--- In cybalist@..., "Piotr Gasiorowski" <gpiotr@...> wrote:
> > And this treatment is due to retroflex quality of AmEn /r/?
>
> Yes, or more precisely its high-vowel-like formant structure.
So, by analogy with PIE consonants /y/ and /w/, the following
analysis can be proposed:
AmEn /r/ is a phoneme with the following allophones:
[r] when functions as non-syllabic (before vowels etc)
[&r] when functions as syllabic (before consonants, word-final etc)
[ur] prolongated grade of [&r] (etymologically < /r/ + ProtoAmEn
laryngeal?)
[ir] is to be explained.
:))))))))))))))))))))
Sergei