apply; allowing a qualitative distinction to be maintained between the stressed vowels in ''tourist'' {{IPA|/ˈtʊrəst/}} (a fairly close back monophthong of variable height) on the one hand, and ''two-wrist'' {{IPA|/ˈturɪst/}} (a fully close monophthong in free variation with a narrow closing diphthong) on the other (cf. traditional RP {{IPA|/ˈtʊərɪst, ˈtuːrɪst/}}). The same applies to the ''mirror''–''nearer'' merger, which laxes the vowel in ''clearing'' {{IPA|/ˈklɪrɪŋ/}} but not in ''key ring'' {{IPA|/ˈkirɪŋ/}}, cf. RP {{IPA|/ˈklɪərɪŋ, ˈkiːrɪŋ/}}. Certain words are pronounced as if they contained a morpheme boundary before {{IPA|/r/}}, notably ''hero'' {{IPA|/ˈhiroʊ/}} and ''zero'' {{IPA|/ˈziroʊ/}}.{{sfnp|Wells|1982|pp=138, 153–54, 162–63, 201, 244, 480–82}}

Some words originally containing the {{IPA|/uːr/}} sequence are merged with either {{smallcaps2|force}} (see [[cure–force merger|''cure''–''force'' merger]]) or, more rarely, {{smallcaps2|nurse}} (see [[cure–nurse merger|''cure''–''nurse'' merger]]) instead of {{smallcaps2|foot}} + {{IPA|/r/}}.{{sfnp|Wells|1982|pp=162–64, 484}}

The ''mirror''–''nearer'' and {{IPA|/ʊr/–/uːr/}} mergers are not to be confused with the ''fleece''–''near'' and ''goose''–''cure'' mergers that occur in some non-rhotic dialects before a sounded {{IPA|/r/}} and which do not involve the lax vowels {{IPA|/ɪ/}} and {{IPA|/ʊ/}}.{{clarify|date=August 2021}}{{citation needed|date=August 2021}}

=== Merger of {{IPA|/ɒr/}} and {{IPA|/ɔr/}} before vowels ===
Words with a stressed {{IPA|/ɒ/}} before intervocalic {{IPA|/r/}} in Received Pronunciation are treated differently in different varieties of [[North American English]]. As shown in the table below, in [[Canadian English]], all of them are pronounced with {{IPA|[-ɔr-]}}, as in ''cord''. In the accents of [[Philadelphia accent|Philadelphia]],<ref>{{cite book|title=A Handbook of Varieties of English Volume 1: Phonology|editor=Bernd Kortmann and Edgar W. Schneider |author=Matthew J. Gordon |publisher=De Gruyter|year=2004|page=291}}</ref> [[South Jersey|southern New Jersey]], and [[the Carolinas]]<ref>{{cite book|title=A Handbook of Varieties of English Volume 1: Phonology|editor=Bernd Kortmann and Edgar W. Schneider |author=Erik R. Thomas |publisher=De Gruyter|year=2004|page=317}}</ref> (and traditionally throughout the whole South), those words are pronounced by some with {{IPA|[-ɑr-]}}, as in ''card'' and so merge with historic prevocalic {{IPA|/ɑr/}} in words like ''starry''. In [[New York City English|New York City]], [[Long Island]], and [[Northeastern New Jersey|the nearby parts of New Jersey]], those words are pronounced with {{IPA|[ɒr]}} like in Received Pronunciation. However, the sound is [[Lot–cloth split|met with change to]] {{IPA|/ɑr/}} and so still merges with the historic prevocalic {{IPA|/ɑr/}} in ''starry''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Labov|first=William|title=The Social Stratification of English in New York City|date=2006|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=29|edition=2nd}}</ref>

On the other hand, the traditional [[Eastern New England English|Eastern New England accents]] (especially around [[Boston accent|Boston]]), the words are pronounced with {{IPA|[-ɒr-]}}, but the [[cot–caught merger|''cot''–''caught'' merger]] still applies elsewhere. In that regard, it is the same as Canadian {{IPA|/ɒ/}}, rather than Received Pronunciation {{IPA|/ɒ/}}. Most of the rest of the United States (marked "[[General American]]" in the table), however, has a distinctive mixed system.{{sfnp|Shitara|1993}}

In accents with the [[horse–hoarse merger|''horse''–''hoarse'' merger]], {{IPA|/ɔr/}} also includes the historic {{IPA|/oʊr/}} in words such as ''glory'' and ''force''. When an accent also features the [[cot–caught merger|''cot''–''caught'' merger]], {{IPA|/ɔr/}} is typically analyzed as {{IPA|/oʊr/}} to avoid postulating a separate {{IPA|/ɔ/}} phoneme that occurs only before {{IPA|/r/}}. Therefore, both ''cord'' and ''glory'' are considered to contain the {{IPA|/oʊ/}} phoneme in California, Canada, and elsewhere. Therefore, in accents with the horse–hoarse merger, {{IPA|/kɔrd/}} and {{IPA|/koʊrd/}} are different analyses of the same word ''cord'', and there may be little to no difference in the realization of the vowel.{{sfnp|Wells|1982|p=476}}

In the varieties of Scottish English with the ''cot''–''caught'' merger, the vowel is pronounced towards the {{IPAblink|ɔ}} of ''caught'' and ''north''. It remains distinct from the {{IPAblink|o}} of ''force'' and ''goat'' because of the lack of the ''horse''–''hoarse'' merger.{{sfnp|Wells|1982|pp=399, 408}}

{{English -or- table}}

Even in the American East Coast without the split (Boston, New York City, Rhode Island, Philadelphia and some of the coastal South), some of the words in the original short-''o'' class often show influence from other American dialects and end up with {{IPA|[-ɔr-]}} anyway. For instance, some speakers from the Northeast pronounce ''Florida'', ''orange'', and ''horrible'' with {{IPA|[-ɑr-]}} but ''foreign'' and ''origin'' with {{IPA|[-ɔr-]}}. The list of words affected differs from dialect to dialect and occasionally from speaker to speaker, which is an example of sound change by [[lexical diffusion]].
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|+ class="nowrap" |Merged homophones
!{{IPA|/ɒr/}}
!{{IPA|/ˈɔːr/}}
! {{IPA|/ɑːr/}}
!IPA
!Notes
|-
|coral
|choral
|
|{{IPA|ˈkɔːrəl}}
|in [[General American]] and [[Canadian English]]
|}

== Mergers before historic postvocalic ''R'' ==
=== /aʊr/–/aʊər/ merger ===
The [[Middle English]] merger of the vowels with the spellings {{Angbr|our}} and {{angbr|ower}} affects all modern varieties of [[English language|English]] and causes words like ''sour'' and ''hour'', which originally had one syllable, to have two syllables and so to rhyme with ''power''. In accents that lack the merger, ''sour'' has one syllable, and ''power'' has two syllables. Similar mergers also occur in which ''hire'' gains a syllable and so makes it pronounced like ''higher'', and ''coir'' gains a syllable and so makes it pronounced like ''coyer''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/help/MWOL%20Pronunciation%20Guide.pdf|title=Guide to Pronunciation|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151121075408/http://www.merriam-webster.com/help/MWOL%20Pronunciation%20Guide.pdf|work=Merriam-Webster|archive-date=November 21, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== ''Card–cord'' merger ===
The '''''card''–''cord'' merger''', or '''{{smallcaps2|start–north}} merger''', is a merger of [[Early Modern English]] {{IPA|[ɑr]}} with {{IPA|[ɒr]}}, which results in the [[homophone|homophony]] of pairs like ''card''/''cord'', ''barn''/''born'' and ''far''/''for''. It is roughly similar to the [[father–bother merger]] but before ''r''. The merger is found in some [[Caribbean English]] accents, in some [[West Country dialects|West Country accents]] in England, and in some accents of [[Southern American English]].{{sfnp|Labov|Ash|Boberg|2006|pp=51–53}}{{sfnp|Wells|1982|pp=158, 160, 347, 483, 548, 576–77, 582, 587}} Areas of the United States in which the merger is most common include [[Central Texas]], [[Utah]], and [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]], but it is not dominant anywhere and is rapidly disappearing.{{sfnp|Labov|Ash|Boberg|2006|p=51}} Rhotic dialects with the ''card''–''cord'' merger are some of the only ones without the [[horse–hoarse merger]]; this correlation is well-documented in the United States.{{sfnp|Labov|Ash|Boberg|2006|p=51}}

