rhotacisms
/ˈroʊtəˌsɪzəmz/
noun
- The change of a speech sound (especially /s/ or /z/) to the sound /r/, or the excessive use of the /r/ sound in speech.
- The linguist studied the rhotacisms that occurred in Latin words over time.
- Rhotacisms can make a language sound very different from its earlier forms.
- Some dialects of English show rhotacisms, where speakers pronounce an 'r' sound where others do not.