spongetaro
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It looks like the guttural R did spread from Northern France to the rest of Europe like a STD. Only Spain and Italy remain as the last bastions of rolled R. Probably this is due to natural barriers (i.e. the Alps) which may have halted difussion of that cross-language phonetic trait. Another interesting thing is the social status of guttural R in European countries. I don't agree with the map, since according to its color code usage of guttural R is always either standard or used by educated people. It's not always the case, at least not in Italy:
"As in Spanish, standard Italian considers the guttural or uvular /r/ a mistake or defect. But some north areas which have strong Gallic and Germanic influence use this form of /r/ as the main form of the phoneme."
I know that guttural R is common among the Turinese, but it's just a dialectal trait, not standard whatsoever, just like rolled R is dialectal in Germany. How do Italian people see the guttural R in their language? Funny, classy, stupid?
all western romance languages have the guttaral R as its associated with the Vulgar Latin
It looks like the guttural R did spread from Northern France to the rest of Europe like a STD.
I have always thought of this guttural R as more Germanic in origins. It is doubtful that it would have spread to most of Germany, all Denmark and parts of Norway if it had a recent (17-18th century) French origin. I don't think it is a coincidence that it is found in northern and eastern France, which is far more Germanised that the centre or southwest. It's a typical genetic fault line too.
It's a fascinating topic ! I would like to add that many Flemish dialects use a guttural R too, although it is more vocal/stressed than the soft guttural R in standard French (but many French-speaking Belgians use that harsh guttural R too).
I read that some dialects of northern England had it too (in Cumbria I think), but I can't find the reference anymore.
I have always thought of this guttural R as more Germanic in origins. It is doubtful that it would have spread to most of Germany, all Denmark and parts of Norway if it had a recent (17-18th century) French origin. I don't think it is a coincidence that it is found in northern and eastern France, which is far more Germanised that the centre or southwest. It's a typical genetic fault line too.
I I'm astonished when I read (Spongerato) that guttural (more correct: 'laryngal') 'R' could come from a vulgar latin - almost all the Europe regions had a "dental-palatal" or apical R previously -
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