{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|+ class="nowrap" | {{smallcaps2|start–north}} merger homophones
! {{IPA|/ɑːr/}}
! {{IPA|/ɒr/}}
! IPA
!Notes
|-
| arc || orc || {{IPA|ˈɑːrk}}
|
|-
| are || or || {{IPA|ˈɑːr}}
|
|-
| ark || orc || {{IPA|ˈɑːrk}}
|
|-
| bark || bork || {{IPA|ˈbɑːrk}}
|
|-
| barn || born || {{IPA|ˈbɑːrn}}
|
|-
| car || cor || {{IPA|ˈkɑːr}}
|
|-
| card || chord || {{IPA|ˈkɑːrd}}
|
|-
| card || cord || {{IPA|ˈkɑːrd}}
|
|-
| carn || corn || {{IPA|ˈkɑːrn}}
|
|-
| carnie || corny || {{IPA|ˈkɑːrni}}
|
|-
| dark || dork || {{IPA|ˈdɑːrk}}
|
|-
| darn || dorn || {{IPA|ˈdɑːrn}}
|
|-
| far || for || {{IPA|ˈfɑːr}}
|
|-
| farm || form || {{IPA|ˈfɑːrm}}
|
|-
| farty || forty || {{IPA|ˈfɑːrti}}
|
|-
| lard || lord || {{IPA|ˈlɑːrd}}
|
|-
| mart || Mort || {{IPA|ˈmɑːrt}}
|
|-
| Marty || Morty || {{IPA|ˈmɑːrti}}
|
|-
| spark || spork || {{IPA|ˈspɑːrk}}
|
|-
| stark || stork || {{IPA|ˈstɑːrk}}
|
|-
| tar || tor || {{IPA|ˈtɑːr}}
|
|-
| tart || tort || {{IPA|ˈtɑːrt}}
|
|}

=== {{smallcaps2|Cure–force}} merger ===
In [[Modern English]], the reflexes of Early Modern English {{IPA|/uːr/}} and {{IPA|/iur/}} are highly susceptible to [[phonemic differentiation|phonemic mergers]] with other vowels. Words belonging to that class are most commonly spelled with ''oor'', ''our'', ''ure'', or ''eur''. Examples include ''poor'', ''tour'', ''cure'', ''Europe'' (words such as ''moor'' ultimately from [[Old English]] ''ō'' words). Wells refers to the class as the {{smallcaps2|cure}} words after the keyword of the [[lexical set]] to which he assigns them.

In traditional [[Received Pronunciation]] and [[General American]], {{smallcaps2|cure}} words are pronounced with Received Pronunciation {{IPA|/ʊə/}} ({{IPA|/ʊər/}} before a vowel) and General American {{IPA|/ʊr/}}.<ref>{{cite web|title=Cure (AmE)|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cure|website=Merriam-Webster}}{{cite web|title=Cure (AmE)|url=https://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cure|website=Dictionary.com}}</ref> However, those pronunciations are being replaced by other pronunciations in many accents.

In [[English language in England|Southern England]], {{smallcaps2|cure}} words are often pronounced with {{IPA|/ɔː/}}, so ''moor'' is often pronounced {{IPA|/mɔː/}}, ''tour'' {{IPA|/tɔː/}}, and ''poor'' {{IPA|/pɔː/}}.{{sfnp|Wells|1982|pp=56, 65–66, 164, 237, 287–88}} The traditional form is much more common in Northern England. A similar merger is encountered in many varieties of [[American English]], whose prevailing pronunciations are {{IPA|[oə]}} and {{IPA|[oɹ]}}⁓{{IPA|[ɔɹ]}}, depending on whether or not the accent is rhotic.{{sfnp|Kenyon|1951|pp=233–34}}{{sfnp|Wells|1982|p=549}} For many speakers of American English, the historical {{IPA|/iur/}} merges with {{IPA|/ɜr/}} after palatal consonants, as in "cure", "sure", "pure", and "mature", and merges with {{IPA|/ɔr/}} in other environments such as in "poor" and "moor".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://assets2.merriam-webster.com/mw/static/pdf/help/guide-to-pronunciation.pdf|title=Guide to Pronunciation|website=[[Merriam-Webster.com]]|access-date=2017-09-14|archive-date=2017-07-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170713090510/http://assets2.merriam-webster.com/mw/static/pdf/help/guide-to-pronunciation.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In [[Australian English|Australian]] and [[New Zealand English]], the centering [[diphthong]] {{IPA|/ʊə/}} has mostly disappeared and is replaced in some words by {{IPA|/ʉːə/}} (a sequence of two separate [[monophthongs]]) and in others by {{IPA|/oː/}} (a long monophthong).<ref>{{cite web |title=Distinctive Features: Australian English |url=http://www.ling.mq.edu.au/speech/phonetics/phonology/features/auseng_features.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080329084342/http://www.ling.mq.edu.au/speech/phonetics/phonology/features/auseng_features.html |archive-date=March 29, 2008 |publisher=Macquarie University}} See also ''[[Macquarie University Dictionary]]'' and other dictionaries of Australian English.</ref> The outcome that occurs in a particular word is not always predictable although, for example, ''pure'', ''cure'', and ''tour'' may rhyme with ''fewer'' and have {{IPA|/ʉːə/}}, and ''poor'', ''moor'', and ''sure'' rhyme with ''for'' and ''paw'' and have {{IPA|/oː/}}.

{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|+ class="nowrap" | {{smallcaps2|Cure–force}} merger homophones
! {{IPA|/ʊə/}}
! {{IPA|/ɔː/}}
! IPA
! Notes
|-
| boor || boar || {{IPA|ˈbɔː(r)}} || 
|-
| boor || Boer || {{IPA|ˈbɔː(r)}} || 
|-
| boor || bore || {{IPA|ˈbɔː(r)}} || 
|-
| gourd || gaud || {{IPA|ˈɡɔːd}} || non-rhotic with the [[horse–hoarse merger|''horse''–''hoarse'' merger]]
|-
| gourd || gored || {{IPA|ˈɡɔː(r)d}} || 
|-
| lure || law || {{IPA|ˈlɔː}} || non-rhotic with [[yod-dropping]] and the [[horse–hoarse merger|''horse''–''hoarse'' merger]]
|-
| lure || lore || {{IPA|ˈlɔː(r)}} || with [[yod-dropping]]
|-
| lured || laud || {{IPA|ˈlɔːd}} || non-rhotic with [[yod-dropping]] and the [[horse–hoarse merger|''horse''–''hoarse'' merger]]
|-
| lured || lawed || {{IPA|ˈlɔːd}} || non-rhotic with [[yod-dropping]] and the [[horse–hoarse merger|''horse''–''hoarse'' merger]]
|-
| lured || lord || {{IPA|ˈlɔː(r)d}} || with [[yod-dropping]] and the [[horse–hoarse merger|''horse''–''hoarse'' merger]]
|-
| moor || maw || {{IPA|ˈmɔː}} || non-rhotic with the [[horse–hoarse merger|''horse''–''hoarse'' merger]]
|-
| moor || more || {{IPA|ˈmɔː(r)}} || 
|-
| poor || paw || {{IPA|ˈpɔː}} || non-rhotic with the [[horse–hoarse merger|''horse''–''hoarse'' merger]]
|-
| poor || pore || {{IPA|ˈpɔː(r)}} || 
|-
| poor || pour || {{IPA|ˈpɔː(r)}} || 
|-
| spoor || spore || {{IPA|ˈspɔː(r)}} || 
|-
| sure || shaw || {{IPA|ˈʃɔː}} || non-rhotic with the [[horse–hoarse merger|''horse''–''hoarse'' merger]]
|-
| sure || shore || {{IPA|ˈʃɔː(r)}} || 
|-
| tour || taw || {{IPA|ˈtɔː}} || non-rhotic with the [[horse–hoarse merger|''horse''–''hoarse'' merger]]
|-
| tour || tor || {{IPA|ˈtɔː(r)}} || with the [[horse–hoarse merger|''horse''–''hoarse'' merger]]
|-
| tour || tore || {{IPA|ˈtɔː(r)}} || 
|-
| toured || toward || {{IPA|ˈtɔː(r)d}} || when ''toward'' is not pronounced {{IPAc-en|t|ə|ˈ|w|ɔːr|d}}
|-
| your || yaw || {{IPA|ˈjɔː}} || non-rhotic with the [[horse–hoarse merger|''horse''–''hoarse'' merger]]
|-
| your || yore || {{IPA|ˈjɔː(r)}} || 
|-
| you're || yaw || {{IPA|ˈjɔː}} || non-rhotic with the [[horse–hoarse merger|''horse''–''hoarse'' merger]]
|-
| you're || yore || {{IPA|ˈjɔː(r)}} || 
|}

