Consonant /r/ phoneme

The /r/ sound is a consonant in English, written with the letter <r>. It tends to pose challenges for ESL/EFL learners, particularly for those L1 has no similar sound. In older language textbooks, it is referred to as a liquid consonant. In modern terms, it is an approximant consonant, or in layperson's terms, a semi-vowel or semi-consonant. The correct symbol in the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is /ɹ/, but for the sake of convenience, the symbol /r/ will be used here. In this article, slash marks like /r/ indicate a phoneme, while angled brackets like <r> indicate a letter or spelling.

1 Linguistic description

• Place of articulation: The tongue tip approaches the alveolar ridge (the gum ridge above the upper teeth) or behind the alveolar gum ridge; thus, it is alveolar or post-alveolar.
• Manner of articulation: It is classified as an approximant, that is, it is produced by narrowing the air passageway between the tongue tip and the alveolar region, but not enough to produce any friction in the air stream.
• Phonation: It is voiced, i.e., the vocal cords (glottis) are in vibration.

In older texts, it was classified as a liquid, along with the /l/ sound. This, however, is a very outdated and imprecise term, as "liquid" was used for alveolar sounds that did not fit neatly into major categories like stops. The tongue tip creates a narrow passageway as it approaches the alveolar region, but the air simply flows through this passageway. For this reason, it is called an approximant, which falls between fricatives and vowels in terms of sonority. Thus, /r/ belongs to the same category as /w/ as in "watt" and the "y" sound as in "yes".

The glottis vibrates and produces a fundamental frequency (F0), which provides the basic intonation of the sounds, particularly the vowels and voiced consonants. As the F0 bounces around the vocal cavity, other harmonic frequencies are produced, including the F1 and F2, which are responsible for vowel quality, and the F3 and F4. When the tongue partially obstructs the mouth near the alveolar area, the F3 and F4 sounds produced give the /r/ sound its distinctive sound, along with the air flowing through this slightly narrowed opening. After a vowel, the /r/ becomes particularly vowel-like, and almost forms a double vowel (diphthong) with the previous vowel, e.g.:

• bar, bear, beer, boar, bur
• car, care, core, cure

The distinction between /l/ and /r/ is in tongue contact – for /l/ the tongue touches the alveolar ridge or behind it, while for /r/, the tongue approaches but does not touch the alveolar region or palatal area. Among native English speakers, in first language learning, the /r/ and /w/ sounds are the last sounds that children master in learning English. In some regions or among some speakers, a common variant of /r/ occurs when the tongue bends further back to the pre-palatal area, as in some dialects in Texas and other southern US areas.

1.1 Cross-linguistic comparison

The English /r/ sound (actually, /ɹ/) is rare across the world's languages. One of the few significant languages where it occurs as a phoneme is Icelandic, though it occurs as a variant (allophone) of other <r> sounds in other languages like Thai. The <r> sounds of other languages are often one of the following.

1. Many languages have trilled /r/ sounds as in Spanish (in proper IPA, the symbol /r/ is actually a trill <r>), or light alveolar tap sounds as in Scandinavian languages.
2. In some languages like French, German and Dutch, the <r> sound is a trill made by vibrating the uvula in the back of the throat.
3. Scandinavian languages have light alveolar tap <r> sounds.
4. In Chinese, the <r> is either (1) a variant of a retroflexed <zh> sound at the beginning of a syllable, like the /ᴣ/ in pleasure with the tongue tip bent back more, with only slight friction; or it is a very retroflexed approximant-like sound after a vowel at the end of a syllable (imagine the pre-palatal Texas /r/ with the tongue bent even further back toward the palate). Examples include (1) rén "person" and (2) ér "child."
5. Japanese and Korean have alveolar or post-alveolar tap <r> sounds. In Korean, the <r> sound only occurs in the middle of a word (medial position), and not at the beginning or end of a word.

1.2 Teaching /r/ production

Initially, teaching /r/ to learners whose first language has no analogous sound can be difficult. One could start with the Arrr sound of pirate talk as a starting point, then isolating the approximant sound from that. Chinese learners can start with final <r> sounds in Chinese and bending the tongue more toward the alveolar area. For advanced learners, certain English words still pose challenges; for example, words like "squirrel" are notoriously difficult for East Asian learners of English.

2 Practice activities and materials

Minimal pairs, which contrast a target sound with a sound that is a separate phoneme, are typical starting points for production and practice activities, particularly comparing /r/ with /l/ for East Asian students. The /r/ - /l/ contrast should be shown with minimal pair contrasts in syllable-initial, consonant cluster, medial, and final position. For more on types of minimal pairs activities to train listeners to discern and produce sounds, see the following.

