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>Why do I say "Warshington" DC instead of "Washington" DC?
Depending on whence you come, there could be at least a couple of reasons.
First, the vowel is for many of us very back, rather low, and round, and
from that into an English retroflex [r] is a pretty easy move.
Second, Southern and New England dialects delete /r/ following a vowel in a
closed syllable. What often happens then for such speakers who feel their
dialect stigmatized is that they try to overcorrect and stick in the /r/.
Even in places where etymologically and in related dialects that dont
delete postvocalic /r/ it does not occur. President John F Kennedy was
noted for "Americar" and "Cubar".
Joseph F Foster, Ph D
Assoc. Professor of Anthropology &
Director of Undergraduate Studies
Dept. of Anthropology
U of Cincinnati, Ohio, USA 45221-0380
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