Episode 160: Approximant-ly English
The History of English Podcast
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The Loss of the R Sound After Voels in England in the 17th Century
Linguists debate whether the early loss of the ar sond in east anglia is connected to the more widespread loss of the r sound throughout england in the 17 hundreds. The region around massachusetts still has a very distinctive non rhotic accent. Vowels just tend to do funny things when they appear before an r sound. It may have something to do with the way the tongue shapes the sounds when they appear together. english has experienced some unique vowel changes when the vowel is followed by an r.
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