Friday, May 8, 2009

The Dreaded "R" Sound

The r sound is one of the most difficult sounds to make for ESL students. In American English, the /r/ sound is rhotic. When speaking with the General American Accent, Americans use a rhotic /r/, which means we say it in all parts of the word, (beginning, middle, and end) including when it occurs after a vowel sound. This is one of the major differences among accents of English. I tell my students, where you see an /r/ written, pronounce the /r/ sound. The key is to remember that vocalic /r/ has 5 different positions, as it is controlled by vowels, which modifies it's shape each time. ie: or, ar, er, ir, ur.

The /r/ sound and the /l/ sound are difficult because they are both "liquid". This simply means there is no hard place to put your tongue tip (except for the L at a words beginning, "la") and as you say the letter your mouth and tongue are moving. I spend time at the beginning of every class doing rudimentary pronunciation practice, usually by means of a "tongue twister". Invariably when we practice the /r/ sound we end up making faces at each other and making weird noises as I attempt to demonstrate and teach the /r/ sound.
Here are some tips.

  • I tell my students: Sweep the roof of your mouth(front to back) with your tongue saying 'ah'. When I say stop, keep your tongue in that position and continue vocalization. Then Bring the tip down slightly. The tip doesn't touch any part of the mouth at this point.
  • make a bowl or cup shape with your tongue with a flexing action as if your making a muscle.
  • the cup shaped sides of your tongue touch the side of your mouth just above the back molar area.
  • the front of the tongue can be up or down just not touching
  • say "sh," then stop, but maintain the tongue position, and then drop the tip of the tongue slightly relax your jaw and say /r/. This can lead to say, "sh...r" (sure)
Pronunciation: The "r" Sound

Minimal Pairs
ray
lay
way
fire
file
marrow
mellow
reed
lead
weed
steer
steel
crew
clue
rain
lain
wane
tear
teal
bereave
believe
rash
lash

trier
trial
berated
belated
rind
wind

pyre
pile


rest
lest







Challenging Words
  • rhyme
  • ear
  • wary
  • retrieving
  • care
  • ire
  • ritual
  • irrelevant
  • rail
  • wire
  • ogre
  • relentless
  • rare
  • flare
  • peril
  • rollover
  • roar
  • hair
  • wristwatch
  • labyrinth
  • roll
  • arrow
  • infringe
  • occurrence
  • war
  • really
  • rowing

  • strip
  • heirloom




  • In Phrases
    rest and relaxation
    not a care in the world
    violent behavior
    live and let live
    a calendar girl
    All's well that ends well
    road rage
    without rhyme or reason
    twenty-seventh
    get your wires crossed
    rest assured
    anniversary
    101 West Redwood Road
    random access memory
    liven up
    road rally
    verifiable evidence
    wide variety


    Dialogue
    A: What's wrong?
    B: Nothing. Just rehearsing my lines.
    A: What for? Are you performing in a play?
    B: It's called "The Grapes of Wrath."
    A: Never heard of it.
    B: Really? It's the most popular play around.
    A: Are you memorizing or just trying to remember?
    B: I'm trying to concentrate.
    B: Sorry.

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