Re: [tied] Retroflex Consonants in P.I.E.

david_russell_watson wrote:

> I was sure that I remembered
> a fellow in one old movie advising a young lady to
> trill the 'r' in the "rain in Spain". :^)

"The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain." ("By George, I think
she's got it!") He (Professor Higgins) wanted her (Liza Doolittle) to
practice RP /eI/, which corresponded to something like /aI/ ("The Rhine
in spine...") in her native London Cockney. The focus was on the vowel.

Piotr