1. Pronunciation: Listening exercises
2. Pronunciation: Production exercises
3. Pronunciation: Controlled activities
4. Pronunciation: Interactive activities

2.1 Basic practice minimal pairs

monosyllabic	multi-syllabic
bled clap climb cloud flog flute gloom lock play coal feel file loo tile bread crap crime crowd frog fruit groom rock pray core fear fire rue tire	aloe believed blackish clouded collective glamor implicated liver light-handed playing pleasant locker splaying splinter arrow bereaved brackish crowded corrective grammar imprecated river right-handed praying present rocker spraying sprinter

2.2 Answer the following questions

1. Would you want your boy to be trained as a pilot or as a pirate?
2. Are tourists in Mauritius known to be malicious?
3. Would you prefer a life of glamor, or a life of grammar?
4. Would you consider yourself right-handed? Would you consider yourself light-handed?
5. Would you rather be playing or praying right now?
6. Do you prefer clouded mountaintops, or crowded streets?
7. Does the water near your place seem blackish or brackish?
8. Would you prefer to sit by the river, or eat some liver?
9. Would you like to eat liver by the river?

2.3 Who lives where? (minimal pair sentences)

Match these personal names with place names, creating questions and answers; e.g., “Does John Reese live in Reading? - No, John Reese lives in Leading / No, John Leece lives in Reading”. I believe these are from Celce-Murcia, Brinton & Goodwin (2010).

personal names	place names
John Leece - John Reese Betty Lawson - Betty Rorson Peter Lowe - Peter Roe Mark Warne - Mark Vaughan Paul Wayne - Paul Vane Ann Whicker - Ann Vicker Alison Ray - Alison Way Les Right - Les White Susan Wain - Susan Rayne	Loxwood - Rockswood Lorton - Rawton Lambsgate - Ramsgate Vines Cross - Whines Cross Vorden - Warden Venby - Whenby Ryton - Wyton Ridcombe - Widcombe Rateby - Waitby

2.4 Tongue twisters

1. Round and round the rugged rocks the ragged rascal ran.
2. Three free throws.
3. All roads lead to Rome.
4. Richard’s wretched ratchet wrench.
5. The rice grows near the river.
6. A frugal rural ruler.
7. Are our oars okay?
8. He’s literally literary.
9. Climbing crimes are lures for crowded clowns with crowns.
10. Collecting the corrections is the role of the elderly.
11. Critical cricket critics.
12. Three free thugs set three thugs free.
13. Freshly fried fresh flesh.
14. I correctly recollect Rebecca MacGregor’s reckoning.
15. Are Roland and Sally rallying here in their lorry?
16. Dwayne Dwiddle drew a drawing of dreaded Dracula.
17. Greta Gruber grabbed a group of green grapes.
18. A leaky rear latch on the listing bark lifted right up and the water rushed in.
19. Is there a pleasant peasant present?
20. It’s the right light with the glimmer in the mirror.
21. Jerry’s berry jelly really rankled his broiling belly.
22. Laura and Larry rarely lull their rural roosters to sleep.
23. Randy Rathborne wrapped a rather rare red rabbit.
24. Ruby Rugby’s brother bought and brought her some rubber baby-buggy bumpers.
25. Running rivers reach reckless rapids.
26. The crow flew over the river with a lump of raw liver. The rat ran by the river with a lump of raw liver.
27. There are free fleas for all the loyal royalty.
28. Tie twine to three tree twigs.
29. Trina Tweety tripped two twittering twins under a twiggy tree.
30. Yellow arrows frilled with reefed leaves are rarely light.
31. How much myrtle would a wood turtle hurdle if a wood turtle could hurdle myrtle? A wood turtle would hurdle as much myrtle as a wood turtle could hurdle if a wood turtle could hurdle myrtle.

3 Consonant clusters with /r/

The following are near-minimal pairs that contrast consonant clusters with /r/ with simple consonants.

