Episode 160: Approximant-ly English
The History of English Podcast
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The New Ur Sound in the 16th Century
In the elizabethan era, words spelled with e r and pronounced with the air vow sound came to be pronounced with a new ur sound in the 16 hundreds. That ur sound is really a combination of the r sound and that central neutral vow called shwa. The shoi vowel and the r sound are so similar that when they appear next to each other, they basically merge together.
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