Learn how to trill the letter -r
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Intro |
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| Fernando: Pronunciation 5. Hello everyone and welcome to the 5th and final lesson of the Pronunciation series - How to Roll your Rs. My name is Fernando and I’m joined, as always, by JP. Hola, JP. |
| JP: Hola, Fernando. ¿Cómo te va? |
| Fernando: Bien, bien, gracias. So people are gonna be rolling their Rs by the time they finish this lesson, right, JP? |
| JP: Yeah, that’s a tall order, Fernando. For the people who don’t know how to do it, it can take weeks or months of practicing a little bit every day. So, it’s not one of those things that someone can just show you and you can do right away. |
| Fernando: Unless you’ve done it all your life. |
| JP: Unless you’ve done it all your life. |
| Fernando: So, the sound we’re talking about is -rr, -r, con aire, sí, R. |
| JP: -R, sí. |
| Fernando: Okay. So, how are you going to teach people to do this, JP? |
Lesson focus |
| JP: Okay. So, we’re gonna start by approximating the lingual blade to the alveolar ridge. |
| Fernando: And- but in the what? To what? What? |
| JP: Okay, approximate the lingual blade. That means…forget it. Okay. Just put your mouth in the position to say the word “truck,” but don’t say it. |
| Fernando: truck |
| JP: But don’t say it! You just have to hold that pre-truck position. |
| Fernando: Okay. |
| JP: Okay. That’s the easy part. |
| Fernando: Okay. |
| JP: Now that you’re in the position, take a good breath and blow air over your tongue. Your tongue has to be relaxed enough to thrill. |
| Fernando: -Rrr, -rrr. |
| JP: -rrr |
| Fernando: Amazing! It’s like a cat purring. |
| JP: Okay, -rrr. Okay, now, some of you, as you’re first starting out, it might not be happening yet. You might be just making some mouth noise. You might be going [sss…hhs]. Okay. Don’t get discouraged. If you’re just making that noise, don’t get discouraged, don’t give up. You have to practice this a little bit every day and you have to experiment with more air, less air, with a more relaxed tongue, with a less relaxed tongue. |
| Fernando: -rrr |
| JP: All right. You have to find the right combination. It’s like finding a sweet spot. You have to keep looking for it a little bit every day and you cannot give up, and you have to keep it up for weeks or even months. |
| Fernando: -rrr |
| JP: Okay. Now, some people, when they first find it, -rrr, they can only do it with a huge amount of air, right? Or maybe they have to start with a “t” sound, so you might hear like -trrr, right? |
| Fernando: That’s scary. |
| JP: Yeah, people do that. Now, eventually, you just keep trying, you keep practicing every day, you’ll learn to control it and you’ll be able to get a nice slow roll with a regular amount of air, right? -rrr |
| Fernando: Slow -rrr. |
| JP: -rrr |
| Fernando: Like, like a cat purring. |
| JP: Yeah, like a cat. Remember, you’re only gonna do this rolled “r” when you see a -rr, right, la doble -r, or when you see an “r” at the beginning of a word. |
| Fernando: You can do that at the end of a word too, comer. |
| JP: Yes, you can do it at the end of the word, but you don’t have to. You can also do it at the end of a syllable, right? So you can say Fernando. |
| Fernando: That’s my name! Fernando. |
| JP: Okay. Now, on the other hand, when you see a single “r” in the middle of a word, especially if it’s between two vowels, it’s only gonna be that single “r,” right, that single -r. So like the word for “expensive.” |
| Fernando: caro |
| JP: Caro. Caro means “expensive” and it’s a single -r, right? So, you’re gonna make the single -r sound which is not rolled, right? The single -r sound is more like the -tt in gotta, right, duh, duh, duh…duh, duh, just one. |
| Fernando: Caro. |
| JP: Caro. |
| Fernando: Yeah. Actually, it’s important you don’t roll the “r” in caro, or else you’ll get carro. |
| JP: Right. Caro means “expensive” but carro means “car” in Mexico, right? |
Outro |
| Fernando: Así es. Okay, so shall we wrap it up? |
| JP: Shall we wrap it up? |
| Fernando: Okay. |
| JP: Sure. I just wanna say one more time that if you don’t get it the first, you have to keep trying, you have to keep practicing. Even if it seems futile, you just keep trying and one day, it will come to you, right? -rrr |
| Fernando: Good advice, good advice, definitely. Okay folks, thanks for listening to this lesson. It’s the last one of Pronunciation series, so I really hope you enjoyed it. For now, it’s time to go! ¡Hasta luego! |
| JP: ¡Hasta luego! |
| Fernando: -rrr |
Comments
HideDo you find it difficult or easy to trill your Rs?
