British pronounciation of the letter R

Nope - I can pronounce R, just not roll it.

I omitted such details to keep the post length down.

In Norway the uvular R is mostly present in the southwest. It has spread as far as Northern Norway.

Indeed there is a variation on the uvular R, present in this country in places such as Stavanger, that vibrates the throat and sounds more like it’s “rolling”: if you sustain this sound unvoiced on its own it sounds almost an animal growl. I have not heard it in Swedish, though.

Are you sure about Italian? I mean, did you ever hear it spoken? The Italian R is clearly apical (like the Spanish or Greek R), unless you are refering to some northwestern dialects.

And about German: 50 years ago, the “correct” R used to be apical, but since after WW2 the uvular R established itself, spreading from the north downward. It now even threatens to eradicate the good old apical R down here in southeast Austria, and this is my pet peeve. While older people still adhere to the apical R, the youngsters appear to be too much influenced by Germany-based TV, and you mostly hear the uvular R from them. :frowning:
If I were rich, I would finance a crusade…:smiley:

Indeed I am not sure where I got the Italian part; it’s probably wrong.

Incidentally, here’s an excellent little pronunciation chart covering many languages.

To people who are used to hearing the “modern” German, the older pronunciation sounds somewhat alien, rather stiff, formal, rectangular, though I personally find it easier to understand, perhaps because speakers tend to talk more slowly and precisely. :slight_smile: