zompist bboard

What are some ways in which vowel retroflexion or r-colored vowels can develop? Is a sound change where the central component of a diphthong shifts to an ɻ-like sound plausible? Example: aɪ̩ > æə̯ >æɻ~ɛɻ (which would then merge with ɔɻ~ɔ˞.) Continuing in that vein, what are some examples of diphthon...

Also, could anyone tell me whence came the Old Prussian nominative ending *-an or *-n? Old Prussian assaran (meaning lake) corresponds to Lithuanian ežeras (with a circumflex accent on the first syllable,) Polish jezioro, and Russian ozero. The word appears to have originated from Proto-Balto-Slavic...

In the history of English there was a change whereby [ð] <> [d] in the vicinity of <r>. Thus, fader > father , but murther > murder . In effect, <th> and <d> switched places with each other in the same environment. I was wondering how this was possible and what the intermediary steps were, if any. ...