>(e.g., "father" went in a different direction from the other "-ather" words, like "lather" and "rather"). In my dialect (north eastern corner of the West Coun

>(e.g., "father" went in a different direction from the other "-ather" words, like "lather" and "rather"). In my dialect (north eastern corner of the West Country) all three sound the same except for the initial. Otherwise I agree with everything you said.