=== {{smallcaps2|Cure–nurse}} merger ===
In [[East Anglia]], a '''{{smallcaps2|cure–nurse}} merger''' in which words like ''fury'' merge to the sound of ''furry'' {{IPA|[ɜː]}} is common, especially after [[palatal]] and [[palatoalveolar]] consonants, so ''sure'' is often pronounced {{IPA|[ʃɜː]}}, which is also a common single-word merger in American English in which the word ''sure'' is often {{IPA|/ʃɜr/}}. Also, [[English consonant-cluster reductions#Yod-dropping|yod-dropping]] may apply, which yields pronunciations such as {{IPA|[pɜː]}} for ''pure''. Other pronunciations in the accents that merge ''cure'' and ''fir'' include {{IPA|/pjɜː(r)/}} ''pure'', {{IPA|/ˈk(j)ɜːriəs/}} ''curious'', {{IPA|/ˈb(j)ɜːroʊ/}} ''bureau'' and {{IPA|/ˈm(j)ɜːrəl/}} ''mural''.{{sfnp|Hammond|1999|p=52}}
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|+ class="nowrap" | {{smallcaps2|Cure–nurse}} merger homophones
! {{IPA|/jʊə(r)/}}
! {{IPA|/ɜː(r)/}}
! IPA
! Notes
|-
| cure || cur || {{IPA|ˈkɜː(r)}} ||rowspan=7|with yod-dropping
|-
| cure || curr || {{IPA|ˈkɜː(r)}}
|-
| cured || curd || {{IPA|ˈkɜː(r)d}}
|-
| cured || curred || {{IPA|ˈkɜː(r)d}}
|-
| fury || furry || {{IPA|ˈfɜːri}}
|-
| pure || per || {{IPA|ˈpɜː(r)}}
|-
| pure || purr || {{IPA|ˈpɜː(r)}}
|}

=== {{IPA|/aɪər/}}–{{IPA|/ɑr/}} merger {{anchor|Tower–tire, tower–tar and tire–tar mergers}}===
Varieties of [[Southern American English]], [[Midland American English]] and [[High Tider]] English may merge words like ''fire'' and ''far'' or ''tired''  and ''tarred'' towards of the second words: {{IPA|/ɑr/}}. That results in a ''tire''–''tar'' merger, but ''tower'' is kept distinct.{{sfnp|Kurath|McDavid|1961|p=122}}

==== {{IPA|/aɪə/}}–{{IPA|/aʊə/}}–{{IPA|/ɑː/}} merger ====
Some accents of southern [[British English]], including many types of Received Pronunciation and in [[Norwich]], have mergers of the vowels in words like ''tire'', ''tar'' (which already [[father–farther merger|merged]] with {{IPA|/ɑː/}}, as in ''palm''), and ''tower''. Thus, the triphthong {{IPA|/aʊə/}} of ''tower'' merges with the {{IPA|/aɪə/}} of ''tire'' (both surface as diphthongal {{IPA|[ɑə]}}) or with the {{IPA|/ɑː/}} of ''tar''. Some speakers merge all three sounds, so ''tower'', ''tire'', and ''tar'' are all pronounced {{IPA|[tɑː]}}.{{sfnp|Wells|1982|pp=238–42, 286, 292–93, 339}}

{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|+ class="nowrap" | Merger homophones
! {{IPA|/aʊə/}}
! {{IPA|/aɪə/}}
! {{IPA|/ɑː/}}
! IPA
|-
| Bauer || buyer || bar || {{IPA|ˈbɑː}}
|-
| coward || - || card || {{IPA|ˈkɑːd}}
|-
| cower || - || car || {{IPA|ˈkɑː}}
|-
| cowered || - || card || {{IPA|ˈkɑːd}}
|-
| dowel || dial || - || {{IPA| 'dɑːl}}
|-
|  - || fire || far || {{IPA|ˈfɑː}}
|-
| flour || flyer || - || {{IPA|ˈflɑː}}
|-
| flower || flyer || - || {{IPA|ˈflɑː}}
|-
| hour || ire || are || {{IPA|ˈɑː}}
|-
| hour || ire || R/ar || {{IPA|ˈɑː}}
|-
| Howard || hired || hard || {{IPA|ˈhɑːd}}
|-
|  - || mire || mar || {{IPA|ˈmɑː}}
|-
| our || ire || are || {{IPA|ˈɑː}}
|-
| our || ire || R; ar || {{IPA|ˈɑː}}
|-
| owl || aisle || - || {{IPA|ˈɑːl}}
|-
| owl || isle || - || {{IPA|ˈɑːl}}
|-
| power || pyre || par || {{IPA|ˈpɑː}}
|-
| - || pious || pass || {{IPA|ˈpɑːs}}
|-
| sour || sire || - || {{IPA|ˈsɑː}}
|-
| scour || - || scar || {{IPA|ˈskɑː}}
|-
| shower || shire || - || {{IPA|ˈʃɑː}}
|-
| showered || - || shard || {{IPA|ˈʃɑːd}}
|-
|  - || spire || spa || {{IPA|ˈspɑː}}
|-
| - || spire || spar || {{IPA|ˈspɑː}}
|-
| tower || tire || tar || {{IPA|ˈtɑː}}
|-
| tower || tyre || tar || {{IPA|ˈtɑː}}
|-
| trowel || trial|| - || {{IPA| 'trɑːl}}
|-
| vowel || vial || - || {{IPA| 'vɑːl}}
|}

=== ''Horse–hoarse'' merger ===
<!-- This section is linked from [[American English]] via a redirect. If you change the section heading, add {{anchor|Horse–hoarse merger}}. -->
The '''''horse''–''hoarse'' merger''', or '''{{smallcaps2|north–force}} merger''', is the merger of the vowels {{IPA|/ɔː/}} and {{IPA|/oʊ/}} before historic {{IPA|/r/}}, which makes word pairs like ''horse''–''hoarse'', ''for''–''four'', ''war''–''wore'', ''or''–''oar'', ''morning''–''mourning'' pronounced the same. Historically, the {{smallcaps2|north}} class belonged to the [[Early Modern English]] {{IPA|/ɒ/}} phoneme (containing the same vowel as ''l'''o'''t''), while the {{smallcaps2|force}} class was {{IPA|/oː/}} (containing the same vowel as ''g'''o''''').

The merger now occurs in most varieties of English. Accents that have resisted the merger include most [[Scottish English|Scottish]] and [[Caribbean English|Caribbean]] accents as well as some [[African American English|African American]], [[Southern American English|Southern American]], [[Indian English|Indian]], [[Hiberno-English|Irish]], [[Maine accent|older Maine]], [[Welsh English|South Wales]] (excluding Cardiff), some [[English language in Northern England|Northern English]] (particularly [[Manchester English|Manchester]]<ref name=atlas>{{cite journal |last1=MacKenzie |first1=Laurel |last2=Bailey |first2=George |last3=Turton |first3=Danielle |date=2022-05-30 |title=Towards an updated dialect atlas of British English |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-linguistic-geography/article/towards-an-updated-dialect-atlas-of-british-english/07AD1E071645452F33A118B08E038CD6#article |journal=Journal of Linguistic Geography  |volume=10 |issue=1 |page=54|doi=10.1017/jlg.2022.2 |access-date=2024-03-06|doi-access=free }}</ref>), and [[West Midlands English|West Midlands]] accents.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ling.upenn.edu/phonoatlas/Atlas_chapters/Ch8/Ch8.html|title=Chapter 8: Nearly completed mergers|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060719042926/http://www.ling.upenn.edu/phonoatlas/Atlas_chapters/Ch8/Ch8.html|archive-date=July 19, 2006|url-status=dead|publisher=Macquarie University}}</ref>{{sfnp|Wells|1982|pp=159–61, 234–36, 287, 408, 421, 483, 549–50, 557, 579, 626}}

In the non-rhotic British accents that make the distinction, {{smallcaps2|north}} is typically merged with {{smallcaps2|thought}}, while the phonological status of {{smallcaps2|force}} varies. The areas of Wales that make the distinction merge it with the monophthongal variety of {{smallcaps2|goat}}: {{IPA|/ˈfoːs/}} (those accents lack the [[toe–tow merger]]).{{Citation needed|date=January 2025}} In the accents of Northern England that lack the merger, {{smallcaps2|force}} is not merged with any other lexical set; it is pronounced around {{IPA|[ɔː]}} while {{smallcaps2|thought}}-{{smallcaps2|north}} is a more open {{IPA|[ɒː]}}.<ref name=atlas/> In the West Midlands, {{smallcaps2|force}} corresponds to either {{smallcaps2|goat}} + {{smallcaps2|comma}}: {{IPA|/ˈfʌʊəs/}} or a separate {{IPA|/oə/}} phoneme: {{IPA|/ˈfoəs/}}. The words belonging to each set vary to an extent region to region, for example from Port Talbot tend to use {{smallcaps2|force}}, instead of the traditional {{smallcaps2|north}}, in ''forceps'', ''fortress'', ''important'' and ''importance''.{{sfnp|Coupland|Thomas|1990|pp=95, 122–123, 133–134, 137–138, 156–157}}{{sfnp|Clark|2004|pp=138, 153}} 

