By Olga Smith
In this blog post, we will share with you great tips based on 25 years of teaching experience for the English/r/ sound and how to avoid mistakes associated with this sound.
Speech organs position for the English /r/ sound:
The tip of the tongue curls back slightly in the roof of the mouth, just behind the alveolar ridge, and the breath squeezes past whilst the tongue is still and not vibrating.
There are other pronunciations of the letter "r" or sound /r/:
In old fashioned RP, the /r/ sound was often pronounced with a single tap of the tip of the tongue behind the teeth in between two vowel sounds.
In other languages, the letter "r" is pronounced differently from English.
For example, the French vibrate the tongue towards the back of the mouth.
Russians, however slightly vibrate the tip of the tongue very quickly as the breath passes through.
In our experience of teaching speech, the English /r/sound is particularly difficult for Japanese and Chinese students. They often pronounce the /r/ sound using their lips and the result is the /r/ sound replaced with a /w/.
Tips to pronounce the /r/ sound correctly:
Do not vibrate your tongue, keep your tongue still
Do not use the lips to pronounce /r/
Practice lesson 41 and articulation tongue exercises with our apps Get Rid of your Accent UK1, Elocution Lessons and Business English Speech.