Spanish single "r"
My main problem with it is when it's at the end of a syllable. To me it sounds kind of like an English "r". For example "por" sounds just like the English "poor" and not at all like a consonant being made at the front of the mouth like the pronunciation on the site says. It should sound more like "pode"(if there was such a word) if I understood the pronunciation sheet right. If someone could please help me make the correct sound it would greatly appreciated. Such as where should the tongue be placed when it comes after a vowel at the end of a syllable; like all Spanish verbs do. Thank you for any help you can give in advance.
5 Answers
There are two ways to pronounce an "r":
The tap r is used by tapping your tongue behind your teeth (but not touching the teeth) and letting sound out of your voice box. It is used when the r is in an intervocalic location such as arena, María, Alvarado. It is also used when when an r precedes or follows a consonant such as guardar, padre, pobre, princesa.
The trilled r is used wherever there is a double r in a word, such as carro, perro, ferrocarril and also when the r initiates a word such as rico, Ricardo, reno, rey, reina. This sound is made by placing your tongue behind your front teeth but not touching the teeth and rapidly trilling your tongue while letting sound come out of your voice box. Like when you pretend you are using a police whisle.
When the r is at the end of a word such as in "por" it is a tap r or as at the end of an infinitive verb - comer, hablar, bailar, ser, ir .
When "r" is between two vowels i can hear "d" as in "little"(pero sounds like pedo and para sounds like pada) but when it's at the end of a syllable "hablar" sounds nothing like "hablad", "ir" sounds nothing like "id" to me.
pero/pedo and para/pada should not sound the same to you (they certainly don't to Spanish speakers) nor hablar/hablad nor ir/id. (Note: "hablad" and "id" are legitimate verb forms [vosotros command form].)
To hear the sound and see how its produced go to Phonetics, click on the Spanish flag, in the sub-window click on "vibrantes" and then on the left-hand phonetic symbol. and under the diagram (middle frame) select step-by-step explanation (in Spanish).
P.S. You might also want to take a look at the "espirantes" for more on the sound of 'd' (in some contexts).
First the basics: Spanish and English have different sounds for the same letters!
English vowels have almost no counterpart in Spanish, where they are simpler and more distinct.
The American English R is almost identical to the Spanish D.
The pronunciation in this site, although it is understandable, it sounds quite foreign to Spanish speakers' ears.
Tip: do not use English to get Spanish sounds, because it won't work (if you don't believe me, listen to some Spanish natives who try to speak English as if it was Spanish: it sounds crap).
The trill "rr" I have no problem with. A number of sounds are produced by touching about the same spot in one's mouth i.e. L,T,and D; but all produce very different results. When "r" is between two vowels i can hear "d" as in "little"(pero sounds like pedo and para sounds like pada) but when it's at the end of a syllable "hablar" sounds nothing like "hablad", "ir" sounds nothing like "id" to me. I guess my question is I say "por" more like "pode" because it just doesn't sound right to my ears?