The distinction was once present in the speech of southern England, the <small>NORTH</small> vowel being sounded as {{IPA|/ɔː/}} and the <small>FORCE</small> vowel as the centring diphthong {{IPA|/ɔə/}}.<ref name="wells">{{Cite web|title=Wells: Whatever happened to Received Pronunciation?|url=https://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/wells/rphappened.htm|access-date=2022-02-11|website=www.phon.ucl.ac.uk}}</ref> For many speakers, however, as noted by [[Henry Sweet]], this contrast had by 1890 become constricted to word-final positions if the following word began with a consonant (so 'horse' and 'hoarse' had thus become [[Homophone|homophonous]], but not 'morceau' and 'more so').<ref>{{Cite book|last=Henry Sweet|url=http://archive.org/details/aprimerspokenen01sweegoog|title=A Primer of Spoken English|date=1890|publisher=Clarendon press|others=New York Public Library|pages=11|language=}}</ref> In his 1918 ''[[An Outline of English Phonetics|Outline of English Phonetics]]'', [[Daniel Jones (phonetician)|Daniel Jones]] described the distinction as optional, but he still considered it to be frequently heard in 1962;<ref>{{Cite book|last=Jones|first=Daniel|url=http://archive.org/details/cu31924027389505|title=An Outline of English Phonetics&nbsp;... With 131 Illustrations|date=1922|publisher=New York, G. E. Stechert & Co.|others=Cornell University Library|pages=83}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Jones|first=Daniel|url=http://archive.org/details/dli.ernet.503070|title=An Outline Of English Phonetics|date=1962|publisher=W. Heffer and Sons Ltd.|edition=9th|pages=115–116|language=English}}</ref> the two vowels are differentiated in the first (1884–1928) and second (1989) editions of the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' with the caveat that in most varieties of southern British pronunciation the two had become identical;<ref>{{Cite book|last=|url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.99996|title=The Oxford English Dictionary|date=1913|volume=VII|pages=|chapter=O}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://public.oed.com/wp-content/uploads/OED2-General-Explanations.pdf|title=The Oxford English Dictionary|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1989|pages=xxxiv}}</ref> no distinction is drawn in the third edition,<ref>OED entries for ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20150119104543/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/horse?searchDictCode=all horse]'' and ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20150119104952/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/hoarse?searchDictCode=all hoarse]''</ref> as well as in most modern British dictionaries (''[[Chambers Dictionary|Chambers]]'' being a notable exception). [[John C. Wells]] wrote in 2002 that the distinction had become obsolete in RP.<ref name="wells" />

In the United States, the merger is now widespread everywhere but is quite recent in some parts of the country. For example, fieldwork performed in the 1930s by [[Hans Kurath|Kurath]] and McDavid showed the contrast to be robustly present in the speech of the entire Atlantic coast, as well as [[Vermont]], northern and western [[New York State]], [[Virginia]], central and southern [[West Virginia]], and [[North Carolina]].{{sfnp|Kurath|McDavid|1961|ps=, map 44}}{{sfnp|Labov|Ash|Boberg|2006|p=51}} However, by the 1990s, surveys showed those areas had completely or almost completely undergone the merger.{{sfnp|Labov|Ash|Boberg|2006|ps=, map 8.2}} Even in areas in which the distinction is still made, the acoustic difference between the {{IPA|[ɔɹ]}} of ''horse'' and the {{IPA|[oɹ]}} of ''hoarse'' was found to be rather small for many speakers.{{sfnp|Labov|Ash|Boberg|2006|p=51}} Some American speakers retain the original length distinction but merge the quality. Therefore, ''hoarse'' {{IPA|[hɔːrs]}} is pronounced longer than ''horse'' {{IPA|[hɔrs]}}.{{sfnp|Wells|1982|p=483}}

In the 2006 study, most white participants in only these American cities still resisted the merger: [[Wilmington, North Carolina]]; [[Mobile, Alabama]]; and [[Portland, Maine]].{{sfnp|Labov|Ash|Boberg|2006|p=52}} A 2013 study of Portland, however, found the merger to have been established "at all age levels".<ref>Ryland, Alison (2013). "A Phonetic Exploration of the English of Portland, Maine". Swarthmore College. p. 26.</ref> In the 2006 study, even [[St. Louis, Missouri]], which traditionally maintained the ''horse''–''hoarse'' distinction so strongly that it instead [[#Card–cord merger|merged ''card'' and ''cord'']], showed that only 50% of the participants still maintained the distinction. The same pattern (a ''horse''–''hoarse'' distinction and a ''card''–''cord'' merger) also exists in a minority of speakers in Texas and Utah. New Orleans prominently shows much variability regarding the merger, including some speakers with no merger at all. Black Americans are rapidly undergoing the merger but are also less likely to do so than white Americans, with a little over half of the 2006 study's black participants maintaining the distinction nationwide.{{sfnp|Labov|Ash|Boberg|2006|pp=299, 301}}

In some [[Indian English|Indian]], [[Welsh English|Welsh]], and [[Older Southern American English|Southern American]] dialects, the distinction between {{smallcaps2|north}} and {{smallcaps2|force}} may be maintained through the presence or absence of {{IPA|/r/}}, with ''horse'' being {{IPA|/hɔːs/}} and ''hoarse'' being {{IPA|/hɔːrs/}}.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Domange |first=Raphaël |date=2023 |title=The vowels of Delhi English : Three studies in sociophonetics |url=https://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-216510}}</ref>

The two groups of words merged by the rule are called the [[lexical sets]] {{smallcaps2|north}} (including ''horse'') and {{smallcaps2|force}} (including ''hoarse'') by Wells (1982).

In dialects that maintain the distinction between the two phonemes, {{smallcaps2|north}} is indicated almost exclusively by the spellings ''or'', ''aur'' and ''ar'' (when preceded by /w/), as in ''horse'', ''aural'', ''war'', while {{smallcaps2|force}} is generally indicated by the spellings ''oar'', ''ore'', ''our'' and ''oor'', as in ''hoarse'', ''wore'', ''four'', ''door''.

However, {{smallcaps2|force}} can also sometimes occur in words with the ''or'' spelling. This is usually in one or more of the following circumstances:
* When the vowel immediately follows a [[labial consonant]], {{IPA|/m p b f v w (ʍ)/}}, as in ''force'' itself. 
* In [[past participles]] in ''-orn'' with corresponding [[past tense]] forms in ''-ore'', as in ''torn'', or words made from ones with the {{smallcaps2|force}} vowel.
* When the /r/ is followed by a vowel within the same [[morpheme]], as in words like ''glory'' and ''flora''.
However, it does not occur in all words that fit the above criteria. The following table lists some words irregularly with the {{smallcaps2|force}} sound, rather than {{smallcaps2|north}}, with the cases that make them so and regular {{smallcaps2|north}} words by comparison. Note that in non-standard accents many words can shift their pronunciation without changing [[diaphonemes]] due to [[lexical diffusion]].
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|+ class="nowrap" | Irregular {{smallcaps2|force}} words
! {{smallcaps2|Force}} class
! {{smallcaps2|North}} class 
! Variable
!Type
|-
|afford, borne, divorce, Borneo, deport, export, fjord, force, ford, forge, fort, forth, import, porcelain, porch, pork, port, portal, portend, portent, porter, portrait, proportion, report, sport, support
|border, born, California, cavort, cyborg, for, forceps, forfeit, fork, form, fortify, fortunate, fortune, fortress, forty, forward, importunate, Morgan, morgue, Mormon, morning, morph, morpheme, morphine, morse, morsel, mortal, mortar, porn, porpoise, quart, reform, remorse, spork, sward, swarm, swarthy, war, warble, ward, warden, wardrobe, warlock, warm, warmth, warn, warp, Warsaw, wart
|important{{efn|name=important|Traditionally {{smallcaps2|north}} in [[General American]]; usually {{smallcaps2|force}} in other accents{{sfnp|Wells|1982|p=160}}}}
|after labial consonant
|-
|fourteen, shorn, sworn, torn, worn
|born, forty
|
|derived from {{smallcaps2|force}} word
|-
|adorable, angora, aurora, borax, boron, censorious, choral, Dora, euphoria, fedora, flora, floral, gloria, glorious, glory, gory, Gregorian, historian, laborious, memorial, meritorious, moratorium, moron, Nora, notorious, oral, oriole, pictorial, porous, pretorian, stentorian, story, thorax, thorium, torus, Tory, uxorious, Victoria(n)
| aura, aural, aureole, Laura, Taurus
| 
|followed by vowel within the same morpheme
|-
|horde, sword
|
| 
|''sui generis''
|}

