Back r in Swedish. An Alternative Hypothesis

Contrary to the traditional view that Germanic *r & *z merged in East Nordic as an apical vibrant [r] that was later replaced by uvular [R] in areas affected by a northward spread of the latter from French & German, it is proposed that *r was realized as [R] in East Nordic prior to merger with *z & that Danish & Southern Swedish dialects preserve the ancient pronunciation of r. In support of this alternative hypothesis, it is noted that the southward spread of the lateralization of *r(eth) in a wide area of northern Mainland Scandinavia was halted in the 16th century at a line that coincides with the modern isogloss between [R] & [r], which must therefore already have been present & cannot be due to an improbably rapid northward spread of German [R] in the 18th & 19th centuries. 2 Figures, 4 Maps, 63 References. J. Hitchcock