Pronounce "R" in American English
The American r sound is different from the r sound found in other languages. English learners will commonly substitute the r from their own language, or they may substitute a similar sound, like l, d, or t. Here are some tips to help you pronounce r in American English.
How to Pronounce R
R is a continuous sound. Once you begin the sound, you should be able to continue making it until you run out of breath.
To make the r sound, there is a lot of tension in your mouth. Your teeth are almost touching, but they are still open a little bit. Your mouth is open a little bit, and your lips are in a small circle, and a little flared.
Your tongue has the most work to do. First, pull your tongue back, making it shorter and wider than normal. Raise the back of your tongue as much as you can without blocking the air. The sides of your tongue will be touching the top teeth in the back of your mouth. Your tongue should have a lot of tension in it; it should not be relaxed. The tip of your tongue should not be touching anything.
This tongue and lip position is what makes the sound. Now use your vocal cords to make a sound as you push air through your mouth.
The tip of your tongue shouldn’t be touching anything, There are no taps or trills. Remember, the American r sound is a continuous sound made in the middle of the mouth as air passes over the top of the tongue. Try making the growling sound you might hear an angry dog make. This might help you produce the sound of r.
Practice with R
First, let’s practice the r sound. Push out and round your lips. Pull your tongue to the back of your mouth and raise it so that the sides of your tongue touch your upper back teeth.
Now practice these words with me from John chapter 5:
later, for, year, sir, stir, first, right, work
Practice these words with R
R in Consonant Clusters
R is often found together with other consonants, which can add to the difficulty of pronouncing it. We just pronounced the words stir, first, and work. When you see r with another consonant, remember that each letter should be pronounced clearly. Try these words with me. Speak slowly and practice saying both letters completely.
cry, bright, dry, fry, green, praise, try
R in consonant clusters
R can also appear with other consonants at the end of a word, or in the middle:
ark, harbor, part, barn, arm, hard, pearl, harp, cars
Practice more words with R
More Ways to Practice R
A really great way to improve your American r sound is by combining r with each vowel, and repeating the sounds over and over again. For example, say these practice sounds with me, using long vowels:
rai, ree, rai, ro, ru
Practice R with long vowels
Now say these practice sounds using short vowels with me:
rah, reh, rih, roh, ruh
Practice R with short vowels
These are just practice sounds to help you learn how to pronounce r with the letters around it. Now try the different consonant clusters with r, with different long vowel sounds. Make up your own words, too, with the short vowel sounds and the diphthong vowels, like the oy sound as in boy, or the ow sound as in how.
bray, bree, brai, bro, bru
cray, cree, crai, cro, cru
dray, dree, drai, dro, dru
pray, pree, prai, pro, pru
tray, tree, trai, tro, tru
fray, free, frai, fro, fru
gray, gree, grai, gro, gru
Practice R in consonant clusters
The more you practice, the easier it will be to hear and say the American r sound.
What Should I Practice Next?
We’ve finished what may be the three most difficult sounds of English – th, l, and r. Let’s look next at the letter W.
