--- In cybalist@..., "Piotr Gasiorowski" <gpiotr@...> wrote:
> If the flapped or tapped /r/ was retracted but not subapical,
> and if the retroflex variant was only slightly so, how would a
> naive observer have known the difference?
I am curious why you consider the authors of the praati"sakhyas
as "naive observers"? Is this based on first hand knowledge of the
praati"sakhyas or an assumption? [This is a genuine question.]
If the former, can you explain your evaluation further?
The authors of the praati"sakhyas seem to have gone to great
trouble to ensure that their students reproduce the vedas
"correctly", giving minute details as to what they considered
to be correct and incorrect pronunciations. This is hardly
what I would associate with "naive observers".