Hi! Today we're talking about the "r"
sound. And this can be one of the most
challenging sounds for speakers of any
language, but especially Asian languages.
And this sound is slightly different in
the British accent compared to the
American accent. In the American accent
our "r" sound involves more a closed
clenched mouth especially when it comes
at the end of a word. So let's go over.
Some examples would be: Run, Rap, Ripe
Roam. These are words with an R at the
beginning and I want you to feel in your
mouth as you practice these sounds, the
shape of your tongue. Start to gain an
awareness of your tongue and what it is
doing on the inside of your mouth.
The tongue should be shaped; if you notice my
hand, it should be curling on the sides
and the sides should be reaching up and
touching the area of the gums where your
gums meet your teeth. So it's not quite
the roof or the top of your mouth.
It's more of the sides of the top of your
mouth where your teeth meet your gums.
The sides of your tongue are curling up and
touching there. So there's a real curl
and everything is clenched down: R. I say
it reminds me of a dog growling "R".
Or maybe when an R is at the beginning of a
word it might remind you of a dog
barking: "ruff ruff". So think of that burst
of air when a dog is barking and
practice the word: "run run". So a dog
growling "r" and then a dog barking "run".
And let's practice a minimal pair.
A minimal pair is just two words that are
different by only one sound.
In Asian languages, it's common to
mistaken R for an L sound. So we are
going to compare "row" with "low". So with the
R sound the sides of the tongue are
curling and touching the gum ridge near
the teeth, and with the L sound the
tongue is coming up, touching right
behind the teeth and coming down. So Row
and Low, Row and Low. Ok, so this is a
challenging sound but be patient with
yourself. There are micro muscles, tiny
little muscles in your tongue in your
mouth and you need to practice to
strengthen those muscles. So it may not
be a sound that you immediately get
perfect like a native speaker right away.
But over time and over practice,
repeating these words and recording your
voice and listening to yourself and
making those adjustments, you'll get
closer and closer to the sound of a
native speaker. Now it's your turn to
practice. Thank you for watching!
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