This is quite random but I've been playing a lot of scrabble on facebook and I've just come to the conclusion that, by all accounts, 'R' is a vowel. Mostly because I had two R's and no vowels, but also because R is unlike any other consonant in the alphabet.
A consonant is defined by "The place of articulation is where in the vocal tract the obstruction of the consonant occurs, and which speech organs are involved. Places include bilabial (both lips), alveolar (tongue against the gum ridge), and velar (tongue against soft palate). Additionally, there may be a simultaneous narrowing at another place of articulation, such as palatalisation or pharyngealisation." Basically I think this means that your lips have to touch, or your tongue or some type of differentiation in how you expel air as you speak.
If you go through the alphabet right now aloud or silently, it holds true for all consonants except for R. Basically, from what I read about how you sound a vowel, R holds up as a vowel. Obviously It's too late to change that alphabet around and making R a vowel doesn't make any sense. But still, someone like Webster or Oxford or whomever owes me an apology and a thank you 8 million dollars. As always, go big and what not..
oh ps - I suppose the vocal cords might contract barely while saying R but that doesn't justify it being a consonant. if one were to make a Venn Diagram of vowels and consonants, I'm pretty sure R would be chillin in the weird oval in the middle.
