Skurring íføroyskum: Skiftið frá framtungu-r til baktungu-R og møguligt samband við skurring í føroyskum

Abstract

In Faroese /r/ is normally an alveolar fricative or continuant, but in some villages it was a (voiced) uvular roll with certain families until the 1920s. The back pronunciation of /r/ seems to be comparatively new in Europe and is thought to have started in Paris in the 17th century. It probably reached Scandinavia around 1800.

In the second half of the 18th century a few foreigners settled in the Faroes, and it is likely that the back-R was brought into Faroese by them. Genealogical and historical researches seem to indicate that the uvular roll started in one village around 1800 and then spread with members of certain families.

Perhaps this special /r/-pronunciation could be regarded as an r > R shift that did not prevail in the islands.