Pronouncing the French / r / --additional exercices

In this video we'll practice the French / r / in various vocalic environments: (1) in word- or syllable-initial position (a) with oral vowels, "riz, rue, roue, ré, heureux, rot, raide, fureur, robe, rat" (b) with nasal vowels "rein, rang, rond" (c) with semivowels "roi, ruisseau, rien" , and (2) in word-final position "rire, rupture, four, faire, heure, or, rare."

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[bonmatinkatie]

Thank you so much for these videos. I'm a beginning French student and they are helping my pronunciation immensely. I have been practicing the "a-ra" combination and am getting good at making a rich phlemy (kind of gross) noise. How do you get from there to your own beautiful trilly-sounding "r"? Is it just lots and lots of practice? What feeling should I be looking for in the back of my mouth?

[frenchsounds]

@bonmatinkatie Bonjour ! It's all a matter of practice until you find the right position that allows the type of sound you want. You should also try recording your efforts because one does not hear one's own speech in the same way that others do.

[ferrrrsan]

my question is, does it not move at the tip at all? when saying rouge?

[frenchsounds]

@ferrrrsan That's correct! The /u/ is already in position when starting to pronounce the word "rouge" and the tip of the tongue may not be able to touch the lower teeth, but it should stay down and not move. The muscles should be very tense.

[VobisPacem]

How could I imitate Edith Piaf's R? Edith Piaf's R sounds trilled/rolled even though it's on the back of her throat.

[frenchsounds]

@VobisPacem Bonjour ! In Edith Piaf's songs, one hears an "r grasseyé" during which the uvula beats rapidly against the back part of the tongue. You might say it is somewhat stronger or louder than the more commonly used phones for /r/. To try to imitate it, you should open your jaw as wide as possible and try to emit a gargling sound until you get the right position.

[trenchot]

Bonjour, je m'appelle Alonso :) (haha my first class of french ;))

[ferrrrsan]

@frenchsounds merci beaucoup! vous m'avez bien aidé! je pense que mon "R" sont presque parfait! 

[real6543]

thank you thank you your better than my teacher thank you thank you

[mydlands]

I could do the uvular roll. I learned to imitate it with German, but it was a somewhat uncontrolled sound. I watched your video for this (and another) and the simple act of explaining that the tip of the tongue is in a down position helped me immensely. It has cleaned up my sound right away.. This is fantastic!

[TheJay9002]

Thanks for the videos

[SnowCrasher]

Oh, I think I managed to make similar sounds among a few of those words! I'll keep practicing.

Thank you for the video, these are good exercises! I could never get the R sound before.