/r/ consonant clusters
/br/	raid braid	rat brat	rude brood	rook brook	rouse browse	rack brack
/pr/	ray pray	rat prat	rod prod	rune prune	Roxie proxy	roost Proust
/gr/	rid grid	ripe gripe	ram gram	wrist grist	rove grove	rump grump
/kr/	rack crack	rain crane	reed creed	rhyme crime	rose crows	ram cram
/dr/	roan drone	rain drain	red dread	ram dram	rouse drowse	raw draw
/tr/	rate trait	ripe tripe	ramp tramp	rend trend	rim trim	rot trot
/fr/	ride fried	reek freak	rate freight	round frowned	wrench French	rap frappe
/ʃr/	Rhine shrine	rift shrift	rub shrub	rink shrink	red shred
/θr/	row throw	rust thrust	roan throne	rive thrive	race Thrace	red thread
/spr/	rain sprain	right sprite	rung sprung	rue sprue	rout sprout	ring spring
/skr/	ream scream	rough scruff	ram scram	reach screech
/str/	robe strobe	rate straight	ripe strip	rove strove	reek streak	rum strum

4 More minimal pairs

initial
la rah lace race lacy racy lack rack lade raid lag rag lair rare lake rake lamb ram lamp ramp land rand lane rain lane reign lank rank lap rap laser raiser latch ratch late rate lather rather latter ratter laud roared laughed raft laughter rafter lave rave lavish ravish law raw law roar lay ray lays raise laze raise	leach reach lead read leader reader leading reading leaden redden leaf reef leap reap leer rear legally regally legion region lend rend lent rent lender render lens wrens lentil rental lest rest let ret level revel	liar wrier Lib rib lice rice lick rick lie rye lie wry lied ride lies rise lieu rue life rife lift rift light right light write lighter writer lightest rightist light-handed right-handed lightly rightly like Reich limb rim limn rim lime rhyme line Rhine lined rind ling ring link rink list wrist literally literary lithe writhe liver river	load road loam roam loan roan loaves roves lob rob lobe robe loch rock lock rock locker rocker locket rocket lode road lodger Roger lolly lorry long wrong loo rue look rook loom rheum loon rune loosed roost loot root lope rope lore roar lord roared lose ruse lot rot loud rowed lout rout	low roe / row lowed road lowed rode lows rose lower rower loyal royal loyalist royalist loyalty royalty lubber rubber lubberly rubbery luck ruck luff rough luff ruff lug rug luge rouge lugger rugger lump rump lung rung lush rush lust rust lusty rusty

initial cluster
blacked bract blacken bracken blackish brackish blade braid blah bra blanch branch bland brand blaze braise blazon brazen bled bread bled bred blew brew blight bright blighter brighter blink brink bloke broke bloom broom blouse brows blouse browse blue brew blued brood bluer brewer blunt brunt blush brush blent Brent blessed breast	clack crack clam cram clamor crammer clamp cramp clank crank clap crap clash crash clause crores clue crew climb crime clipped crypt clique creak cloak croak clock crock clone crone close crows cloud crowd clown crown clucks crux clutch crutch	flagrant fragrant flail frail flame frame flank frank flawed fraud flay fray flays phrase flea/flee free fled Fred flesh fresh flier friar flight fright flock frock floe fro floes froze flog frog floored fraud flow fro flute fruit fly fry flan Fran flank frank	glade grade glamor grammar gland grand glass grass glassy grassy glaze grays glaze graze glazier grazier glean green glebe grebe glimmer grimmer gloat groat gloom groom glow grow glue grew	plank prank plate prate play pray / prey plays praise pleach preach pleasance presence pleasant present pleasantly pleasantry plied pride pliers priors plod prod plop prop plough prow ploughed proud ply pry splay spray splint sprint splinter sprinter split sprit stalling storing starling starring Stirling stirring

medial
airless heiress alight aright alive arrive allay array allies arise allows arouse ally awry aloe arrow applies apprise beggarly beggary belated berated believe bereave belly berry belly bury beneficially beneficiary bestially bestiary	calling coring celebration cerebration collect correct collection correction collective corrective collie corrie complies comprise dearly dearie Eileen Irene elect erect	fairly fairy fallow farrow finally finery functionally functionary gallantly gallantry gently gentry hallow harrow Helen heron hireling hiring holler horror implicate imprecate implication imprecation jelly jerry labelling laboring	mallow marrow mandarin mandolin masterly mastery Mauritius malicious miller mirror mislead misread molasses morasses odorous odourless ovary overly overclouded overcrowded overload overrode overplays overpraise	palate parrot palling poring palling pouring pally parry palace Paris penitentially penitentiary pilot pirate queerly query Rosalie rosary savagely savagery secondly secondary supplies surprise sully Surrey tally tarry teller terror telly Terry towelling towering usually usury walling warring whirling whirring

final
all are bail bear bill beer call car coal core	dial dire dill deer feel fear file fire final finer	foal foar foal four goal gore hole hoar mile mire	mole more owl hour pall par pull poor stole store	tile tire wall war we’ll we’re well were