In varieties of African-American English, Southern States English, and New England English, the consonant 
, the English "r", is sometimes not pronounced in surface forms. For example, in some varieties of Southern States English and New England English, words such as guard and car are pronounced with a lengthened vowel in place of the "r" (eg. SSE guard 
and NEE car 
). Other words, such as fear or bored, are pronounced with a glided 
, in place of the "r" (eg. SSE fear 
).
According to Labov (1972), this results in homophony in these varieties, such as illustrated by the following:
| guard = god | par = pa |
| nor = gnaw | fort = fought |
| sore = saw | court = caught |
In these varieties of Southern States English and New England English, when the is followed by a vowel, it is pronounced. For example, in four o' clock, the "r" surfaces.
In African-American English, the r-lessness pattern is often less restricted, and is not pronounced, even when followed by a vowel. Labov (1972) states that this results in homophony like the following:
| Carol = Cal |
| Paris = pass |
| terrace = test |
In British English R-lessness also exists. Trudgill (1999) cites the fact that in Britain about 250 years ago, the "r" started to be dropped in some dialects if it occurred before a consonant such as in arm or far. Where "r" occurred before a vowel, such as in rack, track, or carry it was retained. The change is thought to have started in the southeast of England and to have spread to other parts of the country and is continuing to spread. He sees the older people retaining the "r" in such words as tart, and the younger people losing it.
The process of ‘r’-loss has probably been accelerated by the fact it has been seen to exist in the BBC accent (standard RP) and thus pronouncing r’s has relatively low status in England, and omitting them relatively high social status Trudgill (1999).