"r" in spanish words

Question

I have noticed that for pronounciation when an "r" occurs between 2 vowels in a spanish word it sounds to me like it is pronounced like an english "d": also seems true if the "r" in the spanish word is at the end. Is this correct? Tom

Answer 1

Yes, that is correct, although someone with a high interest in linguistics will surely be able to give you greater detail.

Some of the "d" sound at the end of words varies by regional preference, as does some of the hardness of the "d" sound between vowels.

A young woman from San Antonio TX once told me that she always helped English speakers on the correct way to pronounce her name by saying "My name is spelled "y-a-n-i-r-a" but it is pronounced like "Ya-need-a", such as "Ya need a new car?"

I thought that was a good way to explain it!

Answer 2

Yes it's true and it's correct. This sound in Spanish pronunciation has the rather homely name, in the jargon of phonology, of "the alveolar flap." Its close sibling fared somewhat better, being christened "the alveolar trill." These are fancy words for "rolling the rr's" in Spanish. There are dozens of previous posts on this, mostly focused on the trill, if you care to do a search.

Here is a brief but enlightening article on the subject. Look for the heading "Rhotics." It will explain where these sounds are most likely to occur in Spanish pronunciation. There is, however, a lot of variation amongst native speakers, so anything written on the subject will only be an approximation.