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I don't think the NYC area accent is truly non-rhotic, if it ever was. Under 40 accents tend to be fully rhotic, with those over 40 ranging from rhotic to semi rhotic depending on education level.
Yet it still seems to be alive more so in New England, at least when it comes to words like "car".
Note that this referring to mainly to white American English, as AAVE seems more likely to be non-rhotic. Though, that varies by area and individual of course. I would classify NYC AAVE as being "semi-rhotic".
The vast majority of American English speakers everywhere speak a rhotic dialect, and the younger they are, the more likely their speech is to be rhotic. I wouldn't be surprised if non-rhotic American English dialects die out completely during the next century.
My mom is in her 50s, educated, and from New York, and her accent is rhotic. She pretty much has every other major New York area feature (Mary-marry-merry distinction, hurry-furry distinction, short-a split with "had" and "bad" not rhyming, "ar" in words like "orange") but has never spoken a word non-rhotically as far as I recall. Maybe it's seen as especially working-class.
My mom is in her 50s, educated, and from New York, and her accent is rhotic. She pretty much has every other major New York area feature (Mary-marry-merry distinction, hurry-furry distinction, short-a split with "had" and "bad" not rhyming, "ar" in words like "orange") but has never spoken a word non-rhotically as far as I recall. Maybe it's seen as especially working-class.
No, your mother’s accent is not rhotic, if she still maintains all of the distinct features of truly non-rhotic English accents such as those you described. The concept of rhoticity encompasses more than just the pronunciation of the R-like sound where it has historically occurred at the end of words (e.g., major) and followed by a consonant-sound (e.g., part); it applies to the manner by which English speakers treat the letter “R” in all environs. For example, a truly rhotic English speaker would possess both the “Mary-marry-merry” and “furry-hurry” mergers. Also, the “or” vowel sound in words such as “horrible” and “orange” would always be pronounced as “or,” not “ar.” Someone who speaks with a truly rhotic English accent would make distinct lower mandible and tongue formations that subconsciously ensure consistently conservative treatment of the letter “R” in every historic occurrence of the consonant sound. If you closely observe how a native of Colorado or Michigan articulates, then you will observe that their jaws and lips move very differently from a native of northern New Jersey or southern New York with an allegedly “rhotic” English accent.
My mom is in her 50s, educated, and from New York, and her accent is rhotic. She pretty much has every other major New York area feature (Mary-marry-merry distinction, hurry-furry distinction, short-a split with "had" and "bad" not rhyming, "ar" in words like "orange") but has never spoken a word non-rhotically as far as I recall. Maybe it's seen as especially working-class.
I'm a young New Yorker and I don't say "orange" or "forest" in the manner you describe, but I do say "horrible" in that manner.
No, your mother’s accent is not rhotic, if she still maintains all of the distinct features of truly non-rhotic English accents such as those you described. The concept of rhoticity encompasses more than just the pronunciation of the R-like sound where it has historically occurred at the end of words (e.g., major) and followed by a consonant-sound (e.g., part); it applies to the manner by which English speakers treat the letter “R” in all environs. For example, a truly rhotic English speaker would possess both the “Mary-marry-merry” and “furry-hurry” mergers. Also, the “or” vowel sound in words such as “horrible” and “orange” would always be pronounced as “or,” not “ar.” Someone who speaks with a truly rhotic English accent would make distinct lower mandible and tongue formations that subconsciously ensure consistently conservative treatment of the letter “R” in every historic occurrence of the consonant sound. If you closely observe how a native of Colorado or Michigan articulates, then you will observe that their jaws and lips move very differently from a native of northern New Jersey or southern New York with an allegedly “rhotic” English accent.
Irish and Scottish English dialects are always called rhotic AFAIK, but have the hurry-furry and Mary-marry-merry distinctions.
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