Out of curiousity, why do Americans seem to say fast without a R sound? I can't think of a way to write how they say it, but I say it th-are-st. (I'm Australian if that helps at all...)
2006-10-08 22:31:48 · 4 answers · asked by magicalnightingale 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
And last as well. Seeing as fast and last sound similar... (As they should, seeing as the ending is the same... -_-)
2006-10-08 22:36:10 · update #1
For the record: Ah is what I meant by a R sound... You know. Ah, R, Are....
2006-10-08 22:42:44 · update #2
I know what you mean. The sound that you are calling an R sound is actually a vowel sound, it's just represented with the letter R.
So your real question is, "Why do Americans use a different vowel from Australians in the word fast?"
The pronunciation of vowels is one of the main differences between the dialects of English. The way that people pronounce vowels is always changing, actually, and historically the pronunciation of vowels in English was different than it is today. As the dialects of English have diverged from each other, their pronunciations have changed as well.
2006-10-09 10:27:50 · answer #1 · answered by drshorty 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
these are due to dialectic differences. There is no r in the words last and fast so we don't say any; however, the way words are pronounced are just dialects from the area they are used in..just like here in the states some say pop and some say soda when referring to a drink like Pepsi (or they just say Pepsi)
Some say they get a .bag at the grocery and say say a sack. Again this depends on how other people in the area refer to the item..
so the words you use and the way you pronounce them are different depending on the area or country you are from and some regions within the same place have different dialects..nothing to worry about.
2006-10-09 05:44:02 · answer #2 · answered by paula 2 · 5⤊ 0⤋
As far as I know there is no R sound in fast. English is one of the hardest languages to learn because we have several words that mean the same thing and it depends on where you live as what you call something. Even in saying bad to mean good.
2006-10-09 06:23:31 · answer #3 · answered by greylady 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Ya got me stumped. Never knew there was an R sound in FAST. F ah plus Ssssst. Fast. Where does one the R sound? Frast? R-Fast? Enough...
Peace...
2006-10-09 05:35:28 · answer #4 · answered by JVHawai'i 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