Hola Alison,
Thank you for your comment.
You need to practice and will improve soon.
Sigamos practicando.
Saludos,
Carla
Team SpanishPod101.com
I've been enjoying these lessons with JP and Fernando!! Trying to trill my R's has always been difficult!! The explanation in this lesson of how to do it was the easiest way that has ever been explained to me! Still having some difficulty, but, I'm improving!! With practice, I can see it as a skill that will get much better with time!
Hola Elizabeth,
Thank you for your feedbacks.
We know it can be really difficult to roll you R´s. I recommend you to practice in front of a mirror repeting words like carro, ratero, rapido, correr, Ramón, etc.
Please let us know your questons, our team will be glad to assist you.
Suerte,
Carla
Team SpanishPod101.com
Not really helpful
Hola Chris,
Thank you for your comment. :wink:
There're many difficult topic to explain, and we are proud to know you are understanding and enjoying your lessons. But don't forget that if you need further explanation in future lessons, just ask.
Saludos,
Carla
Team SpanishPod101.cm
Thanks for this section, one of the best explanations I have heard so far! Still difficult though :sweat_smile:
Hola Alan,
Thank you for your feedback!
There're some native spanish speaking people that also have trouble with the pronunciation of "r's", just try to do your best!
Suerte,
Carla
Team SpanishPod101.com
Many thanks for these great lessons. Although I found it easy to roll my r's, I have a friend who speaks fluent Spanish who has never been able to do it! Now....... The word pronunciation is not pronounced pronounciation! I notice that sometimes you mispronounce this word.
A lot of English speakers do the same.
Best wishes
Alan
Hi Rei,
thank you for the comment!
I totally understand that rolling R could be difficult.:sweat_smile:
When I was child, I couldn't roll my tongue either, but then I practiced a bit
and I made it! So it's really a matter of practice. Try to keep your tongue top around the upper
teeth while you give strong breath out. For me, the key point was to keep my attention to tongue
not to lower the tongue (because I tended to do that:sweat_smile: ).
Hope this helps.
Natsuko,
Team SpanishPod101.com
This lesson was so helpful! I've been having terrible trouble learning how to roll my Rs. With a little practice, I've been able to get better at it though. I think Cuimris is right; these lessons should be the first that any new user sees. They're definitely useful and they'll help prevent what my husband and I call "Peggy Hill Spanish".
Hola again Cuimris!
We are glad to hear that you are enjoying our lessons.
And thanks for your comments, we appreciate your suggestions.
Kind regards,
Laura
Team SpanishPod101.com
¡Muchas gracias! This was essential listening; could you put this series at the top of the lesson / learning chart? Attaining a good pronunciation should be the very first few lessons. This series should be much more visible than it is!
Hi Michael,
Great to know that you're enjoying our website!:wink:
Please stay tuned! Every week we have new lessons for you!
Cheers,
Gergő
Team SpanishPod101.com
Thanks, I enjoy your lessons with JP and Fernando.
Hola Jules!
Thank you for your comment! Keep practicing and let us know how is it going :wink:
Hola,
just wanted to say that you guys making learning so much fun!
I am practising my trilling using "ferrocarril" - I live in the UK and no-one has tried to tell me where the station is so far.