Torsten writes:
> That's another question that came into my mind: Does
> American English retroflex r come from Dutch?
I don't understand my own American Rs.
I doubt, however, that the American R is Dutch derived. Rather, the
General American accent starts in the NE corner of Ohio (the old
Western Reserve of Connecticut) and expands conically as it moves
west.
The rhotic "non-RP" accent you find in most of the US and Canada is
paralleled by 'West Country' accents found in England.
The founder effects here are fascinating.