Skip to main content
Back to Show
Otherwords

Is "R" a Vowel?

Season 3 Episode 2

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

Only Available with Passport Starting
Support Provided By
Season
Literally No One Likes a Grammar Cop
8:57
Besides being annoying, what if the grammar police are actually... wrong?
The Stories Behind Food Names
7:46
It shouldn't matter what a food is called as long as it tastes good, right? Well...
Is Bilingualism a Superpower?
9:41
Current studies with children show show new insight into bilingualism.
Foreign Words We Need in English
7:00
English has more words than most other languages, but there are still gaps.
A Controversial Theory About Gossip
7:24
Why is gossip an integral part of human social structure?
Pronouns: Little Words That Say a Lot
5:56
Pronouns may be little, but they say a lot, and they're always changing!
The Screwed-Up History of English Spelling
7:50
The English spelling system is a MESS... arguably more than any other language.
How Do Clichés Evolve into Memes?
6:19
Adaptable clichés called "snowclones" are EVERYWHERE but they're older than you think.
Is Swearing Good for Your Brain?
6:08
There's evidence that sweating may be good for your psyche.
Otherwords Season 1
7:11
The word "Death" has a lot of euphemisms in virtually every language.
Popular Words Invented by Authors
7:21
We explore some of the popular words authors have created that are now in our lexicon.
What People Get Wrong About African-American English
11:23
Here are the deep misconceptions about African-American English (AAE).
Active loading indicator