Intrusion

Intrusion is the insertion of a sound between two words to ease the transition from one vowel to the next. It is a natural feature of connected speech, functioning alongside linking, elision, and assimilation. The inserted sound is not represented in spelling and is not deliberate — it arises from the articulatory movement between vowel positions.

Three Types

Intrusive /r/ — Inserted after words ending in /ə/, /ɑː/, /ɔː/, or centring diphthongs when the next word begins with a vowel. Common in non-rhotic accents (RP, Australian English).

• "law r and order" /lɔːr ənd ɔːdə/
• "media r attention" /miːdiər əˈtenʃn/
• "idea r of" /aɪdɪər əv/

Distinguished from linking /r/, where the r exists in the spelling (e.g., "far away" /fɑːr əˈweɪ/).

Intrusive /j/ — Inserted after front vowels (/iː/, /eɪ/, /aɪ/) before a following vowel.

• "I y agree" /aɪ j əˈgriː/
• "she y asked" /ʃiː j ɑːskt/

Intrusive /w/ — Inserted after back rounded vowels (/uː/, /əʊ/, /aʊ/) before a following vowel.

• "do w it" /duː w ɪt/
• "go w away" /gəʊ w əˈweɪ/

Teaching Implications

• Intrusion aids fluency and is a marker of natural connected speech
• Receptive awareness is more important than production — learners need to understand why they hear "extra" sounds in listening
• /j/ and /w/ intrusion are cross-linguistic (many languages use them); /r/ intrusion is accent-specific
• Avoid prescriptive correction — intrusive /r/ is standard in RP and most British varieties, not an error