PRONUNCIATION
The Throaty French “R”
The good old French “R” sound is part of what makes French sound French. It is also one of the more difficult pronunciations for English-speakers, but have no fear! There are some tried and true tricks that will have you belting it out with the best of them.
What makes the French “R” so difficult is that it really does not sound or feel like the English “R,” much less any other sound in the English language. Instead of being pronounced in front of your mouth, the French “R” is formed by elevating the back of the tongue and essentially trilling against the uvula (that fleshy extension of the soft palate that hangs down above your throat).
This is called an uvular fricative. By barely touching the tongue against the uvula, friction can take place as air passes through. What ensues is a raspy, guttural sound that kind of feels like you are channeling your inner cat and coughing up a hairball.
The closest thing we have to this in English is the “Z” sound. Even though it is pronounced in the front of the mouth, we still get that vibration from the friction created by air passing through the tip of the tongue and roof of the mouth.
So, let’s try it. The best way to start is by relaxing your mouth.
Some compare this sound to the trill of the Spanish “R” and emulate that so as to improve their French “R,” but you might get some funny stares if you embrace that. The two sounds are pronounced in completely different parts of the mouth, so leave the rolling “R” to the Spanish-speakers.Step 1
Place your fist under your jaw (like you are back in elementary school and posing for an awkward yearbook photo).
Step 2
Using your fist as resistance, open your mouth slightly and push your jaw against the fist.
Step 3
Count to eight in your head.
Step 4
Relax your jaw for three seconds.
Repeat this two or three times, or until your jaw and mouth feel relaxed. If your tongue feels tense, stick it out and stretch it a couple of times until it feels relaxed as well.
Now we can focus on getting the feel of pronouncing this sound:
Step 1
Place your fist under your jaw (like you are back in elementary school and posing for an awkward yearbook photo).
Step 2
Close your throat as if you are going to gargle or to avoid swallowing a mouthful of liquid, and say K carefully, several times.
Step 3
Pay attention to where in your throat the K sound is made. We will call this the K place.
Step 4
Begin slowly closing your throat, until you can almost feel the K place. Your throat should be only partially constricted.
Step 5
Tense the muscles around the K place.
Step 6
Gently push air through your partially constricted throat.
Step 7
Place your fist under your jaw (like you are back in elementary school and posing for an awkward yearbook photo).
Another method for practicing this involves slowly tricking your mouth into forming the sound:
Step 1
Say “A-AB” multiple times.
Step 2
Now say “A-HAB” multiple times.
Step 3
Once you feel ready, try to say “A-HRAB”. It should sound like a throaty version of the word “Arab”.
Step 4
Continue with “A-HRAB” until you notice a distinct “R” sound forming.
Step 5
Attempt to isolate this sound and try it with French “R” words.
And that’s that. Once you have mastered this sound, you will also notice that many French-speakers tend to breeze through it as they speak, softening the friction by barely touching the back of their tongue against the uvula. This will come naturally along with practice and further development in the language, so do not be self-conscious if your “R” is a little throatier than the others.