Guttural R - North Germanic

North Germanic

An alveolar rhotic predominates northern Scandinavia. Where it occurs, it affects the succeeding alveolars, turning the clusters /rs/ and /rt/, /rd/, /rn/, /rl/ retroflex: . Thus the Norwegian word "norsk" is pronounced by speakers with an alveolar flap. This effect is rare in the speech of those using a uvular R, though it can occasionally occur, particularly amongst those who have had significant exposure to speakers using an alveolar flap.