{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|+ class="nowrap" | '''{{smallcaps2|north–force}}''' merger homophones
! {{IPA|FORCE /oə/}}
! {{IPA|NORTH /ɔː/}}
! IPA
! Notes
|-
| board || baud || {{IPA|ˈbɔːd}} || non-rhotic
|-
| board || bawd || {{IPA|ˈbɔːd}} || non-rhotic
|-
| boarder || border || {{IPA|ˈbɔː(r)də(r)}} ||
|-
| bored || baud || {{IPA|ˈbɔːd}} || non-rhotic
|-
| bored || bawd || {{IPA|ˈbɔːd}} || non-rhotic
|-
| borne || bawn || {{IPA|ˈbɔːn}} || non-rhotic
|-
| borne || born || {{IPA|ˈbɔː(r)n}} ||
|-
| Bourne || bawn || {{IPA|ˈbɔːn}} || non-rhotic
|-
| Bourne || born || {{IPA|ˈbɔː(r)n}} ||
|-
| bourse || boss || {{IPA|ˈbɔːs}} || non-rhotic [[Lot–cloth split|with lot–cloth split]]
|-
| core || caw || {{IPA|ˈkɔː}} || non-rhotic
|-
| cored || cawed || {{IPA|ˈkɔːd}} || non-rhotic
|-
| cored || chord || {{IPA|ˈkɔː(r)d}} ||
|-
| cored || cord || {{IPA|ˈkɔː(r)d}} ||
|-
| cores || cause || {{IPA|ˈkɔːz}} || non-rhotic
|-
| corps || caw || {{IPA|ˈkɔː}} || non-rhotic
|-
| court || caught || {{IPA|ˈkɔːt}} || non-rhotic
|-
| door || daw || {{IPA|ˈdɔː}} || non-rhotic
|-
| floor || flaw || {{IPA|ˈflɔː}} || non-rhotic
|-
| fore || for || {{IPA|ˈfɔː(r)}} ||
|-
| fort || fought || {{IPA|ˈfɔːt}} || non-rhotic
|-
| four || for || {{IPA|ˈfɔː(r)}} ||
|-
| gored || gaud || {{IPA|ˈɡɔːd}} || non-rhotic
|-
| hoarse || horse || {{IPA|ˈhɔː(r)s}} ||
|-
| hoarse || hoss<ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hoss hoss], Dictionary.com</ref> || {{IPA|ˈhɔːs}} || non-rhotic [[Lot–cloth split|with lot–cloth split]]
|-
| lore || law || {{IPA|ˈlɔː}} || non-rhotic
|-
| more || maw || {{IPA|ˈmɔː}} || non-rhotic
|-
| mourning || morning || {{IPA|ˈmɔː(r)nɪŋ}} ||
|-
| oar || awe || {{IPA|ˈɔː}} || non-rhotic
|-
| oar || or || {{IPA|ˈɔː(r)}} ||
|-
| ore || awe || {{IPA|ˈɔː}} || non-rhotic
|-
| ore || or || {{IPA|ˈɔː(r)}} ||
|-
| oral || aural || {{IPA|ˈɔːrəl}} ||
|-
|oriole
|aureole
|ˈɔːrioʊl
|
|-
| pore || paw || {{IPA|ˈpɔː}} || non-rhotic
|-
| pores || pause || {{IPA|ˈpɔːz}} || non-rhotic
|-
| pour || paw || {{IPA|ˈpɔː}} || non-rhotic
|-
| roar || raw || {{IPA|ˈrɔː}} || non-rhotic
|-
| shore || shaw || {{IPA|ˈʃɔː}} || non-rhotic
|-
| shorn || Sean || {{IPA|ˈʃɔːn}} || non-rhotic
|-
| shorn || Shawn || {{IPA|ˈʃɔːn}} || non-rhotic
|-
| soar || saw || {{IPA|ˈsɔː}} || non-rhotic
|-
| soared || sawed || {{IPA|ˈsɔːd}} || non-rhotic
|-
| sore || saw || {{IPA|ˈsɔː}} || non-rhotic
|-
| source || sauce || {{IPA|ˈsɔːs}} || non-rhotic
|-
| sword || sawed || {{IPA|ˈsɔːd}} || non-rhotic
|-
| tore || taw || {{IPA|ˈtɔː}} || non-rhotic
|-
| tore || tor || {{IPA|ˈtɔː(r)}} ||
|-
| torus || Taurus || {{IPA|ˈtɔːrəs}} ||
|-
| wore || war || {{IPA|ˈwɔː(r)}} ||
|-
| worn || warn || {{IPA|ˈwɔː(r)n}} ||
|-
| yore || yaw || {{IPA|ˈjɔː}} || non-rhotic
|}

=== {{smallcaps2|Near–square}} merger ===
The '''{{smallcaps2|near–square}} merger''' or '''''cheer''–''chair'' merger''' is the merger of the Early Modern English sequences {{IPA|/iːr/}} and {{IPA|/ɛːr/}}, as well as the {{IPA|/eːr/}} between them, and is found in some accents of Modern English. Many speakers in New Zealand{{sfnp|Bauer|Warren|Bardsley|Kennedy|2007|p=98}}{{sfnp|Bauer|Warren|2004|p=592}}{{sfnp|Hay|Maclagan|Gordon|2008|pp=39–41}} merge them towards the {{smallcaps2|near}} vowel, but some speakers in [[East Anglia]] and [[South Carolina]] merge them towards the {{smallcaps2|square}} vowel.{{sfnp|Wells|1982|pp=338, 512, 547, 557, 608}} The merger is widespread in Caribbean English, including [[Jamaican English]].

{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|+ class="nowrap" | {{smallcaps2|Near–square}} merger homophones
! {{IPA|/ɪə(r)/}}
! {{IPA|/eə(r)/}}
! IPA (using {{angbr IPA|ɪə}} for the merged vowel)
!Notes
|-
| beard || Baird || {{IPA|ˈbɪə(r)d}}
|
|-
| beard || bared || {{IPA|ˈbɪə(r)d}}
|
|-
| beer || bare || {{IPA|ˈbɪə(r)}}
|
|-
| beer || bear || {{IPA|ˈbɪə(r)}}
|
|-
| cheer || chair || {{IPA|ˈtʃɪə(r)}}
|
|-
| clear || Claire || {{IPA|ˈklɪə(r)}}
|
|-
| dear || dare || {{IPA|ˈdɪə(r)}}
|
|-
| deer || dare || {{IPA|ˈdɪə(r)}}
|
|-
| ear || air || {{IPA|ˈɪə(r)}}
|
|-
| ear || ere || {{IPA|ˈɪə(r)}}
|
|-
| ear || heir || {{IPA|ˈɪə(r)}}
|
|-
| fear || fair || {{IPA|ˈfɪə(r)}}
|
|-
| fear || fare || {{IPA|ˈfɪə(r)}}
|
|-
| fleer || flair || {{IPA|ˈflɪə(r)}}
|
|-
| fleer || flare || {{IPA|ˈflɪə(r)}}
|
|-
| hear || hair || {{IPA|ˈhɪə(r)}}
|
|-
| hear || hare || {{IPA|ˈhɪə(r)}}
|
|-
| here || hair || {{IPA|ˈhɪə(r)}}
|
|-
| here || hare || {{IPA|ˈhɪə(r)}}
|
|-
| leer || lair || {{IPA|ˈlɪə(r)}}
|
|-
| leered || laird || {{IPA|ˈlɪə(r)d}}
|
|-
| mere || mare || {{IPA|ˈmɪə(r)}}
|
|-
| near || nare || {{IPA|ˈnɪə(r)}}
|
|-
| peer || pair || {{IPA|ˈpɪə(r)}}
|
|-
| peer || pare || {{IPA|ˈpɪə(r)}}
|
|-
| peer || pear || {{IPA|ˈpɪə(r)}}
|
|-
| pier || pair || {{IPA|ˈpɪə(r)}}
|
|-
| pier || pare || {{IPA|ˈpɪə(r)}}
|
|-
| pier || pear || {{IPA|ˈpɪə(r)}}
|
|-
| rear || rare || {{IPA|ˈrɪə(r)}}
|
|-
| shear || share || {{IPA|ˈʃɪə(r)}}
|
|-
| sheer || share || {{IPA|ˈʃɪə(r)}}
|
|-
| sneer || snare || {{IPA|ˈsnɪə(r)}}
|
|-
| spear || spare || {{IPA|ˈspɪə(r)}}
|
|-
| tear ''(weep)'' || tare || {{IPA|ˈtɪə(r)}}
|
|-
| tear ''(weep)'' || tear ''(rip)'' || {{IPA|ˈtɪə(r)}}
|
|-
| tier || tare || {{IPA|ˈtɪə(r)}}
|
|-
| tier || tear ''(rip)'' || {{IPA|ˈtɪə(r)}}
|
|-
| weary || wary || {{IPA|ˈwɪəri}}
|
|-
| weir || ware || {{IPA|ˈwɪə(r)}}
|
|-
| weir || wear || {{IPA|ˈwɪə(r)}}
|
|-
| we're || ware || {{IPA|ˈwɪə(r)}}
|
|-
| we're || wear || {{IPA|ˈwɪə(r)}}
|
|}

=== {{smallcaps2|Nurse}} mergers ===
{{anchor|fern–fir–fur merger}}Common in a vast majority of modern English dialects worldwide is the merger of as many as five [[Early Modern English]] vowels ({{IPA|/ɛ/}}, {{IPA|/ɛː/}}, {{IPA|/ə/}}, {{IPA|/ɪ/}}, and {{IPA|/ʊ/}}) into {{IPA|/ɜ/}} when followed by an {{IPA|/r/}} before a consonant or at the end of a syllable. Thus, the vowels in words like {{wikt-lang|en|fir}}, {{wikt-lang|en|fur}}, and {{wikt-lang|en|fern}} are the same in almost all modern accents of English. [[John C. Wells]] briefly calls it the '''{{smallcaps2|NURSE}} merger'''.{{sfnp|Wells|1982|pp=200, 405}} When another vowel follows, these are often distinct; contrast the vowels in ''merry'', ''hurry'', ''weary'', ''mirror'', and ''furry'' (see the [[#Mary–marry–merry_merger|''Mary–marry–merry'' merger]], ''[[Mirror–nearer merger|mirror–nearer]]'' [[Mirror–nearer merger|merger]], and [[Hurry–furry merger|''hurry–furry'' merger]] for details). The major exceptions to most of the <small>Nurse</small> mergers are [[Scottish English]] and older [[Irish English]], which also do not have mergers of vowels before {{IPA|/r/}} following another vowel. What Scottish and older Irish English have in common is [[Rhoticity in English|rhoticity]] without [[R-colored vowel|r-colored vowels]], meaning that [[/ɾ/|/r/]] is used at the end of a syllable.

Words and names with historic {{IPA|/ɛːr/}} are spelled {{vr|ear}}  as in ''earn'', ''earth'' or ''pearl'' and include the function words ''her'' and ''were'', in {{vr|are, air, eir, ayer}} which have stayed distinct (see both the ''[[Meet–meat merger|meet–meat]]'' and ''[[Pane–pain merger|pane–pain]]'' mergers). The relevant words and names with historic {{IPA|/ɛr/}} are {{vr|er}} in a stressed syllable, historic {{IPA|/ʊr/}} are spelled as a stressed {{vr|ur ,or ,our}}, and {{IPA|/ɪr/}} is any {{vr|ir}} or {{vr|yr}}. The diaphoneme {{IPA|/ər/}} originates from unstressed vowels before {{IPA|/r/}} and was not otherwise distinct.

Scottish English and rural Irish English dialects both use sequences of a vowel then {{IPA|/r/}} not [[r-colored vowels]], and both lack the [[Foot–strut split|''foot–strut'' split]]; which result in comparable developments. However, the actual realizations of the retained <small>Nurse</small> vowels vary. Also, while most of Scottish English has some distinction, more prestigious/ younger Irish English realizes the <small>Nurse</small> merger as {{IPA|[ɝː]}}. The table below summarizes the overall differences:
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible"
|+Retained <small>NURSE</small> vowel table
!EME diaphoneme
!Scottish English
!older and rural Irish English
|-
!{{IPA|/ɛr/}}<br/>(spelled {{vr|er}} or {{vr|ear}}, like ''fern'')
| rowspan="2" colspan="2" |{{IPA|/ɛr/}} or {{IPA|/er/}}
|-
!{{IPA|/ɛːr/}}<br/>(spelled {{vr|are, air, ear}}, like ''fare'')
|-
!{{IPA|/ɪr/}}<br/>(spelled {{vr|ir}}, like ''fir'')
|{{IPA|/ɪr/}} (often {{IPA|/ər/}})
|{{IPA|/ɛr/}} or {{IPA|/er/}} <br/>(however, {{IPA|/ʊr/}} after [[Labial consonant|labials]], {{IPA|/t/, /d/, /t̪/, /d̪/}})
|-
!{{IPA|/ʊr/}}<br/>(spelled {{vr|ur}}, like ''fur'')
|{{IPA|/ʌr/}}
|{{IPA|/ʊr/}}
|-
!{{IPA|/ər/}}<br/>(unstressed, like ''letter'')
| colspan="2" |{{IPA|/ər/}}
|}
In [[Scottish English]], [[Mid front unrounded vowel|mid front]] {{IPA|/ɛːr/}} and {{IPA|/ɛr/}} are merged into {{IPA|/er/}}, paralleling the [[Mid back rounded vowel|mid back vowel]] [[Horse–hoarse merger|''horse–hoarse'' merger]], which Scottish English lacks. The vowel in ''fir'' {{IPA|/ɪr/}} is usually distinct, but is liable to merge than {{IPA|/ər/}} because their non-rhoticized equivalents {{IPA|/ɪ/}} and {{IPA|/ə/}} belong to the same phoneme; this parallels the [[Hurry–furry merger|''hurry–furry'' merger]]. All EME {{IPA|/ʊ/}} became {{IPA|/ʌ/}}, which included before {{IPA|/r/}}. The {{IPA|/ər/}} (''letter''), {{IPA|/er/}} (''term'') and {{IPA|/ʌr/}} (''fur'') vowels are fully distinct from each other.

For rural and very conservative [[Irish English]], {{IPA|/ɪr/}} (in ''whirl'') merges entirely with {{IPA|/ɛːr/}} (in ''earl''), sometimes merging again with {{IPA|/ɛr/}}. The merged {{IPA|/ɛːr/}} merges again with {{IPA|/ʊr/}} after [[Labial consonant|labials]] and [[Coronal consonant|coronal]] [[plosive]]s ([[Th-stopping|including]] {{IPA|/θ/}} and {{IPA|/ð/}} becoming {{IPA|/t̪/}} and {{IPA|/d̪/}}) in many common words, but this no longer productive.

{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|+ class="nowrap" | {{smallcaps2|Nurse}} merger homophones
! *{{IPA|/ɛr/}}~{{IPA|/ər/}}
! {{IPA|*/eːr/}}
! {{IPA|/ɪr/}}
! {{IPA|/ʌr/}}
! IPA
! Notes
|-
| [[Bern]] 
| - || - || burn || {{IPA|ˈbɜː(r)n}}
|
|-
| [[Bert (name)|Bert]] 
| - || - || Burt || {{IPA|ˈbɜː(r)t}}
|
|-
| - 
| - || bird || burred || {{IPA|ˈbɜː(r)d}}
|
|-
| [[Bertie (given name)|Bertie]] 
| - || birdie || - || {{IPA|ˈbɜː(r)ɾi}} || with [[flapping]]
|-
| berth 
| - || birth || - || {{IPA|ˈbɜː(r)θ}}
|
|-
| - 
| earn || - || urn || {{IPA|ˈɜː(r)n}}
|
|-
| [[Ernest]] 
| earnest || - || - || {{IPA|ˈɜː(r)nɪst}}
|
|-
| [[Ferd (nickname)|Ferd]] 
| - || - || furred || {{IPA|ˈfɜː(r)d}}
|
|-
| herd 
| heard || - || [[Hurd]] || {{IPA|ˈhɜː(r)d}}
|
|-
| herl 
| - || - || hurl || {{IPA|ˈhɜː(r)l}}
|
|-
| - 
| [[Hearst (disambiguation)|Hearst]] || - || hurst || {{IPA|ˈhɜː(r)st}}
|
|-
| - 
| - || fir || fur || {{IPA|ˈfɜː(r)}}
|
|-
| hertz; [[Hertz]] 
| - || - || hurts || {{IPA|ˈhɜː(r)ts}}
|
|-
| kerb 
| - || - || curb || {{IPA|ˈkɜː(r)b}}
|
|-
| mer- 
| - || myrrh || murr || {{IPA|ˈmɜː(r)}}
|
|-
| - 
| - || mirk || murk || {{IPA|ˈmɜː(r)k}}
|
|-
| per 
| - || - || purr || {{IPA|ˈpɜː(r)}}
|
|-
| [[Perl]] 
| pearl || - || - || {{IPA|ˈpɜː(r)l}}
|
|-
| tern 
| - || - || turn || {{IPA|ˈtɜː(r)n}}
|
|-
| were 
| - || whirr || - || {{IPA|ˈwɜː(r)}} || with [[wine–whine merger|''wine''–''whine'' merger]]
|-
| - 
| - || whirl || whorl || {{IPA|ˈwɜː(r)l}}
|
|-
| - 
| - || whirled || world || {{IPA|ˈwɜː(r)ld}} || with [[wine–whine merger|''wine''–''whine'' merger]]
|}

=== {{smallcaps2|Nurse–near}} merger ===
Some [[older Southern American English]] varieties and some of England's [[West Country dialects]] have a partial merger of {{smallcaps2|nurse–near}}. They generally pronounce {{smallcaps2|near}} as {{IPA|/njɜr/}}, which rhymes ''near'' with a {{smallcaps2|nurse}} word like ''sir'' or ''fur'' (compare general English realisations of ''cue'' and ''coo''). Words such as ''beard'' are then pronounced as {{IPA|/bjɜrd/}}.{{sfnp|Kurath|McDavid|1961|pp=117–18 and maps 33–36}} Usual word pairs like ''beer'' and ''burr'' are still distinguished as {{IPA|/bjɜr/}} and {{IPA|/bɜr/}}. However, {{IPA|/j/}} is dropped after a [[consonant cluster]] (as in ''queer'') or a [[palato-alveolar consonant]] (as in ''cheer''), likely because of [[phonotactic]] constraints, which then results in a merger with {{smallcaps2|nurse}}: {{IPA|/kwɜr/}}, {{IPA|/tʃɜr/}}.

