Re: Spanish and Italian _r_ and _rr_ -- for my Romlang #3

Charlie wrote:
> Two additional notes:
>
> 1) Word initial <r> /r/ is spelled <rr> when the word becomes a part
> of a compound word.  "Guardarropa" (coat room) comes to mind
> immediately, formed from "guardar" (keep, guard, protect) and "ropa"
> (clothing).  The <r> is doubled to indicate that the /r/ is
> retained, since it would be /4/ otherwise.  Cf. "perro" and "pero."
This has stuck in my mind from Spanish Conversation 101 years ago, when the
word "redhead(ed)" came up-- it's peli_rr_ojo.
>
> 2) When I lived in Honduras I was introduced to /r_0/, the voiceless
> alveolar trill.  Allophonic, of course, it occurs when <r> is
> final.  My American contacts often tell me they hear <sh> /S/.  I'm
> told that this is part of a Caribbean regional accent.
Maybe more widespread-- I seem to recall that somewhere in his vast obra,
Borges mentions that Argentines have been criticized by Spaniards for
pronouncing final /r/ as "sh".  I thought it was in "Alarmas del doctor
Américo Castro" (in _Otras inquisiciones_), but no; I did, however, find
this nice statement there: "...no he observado jamás que los españoles
hablaran mejor que nosostros. (Hablan en vos más alta, eso sí, con el aplomo
de quienes ignoran la duda.)"

There is an provincial Argentine dialect that pronounces /rr/ as a sort-of
trilled [Z]-like sound (like Czech r-hacek, I'm told; I can't do it, but
it's not the same as their [Z] for /ll, y/). There's a common joke for this:
--Mama, ¿qué es barro?
--Hijito, agua con tierra.