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Is "R" a Vowel?

Otherwords digs deep into this quintessential human trait of language and finds the fascinating, thought-provoking, and funny stories behind the words and sounds we take for granted. Incorporating the fields of biology, history, cultural studies, literature and more, linguistics has something for everyone and offers a unique perspective into what it means to be human.

Is "R" a Vowel?

Season 3 Episode 2 | 6m 41s | CC

There's a good argument that the letter R is, at least sometimes, not a consonant at all, but a vowel. Does that mean your 1st grade teacher was lying to you? Not exactly. R is an incredibly weird letter, with so many different sounds and functions, it's a wonder that we use one symbol to represent them all. And how people pronounce that one letter can speak volumes about their history and social

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