How the hell do you roll R's?

[TheDan]

I've been learning Swedish for a few months now (with slow progression since I don't have anyone to practice speaking/writing with me, and lots of uni work), and I know that Swedes roll their R's on some words but since I'm English I don't know how to make a trill on the tip of my tongue. I can make a trill at the back of my mouth but it's not the right sound that I hear (I listen to Swedish radio to familiarise myself with Swedish pronounciation and sounds).

So I'm asking here for tips on making a trill sound on the tip of my tongue as I've been trying for a month or two now and I'm still no closer to being able to do it (although I can do a better trill at the back of my mouth now!). I'd just like tips like where my tongue should be (just behind the teeth? Touching the teeth? Slightly rolled or flat? etc...), and where the tongue feels like it's vibrating etc... Would be quite awesome once I manage to actually get a sound rather than just a rubbish hissing sound.

 

[Krynn72]

Last time I tried to roll an R was in spanish class. It sounded like I was stuttering.

 

[Rapstah]

You've misunderstood how to speak Swedish completely; all Rs are pronounced like a T.

 

[Qonfused]

I could never roll my Rs in Spanish.

 

[TheDan]

What about saying the number 3 in Swedish ("tre")? All the times that I've heard that word pronounced the R has a rolled sound.

 

[Slug Advisor]

Hmm, I could always do it easily, but I sem to have forgotten how exactly.

 

[Majestic XII]

Okay.. this is how I *think* I'm doing it.

Start by breathing out.
Put the tip of your tongue just behind your teeth.
Continue to breath out
Your tongue should now vibrate.

You got your Rrrrrr...

I think that's how I do it

What got you into studying Swedish btw?

 

[Ravioli]

What about saying the number 2 in Swedish ("tre")? All the times that I've heard that word pronounced the R has a rolled sound.

2 is tv?. 3 is tre. Its easy to say it once u hear someone say it i guess.

The way i do it, i place the tip of the toung right behind the upper front teeths and breath out while saying TRE and it vibrates, but remember to have the toung relaxed at the base tho and let it sink back down while doing the actual sound, as in moving the toung backwards.

Thats as best as i can describe it

 

[CrazyHarij]

Hahaha, awesome. Lemme explain.
In english, you use your tongue differently, and thus pronounce words differently. This is the hardest part of the english language to learn, sweden is famous for educating excellent english, everyone knows, but not even the teachers or our celebrities speak english the way it's supposed to be spoken. The only people i know who speak REAL english are the ones who've been abroad for several months at some point.
Anyway.
We have stronger r's but alot of softer ones too. Finnish only has strong r's, you hear fins trying to speak english from a mile away.
English r's don't really count as r's, from the swedish phonetic point of view. It's more like a v without shaping your lips.
Swedish is traditionally more percussive - use the tip of your tongue!
English is spoken more centered in the tongue, swedish practically continually uses the tip. Try vibrating the tip against the top of your mouth just before your teeth, that's where it's at.
Swedes have to unlearn using that area to speak english. It's a good area though, you can articulate like a beast with it.

 

[Farrowlesparrow]

I found this video very helpful when learning how to roll my arrrrrs

 

[Dan]

I just get a hissing sound

 

[Slug Advisor]

I just get a hissing sound

You put your tongue too close to your teeth.

 

[Tyguy]

You put your tongue too close to your teeth.

very true...

 

[Dan]

my tongue shouldn't touch my teeth?

 

[CptStern]

what's so hard about saying "rrrrr" ..just pronounce the extra "r" s

 

[Cpt Tenacious]

I found this video very helpful when learning how to roll my arrrrrs

For some reason I can't view this video in my country? Also, how can you not roll r's? I can't remember a time when I couldn't, i've been doing it forever.

 

[Shamrock]

My whole family is unable to roll their R's. Somehow I have the ability.

I'm awesome.

 

[Slug Advisor]

I'm awesome.

Of course. You're Shammy.

 

[DreamThrall]

I found this video very helpful when learning how to roll my arrrrrs

Man, I spent the last 10 mins finding a proxy to use in FoxyProxy so I could watch that... Well played.

By the way, if anyone needs a UK proxy that works on YouTube: 86.22.200.13:11022 (Socks v5)

EDIT: Also, you need to delete your youtube cookies before it works.

 

[Shamrock]

Of course. You're Shammy.

I was just making some car sound effects with Stigmata. He made a race car sound, and I was doing a car traveling fast and shifting gears that got into a hideous car wreck.

Good times.

 

[VirusType2]

I will tell you how to do it. The following instructions could double as dick sucking/ball humming lessons to boot.

Seriously now,

blow out while saying an L sound, not an R sound.

Try to make your tongue bounce.

To do this:

lightly press your tongue against the roof of your mouth and blow out. See how your tongue bounces when you blow hard?

now use your voicebox to make a sound. My voicebox can only make one sound while doing this, and it's RRRRRRigatoni. mama mia.

 

[Emporius]

Place your tongue on the roof of your mouth like pronouncing an L, but squish it a bit more softly to the top. Then while humming or blowing slowly move your tongue back until you find the sweet spot

 

[Naudian]

Virus an Emp's posts were helpful, I've almost got it!

*continues sounding like a retard*

 

[El_Cid]

my friends sounds like chewbacca and he is Spanish lol

 

[The Monkey]

Curve your tounge like a bridge and squeeze air between the back of the tounge and the top of the mouth. The sound comes mostly from the throat. (Why are you people teaching him to use the front the tounge, that's all wrong.)

 

[Emporius]

Curve your tounge like a bridge and squeeze air between the back of the tounge and the top of the mouth. The sound comes mostly from the throat. (Why are you people teaching him to use the front the tounge, that's all wrong.)

depedns what language/type of rolling rrrrrrrrs he's looking for. Your description sounds more like a guttaral 'german' sound for lack of a beter word.

 

[Muffin Man]

I found this video very helpful when learning how to roll my arrrrrs

Beat me to it.

As for the topic at hand, I've never thought about rolling r's, I just kind of have always been able to do it. I was never aware there were people who had trouble with it. Then again, there are a lot of people who don't seem to have trouble stomaching Spanish class, and I couldn't handle more than a year of it, so...

 

[Ennui]

I roll r's like it ain't no thang.

Or maybe those are j's...

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

I roll r's like it ain't no thang.

Or maybe those are j's...

IC WUT JEW DID THAR.

For some reason accents and rolling R's has always come very simple to me, though I don't actually know Spanish or any other language which requires it.

 

[Que-Ever]

It's hard to do unless you grew up doing it, because the muscles required aren't that strong. However, I must've been a wierd kid, 'cuz I can roll R's no problem.

 

[Pesmerga]

I can roll my Rs no problem.

 

[TheDan]

What got you into studying Swedish btw?

I wanted to learn another language, but I wanted to learn something different than French/German etc... which most people learn. I knew a few words of Swedish already and it seemed kinda cool so I chose Swedish The only downside is that I'm pretty much on my own learning it since I only know a couple of people who can speak Swedish irl who I can practice speaking to and writing to on MSN, and they aren't around most of the time (and they're not even native Swedes). Awesome language though.

Thanks for the tips everyone. I haven't been able to do it yet. I guess these things don't happen overnight

 

[Polaris]

In Soviet Russia R rolls you. Rrreally!

 

[Shippi]

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