There is evidence that the [[African American Vernacular English]] in [[Memphis, Tennessee]], merges both {{IPA|/ɪr/}} and {{IPA|/ɛər/}} with {{IPA|/ɜr/}}, so ''here'' and ''hair'' are both pronounced the same as the strong pronunciation of ''her''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ausp.memphis.edu/phonology/#Vocalic|title=Child Phonology Laboratory |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050415061649/http://www.ausp.memphis.edu/phonology/|archive-date=April 15, 2005|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== {{smallcaps2|Nurse–north}} merger ===
The '''{{smallcaps2|nurse–north}} merger''' (words like ''perk'' being pronounced like ''pork'') involves the merger of {{IPA|/ɜː/}} with {{IPA|/ɔː/}} and occurs in [[broad and general accents|broadest]] [[Geordie]].<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Wells|1982|p=374}}</ref>

Some {{smallcaps2|thought}} words (roughly those spelled with ''a'') have a distinct {{IPAblink|aː}} vowel in broad Geordie.{{sfnp|Wells|1982|pp=360, 375}} Therefore, the merger involves only some of the words corresponding to historical {{IPA|/ɔː/}} in Received Pronunciation.

{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|+ class="nowrap" | {{smallcaps2|Nurse–north}} merger homophones
! {{IPA|/ɜː/}}
! {{IPA|/ɔː/}}
! IPA
! Notes
|-
| bird || board || {{IPA|ˈbɔːd}} ||
|-
| bird || bored || {{IPA|ˈbɔːd}} ||
|-
| burn || born || {{IPA|ˈbɔːn}} ||
|-
| burn || borne || {{IPA|ˈbɔːn}} ||
|-
| curse || coarse || {{IPA|ˈkɔːs}} ||
|-
| curse || course || {{IPA|ˈkɔːs}} ||
|-
| err || oar ||  {{IPA|ˈɔː}} ||
|-
| err || or ||  {{IPA|ˈɔː}} ||
|-
| err || ore ||  {{IPA|ˈɔː}} ||
|-
| fir || for || {{IPA|ˈfɔː}} || the weak form of ''for'' is distinct: {{IPA|/fə/}}
|-
| fir || fore || {{IPA|ˈfɔː}} ||
|-
| fir || four || {{IPA|ˈfɔː}} ||
|-
| fur || for || {{IPA|ˈfɔː}} || the weak form of ''for'' is distinct: {{IPA|/fə/}}
|-
| fur || fore || {{IPA|ˈfɔː}} ||
|-
| fur || four || {{IPA|ˈfɔː}} ||
|-
| heard || hoard || {{IPA|ˈhɔːd}} ||
|-
| heard || horde || {{IPA|ˈhɔːd}} ||
|-
| her || hoar || {{IPA|ˈhɔː}} ||
|-
| her || whore || {{IPA|ˈhɔː}} ||
|-
| herd || hoard || {{IPA|ˈhɔːd}} ||
|-
| herd || horde || {{IPA|ˈhɔːd}} ||
|-
| occur || a core || {{IPA|əˈkɔː}} ||
|-
| occur || a corps || {{IPA|əˈkɔː}} ||
|-
| occurred || a chord || {{IPA|əˈkɔːd}} ||
|-
| occurred || a cord || {{IPA|əˈkɔːd}} ||
|-
| occurred || accord || {{IPA|əˈkɔːd}} ||
|-
| perk || pork || {{IPA|ˈpɔːk}} ||
|-
| purr || pore || {{IPA|ˈpɔː}} ||
|-
| purr || pour || {{IPA|ˈpɔː}} ||
|-
| sir || soar || {{IPA|ˈsɔː}} ||
|-
| sir || sore || {{IPA|ˈsɔː}} ||
|-
| stir || store || {{IPA|ˈstɔː}} ||
|-
| stirred || stored || {{IPA|ˈstɔːd}} ||
|-
| [[Turkish people|Turk]] || torque || {{IPA|ˈtɔːk}} ||
|-
| turn || torn || {{IPA|ˈtɔːn}} ||
|-
| were || war ||  {{IPA|ˈwɔː}} ||
|-
| were || wore ||  {{IPA|ˈwɔː}} ||
|-
| word || ward ||  {{IPA|ˈwɔːd}} ||
|-
| worm || warm ||  {{IPA|ˈwɔːm}} ||
|}

=== {{smallcaps2|Square–nurse}} merger ===
The '''{{smallcaps2|square–nurse}} merger''', or '''''fair''–''fur'' merger''', is a merger of {{IPA|/ɛə(r)/}} with {{IPA|/ɜː(r)/}} that occurs in some accents like [[Scouse]], various other dialects within historic [[Lancashire dialect|Lancashire]], [[Smoggie|Teesside]], [[Kingston upon Hull|Hull]], the newer [[Dublin]], and the [[Belfast]] accents.{{sfnp|Wells|1982|pp=372, 421, 444}}<ref name=mackenzie>{{cite journal |last1=MacKenzie |first1=Laurel |last2=Bailey |first2=George |last3=Turton |first3=Danielle |date=2022-05-30 |title=Towards an updated dialect atlas of British English |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-linguistic-geography/article/towards-an-updated-dialect-atlas-of-british-english/07AD1E071645452F33A118B08E038CD6#article |journal=Journal of Linguistic Geography  |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=51–52|doi=10.1017/jlg.2022.2 |access-date=2024-03-06|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>''Handbook of Varieties of English'', p. 125, Walter de Gruyter, 2004</ref><ref>Williams and Kerswill in ''Urban Voices'', Arnold, London, 1999, p. 146</ref><ref>Williams and Kerswill in ''Urban Voices'', Arnold, London, 1999, p. 143</ref>

Scouse, the accent of Liverpool and the Merseyside area, is the dialect with which the merger is most stereotypically associated.<ref name=mackenzie/> The most common realization in modern Scouse is [eː], but [ɛː] and [ɪː] are also possible.<ref>{{citation|last=Watson|first=Kevin|year=2007|title=Liverpool English|journal=Journal of the International Phonetic Association|volume=37|issue=3|pages=351–360|url=https://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/4011/1/download2.pdf?origin=publication_detail|doi=10.1017/s0025100307003180|s2cid=232345844|doi-access=free}}</ref> It is also found in many neighbouring regions of historic Lancashire, such as [[Bolton]], [[Wigan]] and [[Blackburn]], where the quality is generally a more central [ɜː]~[ɵː].<ref name=mackenzie/> Shorrocks (1999) reports that in the dialect of [[Bolton, Greater Manchester]], the two sets are generally merged to [ɵ:], but some {{smallcaps2|nurse}} words such as ''first'' have a short [ɵ].<ref>Shorrocks, Graham (1998). A Grammar of the Dialect of the Bolton Area. Pt. 1: Phonology. Bamberger Beiträge zur englischen Sprachwissenschaft; Bd. 41. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang. {{ISBN|3-631-33066-9}}.</ref>

The merger can also be found among some speakers in the Teesside conurbation and the Humberside (Hull - [[East Riding of Yorkshire]] - [[North East Lincolnshire]]) area with a quality intermediate between [ɛː] and [ɜː].<ref name=mackenzie/>

Thorne (2003) reports that the {{smallcaps2|square–nurse}} merger also occurs in [[Birmingham]], remarking the merger as being "another principally northern characteristic". Tennant (1982) reports {{smallcaps2|nurse}} as being pronounced as /eə/ - which would lead {{smallcaps2|square}} and {{smallcaps2|nurse}} as being pronounced the opposite way of their RP pronunciation.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Urzula |first1=Clark |title=West Midlands English: Birmingham and the Black Country |date=2013 |jstor=10.3366/j.ctt5hh397 |isbn=978-0-7486-4169-7 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3366/j.ctt5hh397}}</ref>

The merger is found in some varieties of [[African American Vernacular English]] and is pronounced {{IPA|[ɚ]}}: "A recent development reported for some [[AAVE|AAE]] (in Memphis, but likely found elsewhere)."<ref>Thomas, Erik (2007). "Phonological and Phonetic Characteristics of African American Vernacular English". Language and Linguistics Compass 1/5. North Carolina State University. p. 466.</ref> This is exemplified in [[Chingy]]'s song "[[Right Thurr]]", in which the merger is spelled in the title.

Labov (1994) also reports such a merger in some western parts of the United States "with a high degree of r constriction".

{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|+ class="nowrap" | {{smallcaps2|Square–nurse}} merger homophones
! {{IPA|/ɛə(r)/}}
! {{IPA|/ɜː(r)/}}
! IPA (using {{angbr IPA|ɜː}} for the merged vowel)
! Notes
|-
| air || err || {{IPA|ˈɜː(r)}}
|
|-
| [[Baird (disambiguation)|Baird]] || bird || {{IPA|ˈbɜː(r)d}}
|
|-
| [[Baird (disambiguation)|Baird]] || burd || {{IPA|ˈbɜː(r)d}}
|
|-
| [[Baird (disambiguation)|Baird]] || burred || {{IPA|ˈbɜː(r)d}}
|
|-
| bairn || burn || {{IPA|ˈbɜː(r)n}}
|
|-
| bare || burr || {{IPA|ˈbɜː(r)}}
|
|-
| bared || bird || {{IPA|ˈbɜː(r)d}}
|
|-
| bared || burd || {{IPA|ˈbɜː(r)d}}
|
|-
| bared || burred || {{IPA|ˈbɜː(r)d}}
|
|-
| barely || burly || {{IPA|ˈbɜː(r)li}}
|
|-
| bear || burr || {{IPA|ˈbɜː(r)}}
|
|-
| [[Blair]] || blur || {{IPA|ˈblɜː(r)}}
|
|-
| blare || blur || {{IPA|ˈblɜː(r)}}
|
|-
| cairn || kern || {{IPA|ˈkɜː(r)n}}
|
|-
| care || cur || {{IPA|ˈkɜː(r)}}
|
|-
| care || curr || {{IPA|ˈkɜː(r)}}
|
|-
| cared || curd || {{IPA|ˈkɜː(r)d}}
|
|-
| cared || curred || {{IPA|ˈkɜː(r)d}}
|
|-
| cared || [[Kurd]] || {{IPA|ˈkɜː(r)d}}
|
|-
| chair || chirr || {{IPA|ˈtʃɜː(r)}}
|
|-
| ere || err || {{IPA|ˈɜː(r)}}
|
|-
| fair || fir || {{IPA|ˈfɜː(r)}}
|
|-
| fair || fur || {{IPA|ˈfɜː(r)}}
|
|-
| fairy || furry || {{IPA|ˈfɜːri}}
|
|-
| fare || fir || {{IPA|ˈfɜː(r)}}
|
|-
| fare || fur || {{IPA|ˈfɜː(r)}}
|
|-
| hair || her || {{IPA|ˈhɜː(r)}}
|
|-
| haired || heard || {{IPA|ˈhɜː(r)d}}
|
|-
| haired || herd || {{IPA|ˈhɜː(r)d}}
|
|-
| hare || her || {{IPA|ˈhɜː(r)}}
|
|-
| heir || err || {{IPA|ˈɜː(r)}}
|
|-
| mare || myrrh || {{IPA|ˈmɜː(r)}}
|
|-
| pair || per || {{IPA|ˈpɜː(r)}}
|
|-
| pair || purr || {{IPA|ˈpɜː(r)}}
|
|-
| pare || per || {{IPA|ˈpɜː(r)}}
|
|-
| pare || purr || {{IPA|ˈpɜː(r)}}
|
|-
| pear || per || {{IPA|ˈpɜː(r)}}
|
|-
| pear || purr || {{IPA|ˈpɜː(r)}}
|
|-
| spare || spur || {{IPA|ˈspɜː(r)}}
|
|-
| stair || stir || {{IPA|ˈstɜː(r)}}
|
|-
| stare || stir || {{IPA|ˈstɜː(r)}}
|
|-
| ware || were || {{IPA|ˈwɜː(r)}}
|
|-
| ware || whir || {{IPA|ˈwɜː(r)}} || with [[wine–whine merger|''wine''–''whine'' merger]]
|-
| wear || were || {{IPA|ˈwɜː(r)}}
|
|-
| wear || whir || {{IPA|ˈwɜː(r)}} || with [[wine–whine merger|''wine''–''whine'' merger]]
|-
| where || were || {{IPA|ˈwɜː(r)}} 
|
|-
| where || whir || {{IPA|ˈhwɜː(r)}} || with [[wine–whine merger|''wine''–''whine'' merger]]
|}

== See also ==
* [[Phonological history of English]]
* [[Phonological history of English vowels]]
* [[Coil–curl merger|''Coil''–''curl'' merger]]
* [[English phonology]]
* [[History of English]]
* [[R-colored vowel|''R''-colored vowel]]

== Sound samples ==
{{reflist|group="sample" }}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Sources==
{{refbegin|40em}}
* {{cite book
|last1=Bauer
|first1=Laurie
|last2=Warren
|first2=Paul
|editor-last=Schneider
|editor-first=Edgar W.
|editor2-last=Burridge
|editor2-first=Kate
|editor3-last=Kortmann
|editor3-first=Bernd
|editor4-last=Mesthrie
|editor4-first=Rajend
|editor5-last=Upton
|editor5-first=Clive
|year=2004
|title=A handbook of varieties of English
|chapter=New Zealand English: phonology
|volume=1: Phonology
|publisher=Mouton de Gruyter
|pages=580–602
|isbn=3-11-017532-0
}}
* {{cite journal
|last1=Bauer
|first1=Laurie
|last2=Warren
|first2=Paul
|last3=Bardsley
|first3=Dianne
|last4=Kennedy
|first4=Marianna
|last5=Major
|first5=George
|title=New Zealand English
|journal=[[Journal of the International Phonetic Association]]
|year=2007
|volume=37
|issue=1
|pages=97–102
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282778721
|doi=10.1017/S0025100306002830
|doi-access=free
}}
* {{cite book
|last=Clark
|first=Urszula
|editor-last=Schneider
|editor-first=Edgar W.
|editor2-last=Burridge
|editor2-first=Kate
|editor3-last=Kortmann
|editor3-first=Bernd
|editor4-last=Mesthrie
|editor4-first=Rajend
|editor5-last=Upton
|editor5-first=Clive
|year=2004
|title=A handbook of varieties of English
|chapter=The English West Midlands: phonology
|volume=1: Phonology
|publisher=Mouton de Gruyter
|pages=134–162
|isbn=3-11-017532-0
}}
* {{cite book
|editor-last1=Coupland
|editor-first1=Nikolas
|editor-last2=Thomas
|editor-first2=Alan R.
|year=1990
|title=English in Wales: Diversity, Conflict, and Change
|publisher=Multilingual Matters Ltd.
|isbn=978-1-85359-032-0
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tPwYt3gVbu4C
}}
* {{cite book
|last=Hammond
|first=Michael
|title=The [[Phonology]] of English
|location=[[Oxford]]
|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]
|year=1999
|isbn=0-19-823797-9
}}
* {{cite book
|last1=Hay
|first1=Jennifer
|last2=Maclagan
|first2=Margaret
|last3=Gordon
|first3=Elizabeth
|year=2008
|title=New Zealand English
|chapter=2. Phonetics and Phonology
|series=Dialects of English
|publisher=Edinburgh University Press
|place=Edinburgh
|isbn=978-0-7486-2529-1
}}
* {{cite book
|last=Kenyon
|first=John S.
|title=American Pronunciation
|edition=10th
|location=[[Ann Arbor, Michigan]]
|publisher=George Wahr Publishing Company
|year=1951
|isbn=1-884739-08-3
}}
* {{cite book
|last1=Kurath
|first1=Hans
|last2=McDavid
|first2=Raven I.
|year=1961
|title=The Pronunciation of English in the Atlantic States
|location=Ann Arbor
|publisher=University of Michigan Press
|isbn=0-8173-0129-1
}}
* {{cite book
|last1=Labov
|first1=William
|author-link=William Labov
|last2=Ash
|first2=Sharon
|last3=Boberg
|first3=Charles
|year=2006
|title=The Atlas of North American English
|location=Berlin
|publisher=Mouton-de Gruyter
|pages=187–208
|isbn=3-11-016746-8
}}
* {{cite journal
|last=Shitara
|first=Yuko
|title=A survey of American pronunciation preferences
|journal=Speech Hearing and Language
|year=1993
|volume=7
|pages=201–232
|url=https://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/wells/shitara.pdf
}}
* {{Accents of English}}
{{refend}}

{{History of English}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:English-Language Vowel Changes Before Historic R}}
[[Category:Dialects of English|vowel changes before historic /r/]]
[[Category:Splits and mergers in English phonology|vowel changes before historic /r/]]