Balto and Slavic Rs.

This is somewhat off topic, but a native-speaker of Lithuanian made this comment on another forum which I follow:

Yes, a clear Russian or Lithuanian "r" can be heard in "shutup" so I make use of it when trying to imitate native speakers.

The context is how English tends to 'drop' certain internal and word-final Ts and Ds, making 'shut up' sound (to an eye spelling) something like shuh-up, shaw-up. The same thing can happen with -nt- and -nd- though nasalization is the cause of the apparent disappearance.

Most native-speakers of my particular brand of AmE (Northern Midlands with some California, and New York) actually move the tongue into position for the T or D, and even make the connection with the alveolar ridge, but it is nonetheless often inaudible. It's the 'tap' which makes 'ladder' and 'latter' homophones, or makes 'internet' sound like 'inner net' to an untrained ear.

I'm curious about this Lithuanian or Russian, R, however. Any comments from the Balto-Slavicists? There seems to be a lesson in phonology here, and what might happen in an adstratal context.

Mark.