Also, it's false that the alveolar approximant is the same as the retroflex (some Americans have the retroflex version; some don't). To be fair, they sound virt

Also, it's false that the alveolar approximant is the same as the retroflex (some Americans have the retroflex version; some don't). To be fair, they sound virtually identical (at least to me). Furthermore, it's extremely false to claim that either of these sounds is exclusive or nearly so to American English; they are present in many languages, including but not limited to various dialects of European languages, and also including Mandarin, which has several times more native speakers than Am.E. does.