Is it really true "rr" has been axed from the Spanish Alphabet?

Question

I heard it from a friend taking a Spanish class. They weren't teaching her the double rr sound!!! Apparently, the acedemics have axed it (along with some other letters) from the Spanish alphabet.

Can this be true?

(...I just recently learned how to roll my Rs too, after 2 years of practice.... =kicks aluminum can= )

any tricks of the trade to learn how to do it? - michellech, Nov 26, 2010

Put your tongue on the roof of your mouth a little behind your teeth and try to hum, adjusting the position of your tongue until you create a trill. - benweck, Nov 27, 2010

gracias ben i sound so stupid when trying. and then if i trill i can't put it in a word. haha more practice.... - michellech, Nov 27, 2010

Maybe try doing it and then saying words that start with R like rio or rojo. Rrrrrrrrrrojo etc. - benweck, Nov 27, 2010

gracias ben. es buena idea - michellech, Nov 28, 2010

Answer 1

They aren't letters anymore, "rr", "ch" and "ll"... but not that those letters are not going to be used, it's just that they are not "letters"... they are now called "digraphs".

Bu we'll still use them.

So if the teachers stoped teaching that sound... they are making a huge mistake - Tonyriva, Nov 26, 2010

Correct. - Goyo, Nov 26, 2010

Answer 2

Boy, that's as lousy as when they decided that Pluto wasn't a planet anymore. What is this world coming to???

Answer 3

I mentioned this in a recent thread, but 'rr' has never been a letter of the Spanish alphabet. It is a dígrafo (a phoneme made out of two letters), just as 'ch' or 'll'. However a single 'r' has the exact rolling sound when it is written at the beginning of a word, or after an 'n' or 'l', as in 'rata' or 'Enrique'. Because of that, there was no need to ever make it a letter of the alphabet, since 'rr' doesn't represent a unique phoneme, unlike the 'ch' or 'll'. And of course, the rolling 'r' sound is going nowhere: 'rata' or 'carro' are going to be pronounced with a rolling 'r' long after we are all gone.

The change that is going to happen though, is that both 'ch' and 'll' will be officially dropped from the alphabet, shortening it from 29 to 27 letters. But that is just a formality, as they will still be written and pronounced just as before; only now they will just be called 'dígrafos', not letters.

But don't you need the 'rr' ? If we didn't have it, we would not be able to tell the difference between words such as 'caro' and 'carro' or 'pero' and 'perro' - NikkiLR, Nov 26, 2010

Yes, of course you need it, but that doesn't mean it is a letter, it never was. You also need the 'll' to write 'lluvia', but now 'll' will not be called a letter (but up till now it was). - bill1111, Nov 26, 2010

Answer 4

Digraphs,or not letters basically, we must have to use in the pronunciation and also will still be written. These letters are going only in the mid of the words.

Answer 5

but not that those letters are not going to be used, it's just that they are not "letters"... they are now called "digraphs".

Basically what Billstpor already said. Nothing has changed in the pronunciation of anything. The only changes are to the "official" letters of the alphabet (and their names [as letters]).

Answer 6

Yeah, didn't you get the memo? All 500 million Spanish speakers must Immediately stop using the rolled R sounds. This is bigger than that Spanish king who made everyone pronounce C and Z like the English TH sound. lol

And equally plausible. - samdie, Nov 27, 2010

Didn't that whole c/z = th thing actually work in Spain? 0.0 - Toast, Nov 27, 2010

I was joking. The whole story about a king changing the pronunciation is a myth. Many people in Spain do pronounce C/Z differently but it's not because of any official decree. - benweck, Dec 3, 2010

Answer 7

Gracia por todo, gente! That's good to know. When my friend told me this, I thought it was a little far out. (Hence why I'm checking with the more knowledgable spanish speakers here.) That teacher must be cutting corners by not teaching the "rr" pronouciation. My teacher, though acknoweledging the rr, never actually taught how to pronouce it either. Hm...

I was going to say,that learning a living language was a little challenging. But I didn't think any language was quite THAT alive, to be changing around letters and things.

So all this hubbub about is just a changing definations -- letters to digraphs. It's very comforting to know that I don't have to go adjusting my pronouciation and vocabulary.

Answer 8

Well, you still roll your "r's" with the other r sound, so why have two, y'know? And really?? What other letters have been taken out?

And also, the "rr" is kinda obvioius becuase if you have two r's it's already assumed that you'd have to roll it more :) - june10, Nov 26, 2010