The letter R

[horseshoe3]

I was listening to an interview with an asian man the other day. Like most people who learned an asian language first, he had trouble pronouncing the "R" sound. That got me thinking about R and why it is hard to pronounce. It's not just asians - children just learning to talk and people with slight speech impediments also have trouble with it.

I'm not a linguist so some of my terminology may be off, but here goes. The R sound is unique in that it is one of only three "open" consonants. All consonants except H, R and W are pronounced with contact between the teeth, lips or tongue to palate. R is even more unique because it is the only sound made with an unsymetrical mouth. The tongue has to be slightly off center to say it right.

I played around with it and found that I always say Rs with my tongue to the right. I try it to the left and it sounds wrong. That made me wonder if others do it the same, or if it is just random. I am right handed and move my tongue to the right. Do lefties put their tongues to the left? I don't know. How do you guys do it? I'm inclined to think that it is totally random, but would be interested in hearing from others.

[JohnQPublic]

Try the Spanish "rr". Very difficult for some people to say (it's the kindo of "grrrrrr" sound, but done with the tongue).

[Golden]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0RSHFoRbiE

[Sparky]

This is what I like about GSUS. And why its name doesn't do it justice. ;)

[Glass]

I find the same. The tip of my tounge to the right and it sounds like an R. Tip of my tounge to the left and it sounds like an L

[palani]

R ... an interesting abbreviation ... short for Rex (the King). When I use it in my signature I have yet to find anyone to object.

[Bigjon]

R's are easy unless you try Norsk R's. I sure wish I could figure out how to roll my R's like the Scandinavians do. My cousin Trond makes fun of the way I say his name and my cousin Roger is too nice to grimace when I say his name.

[Down1]

We don't do "R's" up here in Mass.
Not Chinese though, must be due to public education budget cuts.

[hoarder]

Pronouncing the letter R is a "White thing". Europeans have narrower bites than other races. To pronounce "R" your tongue contacts both sides of your upper bite. It's very difficult to pronounce if you have a broad bite.

That's why Jews say "New Yawk" instead of "New York".

[horseshoe3]

We don't do "R's" up here in Mass.
Not Chinese though, must be due to public education budget cuts.

You guys use the correct amount of Rs. You just put them in the wrong places.

I always get a kick out of Norm Abrams. He builds a chest of draws, and he might drawer a picture on it.

[mamboni]

Great! Next there'll be a class action lawsuit by Orientals against Toys R Us for descwinatowy businesses pwactices.

[Santa]

WTF! My tongue doesn't go side to side when I talk. Front to back, back to front, but never side to side.

Reptiles tongues go side to side, don't they?

[sugar plum]

Our Japanese conductor of my symphony just replaces his R's with L's (and I think R's at the end of words become UH just as one would sing in a song). "Flied Lice", Tchaikovsky's Nutclackuh...but I think he tries to flick his tongue to get something closer to an R for the first R in rehearsal.

[Awoke]

British people always screw up words that end in and R or an A. They say the "A" words like an "R" and they say the "R" words like an "A".
Water becomes wootah, and America becomes Ameriker. It's pathetic.

Asians to the same thing with the letters "L" and "R".
Rice become "Lice" and Car becomes "Cawl"

[sugar plum]

Yeah, doesn't flied lice sound good to eat? ;)

[StreetsOfGold]

Judges 12:6 Then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth: for he could not frame to pronounce it right. Then they took him, and slew him at the passages of Jordan: and there fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and two thousand.

[Glass]

Refrigerator