Re: W's in Swedish??

>
> That's another question that came into my mind: Does American

English

> retroflex r come from Dutch? I had a scenario that went like this:
> the English conquer Nieuw Amsterdam; diglossia with a low-status
> Dutch-influenced English with retroflex r, high-status English
> without; American revolution, low- and high-status are reversed in
> order to create a distance to the "old order" (Sinter Klaas ->

Santa

> Claus, etc), retroflex r becomes a "shibboleth" between British and
> American English; New York becomes port of entry for most

immigrants

> who stay a generation in New York, New Yorkese becomes standard
> American with retroflex r's; East and South European immigration
> changes retroflex r's in New York to present "toity twee"
> pronounciation.
>

Oops, should be "toity toid" (33rd).

> Torsten