Vowels and diphthongs START, NORTH, FORCE

As with TRAP etc., the START and NORTH vowels in BrC often merge in a front open vowel for JamC-focussed speakers, typically long and with no r-coloration [a:], though much backer and rounded pronunciations of NORTH words commonly occur for UK-born speakers (Sally has [ö:] ). FORCE is merged with NORTH in many dialects, including South Eeast English, but not in JamC or the Caribbean generally, which Thomas (2001: 47) calls “[p]erhaps the last stronghold of the  - /or/ distinction”. Sutcliffe and Figueroa (1992: 102) hypothesise that this merger is underway in BrC, but in the London area they may still be distinguished, even in the most British-assimilated pronunciations, despite being frequently merged in RP and South East England: for Sally, FORCE remains  but NORTH is /o:/