Intro #

This is a collection of tips, explanations, or mental visualisations using common langauge, which try to help L2 learners grasp difficult sounds¹ that likely aren’t present in their L1. Most of these examples assume an American English L1 background but people of most backgrounds should be able to draw some useful insight.

My primary method of learning new sounds is first and foremost vocal mimicry. Lots of listening and time spent immersed in the language is key to developing an ear for what sounds right and what sounds wrong in your own speech. Listen often, and listen closely. Play recordings of natural speech and match your own voice to it. I would recommend consulting technical guides only after you have exhausted this path and are still stuck.

I am not a phonetician or professional speech language pathologist - these are just some notes I’ve gathered on my own path of language learning which I would like to share. Infrequently updated as I come across and learn new sounds.

General tips #

• Drink lots of water! Experimenting with different sounds can sometimes be dehydrating and producing sounds after drinking water can add a renewed clarity to your speech.
• Try producing the sounds placed in between two of the same vowel. A common one to use is [ɑ], as in ‘park’. This is a good way of producing the sounds when you otherwise might not be able to do it in isolation yet. e.g. [ɑɾɑ] for the voiced alveolar tap

[ɾ] - Voiced alveolar tap (Japanese l/r) #

Try saying the words ‘butter’ or ’ladder’ and pay close attention to the movement of your tongue. For speakers of American English, the tongue most likely ’taps’ the top of mouth in a quick motion, on the space right behind the teeth. Say the words multiple times at normal to fast speed, trying to isolate and get a feel for the tapping motion. Once you have isolated this tapping motion of the tongue, try adding different vowel sounds after it, ra ri ru re ro, at which point you likely are able to pronounce the sound.

I believe this works for any word where [t] and [d] occur after a vowel, but I feel ‘butter’ and ’ladder’ are the clearest examples. It’s important to say the words at a normal speed (particularly for [t] sounds), otherwise you may fall into articulating the word in a British English-like way, which is a different sound altogether.

[ʀ] - Voiced uvular trill (Stereotypical French R) #

Position your mouth and tongue to make a [g] or [k] sound. The far back portion of your tongue should be touching the ceiling of your mouth. Lower the back portion of your tongue slightly and exhale air with moderate force. With enough air, your uvula should be vibrating to make a uvular trill sound.

This sound is somewhat tricky and takes a good ear. If you don’t feel your uvula vibrating, try experimenting with the tongue position, moving the back portion around vertically, as well as even further back.

[ʁ] - Voiced uvular fricative (‘Standard’ Modern French R) #

This sound is very similar in production to the previous voiced uvular trill. Perform the same explorations as before, but soften the force of the exhaled air so that your uvula no longer vibrates, as well as potentially adjusting the tongue vertically.

[ɹ] / [ɻ] - Voiced alveolar/retroflex approximants (American R) #

The American R is quite different from the Rs of other languages in how the tongue is positioned, which trips up many L2 English learners.

Rather than engaging the tip or back of your tongue like in the previous examples, try raising the front middle portion of the tongue towards the ceiling of your mouth, then try to produce the sound. If you imagine a view of your tongue from the side, it should look like a small hill with a mild slope heading to the back of your mouth.

[r] - Voiced alveolar trill (Spanish rolled R) #

Position the tip of your tongue near the roof of your mouth right behind the teeth, as in the alveolar tap example. Now instead of tapping, exhale air with force and let it guide the tongue. In practice, an alveolar trill is essentially multiple alveolar taps in rapid succsession, controlled by the air moving through your mouth.