10/12/2022
Variations of the /R/ Sound
“R” is a very challenging sound. This has to do, in part, with the fact that there are so many different ways in which it can be pronounced. It all depends on the letters with which it’s combined.
There are actually 32 different /r/ allophones (sounds) and 21 different /r/ phonemes (collections of sounds).
Clearly, there’s a lot of room for error.
The good news, though, is that your child likely doesn’t have a problem pronouncing all of these different variations of the /r/ sound.
They might be fine with consonant blends (words like free or cream), but struggle with vocalic /r/ sounds (words like are or air).
Before you start using speech therapy exercises that will help them with their pronunciation, it’s important to do some diagnostic testing to figure out which /r/ variations are difficult for them.
You can test how your child pronounces the basic /r/ vocalizations by having them pronounce the following types of /r/ sounds:
/ar/
/air/
/ear/
/ire/
/or/
/er/
/rl/
the letter /r/ by itself
You can also schedule an evaluation with a speech therapist for a full assessment to figure out which sounds your child needs help with.