He was mugged, forcing him to use weapon

Indonesian-Malaysian and other - rolling 'R'

Hi all,

Raised in Malaysia and Indonesia, I speak with so-called 'rolling' R

Is this so-called 'rolling' R understandable for native speaker ear ?


Do I need to pull my tongue and move forward my lips to make authentic R in order to sound more native ?

Thanks

Re: Indonesian-Malaysian and other - rolling 'R'

I have not heard the Malaysian rolling "R" but, if it is like the Greek one, it makes speech harder to understand.

However, in Scotland most people use a rolling "R" so native English speakers have exactly the same problem with that (although to a lesser extent, since most of us are accustomed to hearing the Scottish accent).

So, without hearing you, all I can say is "it depends". If English people ask you to repeat, or look "blank" when you speak, then you may need to soften your "R". However, I think that intonation and stress are far more important factors.

Re: Indonesian-Malaysian and other - rolling 'R'

duiter said:

Hi all,

Raised in Malaysia and Indonesia, I speak with so-called 'rolling' R

Is this so-called 'rolling' R understandable for native speaker ear ?

Click to expand...

As Koronas said it's used by some native speakers of English, mostly in Scotland.

There are two kinds of rolling R, the alveolar trill ([r]) and the alveolar flap ([ɾ]). Which one do you use or do you use both interchangably? The alveolar trill is rare in English and limited mostly to Scotland. The alveolar flap is used much more, but (what might be surprising) not to denote the /r/ phoneme but to denote the /t/ phoneme. Take a look at the thread below yours on this forum (https://www.usingenglish.com/forum/pronunciation-phonetics/130268-shudder-shutter.html). So, you can make good use of your ability to pronounce this sound!

Do I need to pull my tongue and move forward my lips to make authentic R in order to sound more native ?

Click to expand...

There's more than one native speakers' way of pronouncing R. The most popular is the alveolar approximant.

It doesn't have much to do with your lips. It's about your tongue. The name of the sound (alveolar approximant) means that you need to put the tip of your tongue near your upper alveolar rigde. The alveolar ridge is that uneven surface between your gums and your hard palate.

Here's a sample pronunciation: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Alveolar_approximant.ogg

PS: Why did you entitle your thread "He was mugged...?"