Common Pronunciation Errors With “R"

Today’s English
April 21st, 2017

Indian speakers of English often commit mistakes in pronouncing words with the letter “r".  For example, when they speak or read the words -party and park, they pronounce the r sound in these words, but it should not be. Since the words with the letter “r" are many, their pronunciation errors are also many.  To avoid such mistakes, they can remember the following three simple rules of “r".

1. The letter “r" should not be pronounced in any word if it is followed by a consonant.  Read the following twenty words aloud keeping “r" sound silent and know how you can avoid mistakes in other such words:

Darkness, sharp, work, Mark, bird, start, Martin, morning, farmer, reverse, service, earth, corps, garden, warden, horse, purse, nurse, board and orphan
Note: If “rr" and “ry” occur in any word, “r" should be pronounced. (Sorry, carry, Lorry, worry, etc.)

2. The letter “r" must be pronounced if it is followed by a vowel:
Orange, road, broad, rose, brisk, bricks, critical, driver, prize and Christ

3. The letter “r" at the end of any English word should not be pronounced.  Read the following twenty words by making “r" silent.
Car, teacher, lecturer, waiter, worker, daughter, father, mother, brother, bother, war, bar, ear, fear, gear, joker, killer, minister, writer and attender

Don’t forget: The above rule number 3 is applicable if any such words are said alone or come at the end of a sentence. The letter “r" at the end of a word is pronounced in only one place – if the following word starts with a vowel.

1. Where is your car? (R is silent in “car" and “your")
2. This car is so expensive. (R is not silent in “car" since it is followed by a word with vowel in the beginning – “is")

“Mend your speech a little lest you may mar your fortunes.” – King Lear to Cordelia in “King Lear", William Shakespeare