What's an easy way to tell if my accent is rhotic or non-rhotic?

Question

I read about the difference on Wikipedia, but the examples of pronunciations it gives involve IPA which I don't understand.

If you don't know what they mean, why bother answering?

But I can't tell whether I do pronounce the r at the end of car. If you didn't pronounce it, wouldn't it just be 'ca' with a short 'a' sound?

Answer 1

It's referring to how or when the letter 'r' is pronounced. There are 2 main categories of English, British (non-rhotic, except for Scotland) and American (except for Boston).
British based Englishes don't pronounce the 'r' at the end of the word 'car', but American (rhotic) Englishes do pronounce the 'r' in car. Sometimes rhotic can be called 'r' full, and non-rhotic 'r' less ... a little linguistic joke here.

If you're American, and not from Boston, then you speak the rhotic variety of English i.e. the 'r'-full kind.
The Queen's English is non-rhotic, i.e. 'r' -less & more evolved.

Answer 2

Yes, nonrhotic would be car ending in a "short a" sound. I happen to speak with a Yooper accent. I find IPA incomrehensible as well.

Answer 3

I'll tell you once I know what rhotic and non-rhotic mean.

Because I was bored, stop harassing me! :(