Is it possible to effectively speak Spanish without being able to roll your R's?

Question

I feel that I understand enough Spanish to be able to effectively communicate with someone, the only problem that has hampered me in trying to become completely fluent in the language is that I cannot roll my R's. I put forth quite an effort into it when my mother married a guy who spoke Spanish, but he would only make fun of me when I couldn't pronounce things and it sort of gave me a negative attitude about ever trying to put forth any real effort. Now my employer will pay me more if I can speak Spanish, but not being able to roll my R's is making things difficult. Would I still be able to speak Spanish effectively without being able to do this? I was reading online and something said the only thing that can keep you from learning is a cleft palette or missing teeth, and I have neither, so I guess I should keep practicing and it will come one day. But if it doesn't for some reason, would I still have success speaking? thanks for your input.

Also if you have a link to something (good) that may assist people in learning that would be great. I've read a couple of things but they are very general and not helpful.

Answer 1

Although being able to roll your "r"s can help, it's not necessary in order to be understood. There are very few words that will be confused with other words, if taken in context. Like someone else mentioned, "pero" and "perro" will sounds the same if you don't roll your "r"s, but how often would you confuse "but" with "dog" in a sentence? "I would like to go but I'm busy" -- "I would like to go dog I'm busy..." yeah, I don't think so. I think people will still understand you just fine.

If you want to work on your "r"s and your accent, try to find a non-judgemental native speak who is willing to help you out. Don't worry about your stepdad -- you don't have to speak with him in Spanish in order to improve your Spanish. It took me awhile to learn how to roll my "r"s, and I got made fun of, but trust me -- as a gringa from Minnesota, it is possible!

Answer 2

My spanish teacher (who was 1/2 spanish), said rolling"r"s was helpful, but not a requirement to speak the language effectively. With Spanish being the second most popular language in the U.S., the majority of Spanish-speaking people will be able to understand you clearly. Just be careful because some words that have double "r" need to be pronounced differently. I couldn't roll my R's and I got an "A" in the class. Good Luck!!

Answer 3

It is not imperative to be able to roll your r,s . You can make yourself understood perfectly well without it although it does help
pero = but
perro =dog
it can make a difference but people usually understand what you say in the context of the sentence.
I had some trouble at first but as i am Scottish we find it easier,
English people have a terrible time trying to do it.
I think it would help if you spent some time in a Spanish speaking community or country. I could not speak a word of Spanish when i jumped in at the deep end and moved to Spain. I always had trouble with años and anos so as you can imagine i got some laughs and strange looks as well.
Please don,t feel self conscious as people are usually only too happy to help someone who really takes an interest That person who laughed at you was probably laughing with you as sometimes people,s attempts can be amusing, but if anyone laughs, just laugh with them and you,ll soon have a friend. ¡ Buena suerte !

Answer 4

Learn Spanish Fast and Easy!

Answer 5

I have the same problem. As a result I always say "coche" instead of "carro." I use this to avoid saying "caro," which means expensive.

However, I have no trouble communicating with people. Sometimes people just need to get used to my accent, but most people will work with you and try to correct you if you say something incorrectly that involves a double r.

Answer 6

Many native Spanish speakers refuse to use the proper English accent even though they can.A matter of Hispanic pride I think.
How many children "can't" speak the language or their parents?
Well then you probably could too.Just keep trying!

Answer 7

Nope

Answer 8

Pronouce the R like an L and people won't hear the difference...

Answer 9

if you cant do it, dont worry, its not such a big deal! at least your making the effort to learn the lanuage.

Answer 10

THE TRILLING OF THE R'S IS IMPORTANT IN CONVEYING MEANING IN SPANISH AND IS NECESSARY TO SPEAK THE LANGUAGE PROPERLY