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12.3.4 Syllable Addition

The schwa-glide that is inserted by pre-l breaking in words like rule creates a monosyllabic vowel sequence that is phonetically very similar to the disyllabic sequence that occurs in words like cruel: [ruːᵊɫ] versus [kɹ̥uːəɫ]. Indeed, in the pronunciation of many GA speakers the inserted [ə] may become syllabic through syllable addition, especially after close free vowels and diphthongs. Further examples of such unexpected rhymes are:

rule [ˈruːəɫ]

cruel [ˈkɹ̥uːəɫ]

mule [ˈmjuːəɫ]

fuel [ˈfjuːəɫ]

foul [ˈfaʊəɫ]

vowel [ˈvaʊəɫ]

tile [ˈtaɪəɫ]

dial [ˈd̥aɪəɫ]

oil [ˈɔɪəɫ]

royal [ˈrɔɪəɫ]

fail [ˈfeɪəɫ]

portrayal [pʰɔrˈt̠ɹ̥eɪəɫ]

stole [ˈstoʊəɫ]

bestowal [b̥ɪˈstoʊəɫ]

In all of the above examples, glide insertion may apply, especially in the second word of the pairs. The result will be [ˈruːwəɫ, ˈkɹ̥uːwəɫ, ˈtʰaɪjəl], etc

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An Introduction to American English Phonetics Copyright © by Ton Broeders and Carlos Gussenhoven is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.