Query: /w/ for /r/ in any British dialects?

Sun Nov 24 23:22:18 UTC 2013

I have heard it occasionally on BBC news. Was never sure if it was an accent or a speech impediment.

On Nov 24, 2013, at 12:39 PM, Cohen, Gerald Leonard wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Cohen, Gerald Leonard" <gcohen at MST.EDU>
> Subject:      Query: /w/ for /r/ in any British dialects?
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Are there any British dialects where /w/ can be substituted for /r/, such as "gwand" for "grand" and "dweadful" for "dreadful"? This feature turned up in the speech of at least some 19th century (U.S.) "dudes", who somehow took it to be refined British speech.  Was it based on anything actually spoken in Britain?
>
> Gerald Cohen
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org