Re: Need some help with terms: was "rhotic miscellany"

On Mon, Nov 08, 2004 at 09:06:32AM -0500, Sally Caves wrote:
> >OOOOPS!!!!
> >
> >Looks like some of us have been writing at cross purposes - probably not
> >for the first time in this thread  :)
> >
> >I cannot answer for John, but I've been assuming that Sally was talking
> >about the |r| in |rack|, not the |r| in |car|.
As an American, what I was talking about was both of them. :)

For me, the difference between initial and final /r/ seems to be the
same as that between initial and final /j/ and /w/: /ja/ (German for "yes")
vs /aj/ (one of those things you see out of); /w&/ (crying baby)
vs /&w/ (more adult expression of pain).

That is, the representations /aj/ and /&w/ are shorthand for something
that's more like /ai_^/ and /&u_^/ (or /aI_^/ and /&U_^/, etc).  The
final bit is really a vowel, not a consonant, and I think that's the
same in my pronunciation of "car": it ends in a non-syllabic but vocalic
r.  I can extend the sound indefinitely and say "carrrrrrrrrrr"; and
unlike you non-rhotics' pronunciation, the final sound is the same
regardless of the vowel: bearrrrrrrrrrrrr, beerrrrrrrr,
boarrrrrrrrrrrrrr, brewerrrrrrrrrrr, etc.

-Marcos