Most of the sounds in the Spanish language aren’t difficult for English speakers to make, even if they are articulated a little differently. But one sound that gives learners of Spanish a lot of trouble is the double “r,” la erre. Just a few weeks ago I happened to gain the ability to trill. I hope my story and the following tips prove helpful on your journey in learning Spanish.
For the first two years I was learning the language I was physically unable to replicate this sound (if you want to get technical, it’s the alveolar trill /r/). I had no problem distinguishing it in speech; I was completely aware of its linguistic environment (when the “r” is doubled and when the “r” is word-initial); and I understood the location of the tongue (along the alveolar ridge).
But no matter how many tips I read, all I could get out of my mouth was either a tapped “r” (alveolar flap /ɾ/) or a breathy, trill-ish sound that might be written hrhrhr or something. Sometimes, for fun, I used my uvula to get some kind of trill noise, but wasn’t satisfied with it very much. A few months ago I even resigned myself to the fact that I’d never be able to pronounce the language completely correctly.
However, the evening after my last final for this past semester, the ability to trill seemingly descended on me out of nowhere. I can’t explain how or when things finally “clicked” between my brain and my tongue; it was almost an involuntary thing that “just happened.” I was overjoyed because trills have to be some of the most difficult sounds to learn as an adult; they involve pushing air over a part of the mouth and letting that part vibrate on its own.
Still, even though this ability came to me almost spontaneously, there were a number of things I found very helpful in encouraging this ability in me. I hope they help you, too!
- Understand the phonetic description of the alveolar trill.
- Substitute a breathy or airy flap to create a bridge between the flap /ɾ/ and the trill /r/.
- Listen to people use the sound. Susana Baca helped me a lot when she sings the word cierra in her song “Resbalosas” from her album Seis Poemas (2009).
- Attempt to make a double flap (two /ɾ/ in a row: [ɾɾ]).
- Bring your tongue a little further back in your mouth. The tongue should be along the ridge behind your teeth (alveolar), not touching your teeth (dental).
- Move your jaw around. The example speaker for the vibrantes section in this explanation of Spanish sounds shifts his jaw to his left to trill, and I have to shift mine a little to the right.
- Release your inhibitions. I can’t trill if I feel like I’m going to bother somebody, so I practice a lot when I’m driving the car or alone in the house.
- Support it with voice. I can’t trill if I’m talking softly, so I speak at a fairly high volume.
- Support it with air from your diaphragm.
- Try again and again. Don’t give up—be persistent! After realizing I couldn’t make the sound, it took me two years to finally gain it, so keep on. When you can one day trill, you’ll be giddy for days and be trilling all over the place.
To those who have learned how to trill later in life, what tips did you find most helpful?
Thanks man. I’ll keep practicing. = )
Glad the article was helpful!