Some parts of the South, including the part of Kentucky I grew up in, "here" gets pronounced in the UK manner with the schwa and without the 'r' (and as two syllables), while "hear" gets pronounced in the US manner without the schwa but with the 'r'.
Answer from Sean Duggan on Stack Exchangehear
/hîr/
intransitive verb
- To perceive (sound) by the ear. Can you hear the signal?
- To learn by hearing; be told by others. I heard she got married.
- To listen to (something) attentively or in an official capacity, as in a court. heard the last witness in the afternoon.
pronunciation - Do “here” and “hear” have the same phonetic transcription in the same country? - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange
Pronunciation of ‘hear’ in South African English and RP
pronunciation: here, hear, ear [rhyme?] | WordReference Forums
How do you guys hear the Japanese pronunciation of domain expansion because I hear yu-itch-ten-kai.
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Some parts of the South, including the part of Kentucky I grew up in, "here" gets pronounced in the UK manner with the schwa and without the 'r' (and as two syllables), while "hear" gets pronounced in the US manner without the schwa but with the 'r'.
In standard US English they are pronounced the same. I've heard Southerners pronounce "hear" as two syllables with the "r" silent, as in, "Y'all come back now, yuh he-ah."
I'm surprised by Sean's statement of Kentuckians pronouncing "here" as two syllables but "hear" as one, because, as I say, the only dialect I've ever heard had it the other way around. But I've never lived in the South, only passed through now and then, so maybe there are multiple, mutually-confusing dialects down there. :-)
I often hear ‘hear’ pronounced with a yod (“hjear” - sorry, not too familiar with IPA) in South African English. I think I’ve heard this in conservative RP occasionally as well (with a different vowel, obviously).
Is this an older feature of English that’s been lost? Is it just a development in these accents? Is it actually a feature of RP or have I misheard?
Thanks guys, appreciate your help.