How can I roll my r's?
No matter what I try I can't roll my r's! This is so frustrating and discouraging because I want to be fluent in Spanish and visit a lot of Spanish-speaking countries. I've tried so many methods and nothing has worked. Any tips?
4 Answers
Shaylaashell:
I think you're in the right path. As a native Portuguese-speaker it was quite natural for me to learn rolling the long R's, but when I started to learn English, which I've been studying hard and everyday for 10 years, it was a huge task to learn the TH's sounds. But now, I can perform them close to perfection, as natural as a native, correctly. I had to practice everyday, with out loud reading and singing (I don't sing very well, I used to sing to myself though and it helped a lot).
I suggest you to practice this sound everyday, before the mirror, while taking a shower, while in the bus commuting, in the car. Try using tongue twisters, repeat them over and over. Read texts in Spanish out loud, start at a slow rhythm and let your own natural reading speed come along. I know that within 6 to 9 months, practicing everyday, you will get this sound as close to perfection as a native Spanish speaker.
Keep up the good job.
Hello Shaylaashell!
I have never been able to roll my Rs, even though most of my family are able to. My Spanish teacher told me that someone had proven that if you can't fold your tongue, you can't roll your Rs! I'm not sure how accurate this is, but I know that I can't fold my tongue, and I can't roll my Rs.
¡Buenos Suerte!
Unless you are very lucky it takes a lot of repetition. I found this article very helpful:
http://spanishobsessed.com/spanish-pronunciation/spanish-rolling-r/
I feel for you. Three months into Spanish and my 'r's still slip off the tongue sometimes. The 'rr' is a tough cookie if you come from a language that doesn't have a closely related sound (I come from one, and it is still not easy for me!).
However, there's a silver lining. If you can curl you tongue backwards and say the normal 'r' (not necessarily at the same time as the tongue curl xD), you can pronounce the 'rr'. Maybe not now, but definitely with some practice.
Something that really helped me in the early stages to understand how the movement works is to say words that have a hard consonant near the 'r'. These include words like 'dracula' (you gotta make that 'dra' very forceful) and 'ladder' (extremely effective if you can get that d and r close together).
Something else that helps is to expel the breath strongly when pronouncing 'rr'. The tongue needs to vibrate a bit, and nothing helps that like some good old fuerte viento. Remember that you should feel your tongue move (at least I do, lol).
For practice, I even went so far as to try to imitate the roaring of an engine (although the effectiveness of that technique is disputable). The purring of a cat might also work. First try vibrating your lips, taking note of it vibrates. Then try to replicate the same with your tongue acting like your lower lip and the part behind your upper incisors acting as your upper lip.
Above all, don't give up! Just keep trying. It is not easy learning foreign sounds, but with perseverance, belief and experience, you will get there eventually (unless there's some genetic trait preventing you from curling your tongue properly, in which case the journey will either be very hard or impossible). Remember to intersperse practice with ample rest.
¡Buena suerte!
EDIT: Can't believe I forgot. Don't forget to listen to a lot of trilled rr's! I read somewhere that exposure to a sound is essential so that your brain can dissect it piecemeal and figure out how to make the necessary minor adjustments to your tongue movement.
