Proper R sound

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sharkerr

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5jj

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There are more variations of /r/ than of any other consonant phoneme in English. It can be an approximant[FONT=&quot] [ɾ], an alveolar tap [ɹ] or (with more retroflexion) [/FONT][FONT=&quot][ [FONT=&quot]ʈ[/FONT]], a lingual trill [r], an uvular trill [ʀ], or an uvular fricative [ʁ][/FONT]. You'll just have to go with the the /r/ that your teacher or coursebook CD presents.
 

SlickVic9000

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I feel the tip of my tongue curling back whenever I make an "r" sound, if it's anything to you. I'm a southern AmE speaker.
 

N Senbei

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Hello sharkerr,

I’m not a native speaker of English, sorry, but I think this blog post by John Wells, a notable phonetician, indirectly answers your question.
John Wells?s phonetic blog: bunched/molar r
In short, both types of /r/, a retroflex (curled) R and a bunched R, are commonly used by native speakers of English, and both types of /r/ sound almost the same.
So it is incorrect to say “curling your tongue is an incorrect version of R.”
 

N Senbei

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Somehow my previous post hasn’t shown up yet, so I'm trying it again…

Hello sharkerr,

There are mainly two types of articulations in English /r/.
One is a retroflex R (this includes a retroflex approximant and an alveolar approximant, your tongue tip is curling or pointing up in this type of R), and the other is a bunched R (also known as a molar R) which is the articulation recommended in the second video in your post.
Both types of /r/ are commonly used by native speakers of English, and both types of /r/ sound almost the same.
So it is incorrect to say “curling your tongue is an incorrect version of R.”
 

kiezel52

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It really doesn't matter how you pronounce it. It changes depending on your location. (USA, UK, varies from cities to cities in UK as well.)
 
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