How to Roll Your R's

Exercising your tongue muscles will help you roll your R's.

Contrary to popular belief, the ability to roll your R's -- known as the alveolar trill -- in foreign languages is not a genetic characteristic. It is difficult for native English speakers because it uses muscles in the tongue and mouth that native English speakers simply do not use often in everyday speech. With a little bit of practice, however, you can learn to roll your R's. Training your tongue muscle is like training any other muscle in your body. It needs strength and development to perform a skill that is foreign for it. Try some warm-ups and exercises, and stick with it.

Things You'll Need

• Patience

Instructions

1. Relax your mouth and tongue and keep your lips slightly open. Keep your mouth relaxed; if you purse your lips, your rolled R will come out too forceful.

2. Curl your tongue up very slightly just behind the top of your top gums. The tip of your tongue should be loose and should float just below the roof of the mouth between the upper teeth and the hard palate. This is the alveolar ridge. You can find it by smoothing the tip of your tongue along the tooth sockets along the top row of your teeth.

3. Tense your tongue, but leave the tip loose so it can vibrate. Breathe out, allowing your tongue to vibrate with the passing air, as you create a "purring" sound.

4. Try replacing the "R" with a "D" sound. It won't sound right if you say the word slowly, or if the word begins with an "R."

5. Say the word "butter," then say the word "ladder." You should feel the tongue on the inside of your mouth flipping up during the second syllable. It should barely touch the gum above and behind your top row of teeth near the roof of your mouth. Repeat the words over and over as a daily exercise.

6. Try saying "Dracula" and see if it helps you roll the R by putting a D in front of it. Touch the tip of your tongue to the bottom of your two top front teeth. Then say "Dracula" and notice the tongue moves loosely but quickly from the tips of your teeth to the roof of your mouth.

7. Say "Vision" so that the central "zh" sound is very drawn out, lasting three to four seconds. Increase in volume while you're on the "zh" sound. It may also help to raise the pitch gradually. Make the final syllable of "vision" very short, but continue to get louder. By the time you say the final "n" of "vision" you should be making the loudest sound you possibly can. You will feel the vibration that creates rolled R sounds.

8. Practice repeating the following sounds in rapid succession, "Tee-Dee-Va." Do this when you're in the shower, driving a car or walking -- any spare time.

Tips & Warnings

• Here's a fun fact to share with all those native speakers who tease you. The trill is not easy for any language speakers. It is usually the last consonant sound learned by children in trill languages, and most languages that contain trills also contain words describing people who cannot do them.

• Use a mirror. This will help you see as well as feel if your tongue is in the correct place.

• Very rare physical conditions inside the mouth can prevent you from vocalizing the alveolar trill, like the tongue-tied condition -- ankyloglossia inferior or tight frenulum. This occurs when the tongue joins the lower palate and cannot physically reach the top palate. A cleft palate and missing upper teeth can also keep you from producing thrills.

References

• Guide to Learning Spanish: How to Roll Your R's