Spanish speakers?

Question

I notice that most Spanish verbs seem to have an 'r'. If a person is unable to roll their r's or rr's people seem to think that you have a speech impediment. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

First, not all spanish verbs have an R in them, although all spanish verbs end in R in the infinitive form. You don't need to roll the r at the end of a word. Furthermore, you can generally get along just fine even if you can't roll your r's. I can't, and I've been able to get by with "faking it." My r's sound like a sort of d/th sound, and everyone understands me just fine. I will admit to avoiding certain words though...for example I always say "coche" in place of "carro" and "mi mascota" in place of "mi perro". After years and years of trying every trick in the book (even consulting speech therapists!) I've finally concluded that my mouth just is not capable of making that sound. I read somewhere that the facial muscles are fully developed at the age of twelve, so if you haven't learned to make a certain sound by then, it will be difficult for you to learn it. (I imagine that was probably in a text recommending learning a second language at an early age, so probably biased, but still...)

So in a nutshell, you can work around it. If all else fails, just tell people that you DO have a speech impediment! Then what are they going to do??? :D

Answer 2

I speak Spanish well enough that I'm taken for Mexican although I am light-skinned, blue-eyed, and very large. I can roll an r like a native, despite what Martha P says. I have seen her comments in many other places and respect her opinions and knowledge of her native language, but here she is wrong.

Learning how to pronounce the r or the double r, rr, is something that can't be explained. You have to see a person's mouth making the sound and have to hear it also. Then you have to practice and practice and practice and practice and practice trying to make the sound. I spent days, weeks, and months trying to reproduce it when I lived in Mexico City. I occasionally lose it when I don't use Spanish for long periods. But I get it back when I get together with my Spanish-speaking friends. You're just going to have to work on it. I think it's the hardest sound in Spanish for a gringo to make.

Good luck.

Answer 3

I was born in America, near the Mexican border, but I have been able to roll my 'r's all of my life, without much problem. Many people who did not hear the sound in their young life have trouble learning to make it, and some never do. I would not let this trouble you.

If you really want to learn it, I would talk to a native speaker or practice some exercises:
Try to purr like a cat.
Make the 't' and 'd' sounds alternately, and try to go faster and faster.
Flick your tongue against your upper teeth quickly.
Listen to Spanish, French, or Italian music.

If you're really desperate, you might try a professional dialect coach or a diction class at your local college/university.

Answer 4

I am a native speaker of spanish and cannot roll my "r" and I get along just fine. It has nothing to do with being a native or not it's all speech and something you have to master personally. Anyone who tells you different is kidding themselves.

Answer 5

It takes alot of practice but one can get it if they keep trying. It's just a matter of training your tongue. Let your tongue flick up and down like uncontrollably. Like if your were to pur like a kitty. It's not a speech impediment.

Answer 6

In order to pronounce the "r" properly you have to be born in a Spanish country.

It is very normal not to be able to roll the "r". Only somebody ignorant will make a point of it. Don´t worry about it. Good luck.

Answer 7

practice exaggerating your r's...and u dont have to be from a spanish speaking country to get it.

Answer 8

Practice these words: bizarrrrrrrro, burrrrrrrrro, rrrrrronaldo,
carrrrrrrrro, charrrrrrrro, encarrrrrrgado, etc...

You'll get your tongue used to it, then it'll come naturally.

Answer 9

ITS EASY FOR ME TO DO IT B/C IM A NATIVE SPEAKER, BUT FOR THOSE WHO AREN'T, IT IS HARDER, AND THERE REALLY ISN'T A WAY TO TEACH SOMEONE HOW TO ROLL THEIR r'S..