North American English Pronunciation - Dark /r/

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Accent Reduction Pronunciation Speech Pathology English Pronunciation Accent Neutralization Dark R Dark /r/
pronunciationmeg
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  • Added: 09-Mar-09

The dark /r/ and dark /l/ are sounds made at the end of the word or syllable. To pronounce them both, contract the muscles at the root of the tongue, or the start of the throat where you have the uvula. To a native speaker of North American English, the dark /r/ sounds very different from the dark /l/, so be sure to listen carefully to them one after the other to understand what exactly the acoustic difference is.

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North American English Pronunciation - Dark /r/

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  • OMG fantastic we ...

    OMG
    fantastic
    we brazilians don't have this R
    thank you

    By iranfelipe [Affiliate User] 1247839287 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • Very interesting ...

    Very interesting point you´re raising. I´ve always used the dark/clear opposition to refer to the other approximant, [ l ] . I´ve noticed that in all yr productions, your lips were rounded and somewhat tight. Do you think this lip setting makes a difference, I mean, in perceptual terms?

    By sergioanew [Affiliate User] 1246588995 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • Ha ha! Funny. Yes, ...

    Ha ha! Funny. Yes, my husband's from Boston and he loves to make fun of the accents. My /r/ is a little deeper than his. We both speak the standard, but north and south still sound different.

    By pronunciationmeg [Affiliate User] 1236584174 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • I don't think many ...

    I don't think many of us native to the Boston area or much of Eastern Massachusetts can pronounce any of these words.

    By DunedinP [Affiliate User] 1236578159 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
4 Comments | Add Comment