Have you ever noticed the [ʀ] in French? How do you find it when you hear it? Exotic? Horrible? Normal? Quite beautiful? Really beautiful? You don’t know?
Did you know that [ʀ] is the most pronounced consonant in French, with a frequency of almost 13%? It’s therefore important to pronounce it correctly right away! How can you do that?
The French [R] is quite close to the Arabic “Kh” (as in the name of the singer Khaled), to the Spanish “j” (as in “
bajo”), to the final sound of infinitives in Portuguese (as in “faltar”), to German words like “machen” or to the “ch” in Loch Ness.
The French
[ʀ] is pronounced in the throat, as if you wanted to pronounce
[k] or
[g], with your tongue all flat against your lower teeth.
Practice!
You can follow this example:
Are you ready?
Carefully pronounce
[k] (as in “
quoi ”) or
[g] (as in “
gâteau”) several times. Feel where the
[k] sound is produced in your throat. Gently tighten your throat, until you feel the place of pronunciation of the
[k] sound. Your throat partially closes.
Keep your tongue flat against your lower teeth and gently push the air through the remaining space.
Now try to say |
|
Ri - Ri - Ri - Ra - Ra - Ra for 30 seconds every day. |
Tips
It’s easier to pronounce
[ʀ] if you lengthen the vowel preceding the
[ʀ]. Keep the tip of the tongue down until the
[ʀ] is totally pronounced.