How to Roll the Letter R With Your Tongue

Rolling your R's is a common problem for English speakers attempting to speak languages where the rolled R plays a significant part in an authentic-sounding accent. The rolled R, or alveolar trill as it is more properly named, is a vibrating sound made with the tip of the tongue held at the back of the alveolar ridge, just before the hard pallet on the roof of your mouth. It takes practice, but it is possible for virtually all English speakers to roll the letter R with their tongue.

Things You'll Need

• Language audio

Instructions

1. Listen to your language audio tapes or files for the rolled R pronunciation.

2. Pout your lips, keeping them relaxed. Inhale deeply, then exhale strongly, letting the air pass through your lips, making them vibrate. This will sound somewhat like a big, puffed-out sigh.

3. Inhale and exhale again, this time adding sound to the exhalation, as though making the noise of a car engine. Draw out the exhale for as long as possible, feeling the vibrations over your tongue. Practice this exhale until it feels entirely comfortable.

4. Change the position of your tongue so the tip is just on the inside of your upper lip. Open the lips slightly, but keep the tip of your tongue relaxed. Repeat the exhalation exercise, adding sound each time. Repeat until comfortable.

5. Change the position of your tongue to the back of the upper teeth, with the tongue upright but tip relaxed and repeat the exhalation procedure, feeling how the vibrations have changed from vibrating on the lips, to vibrating on the tip of your tongue.

6. Change the position of your tongue to the back of the alveolar ridge -- you can feel it with your tongue as the position just before the roof of your mouth dips back into the pallet.

7. Exhale adding sound to the exhalation; try a drawn out "L" sound, a "D" sound and finally an "R" sound. Continue just making the "R" sound until it feels comfortable.

8. Add a consonant to the front of the "R" sound. Start with "DR" as these two sounds are quite similar. Try "CR" then add a vowel sound to the end "CRA," "TRO," "BRA" then try a word you know: "BRAVO" you've learned to roll your Rs.

References

• Unilang: Consonants: Alveolar Trill
• Learning Spanish Quickly: Learn Spanish -- How To Roll Your R's