How to Pronounce R and L Sounds Comparison American English Pronunciation
Today we are going to
go over the difference
between the R and
the L consonant sounds.
Many of my students
have problems hearing
and feeling the difference
between these two sounds.
Therefore, they have problems
saying the two sounds correctly.
First, let’s review
the mouth position.
To make the L, the
tongue comes forward,
and the tip of the tongue presses
against the roof of the mouth
just behind the teeth, or sometimes
comes through the teeth.
To make the R sound, the
tip of the tongue is down
while the back/mid part
of the tongue raises.
The back/mid part of the tongue presses
against the insides of the top teeth.
So, to make the L sound, the
tongue tip is up and forward,
and to make the R sound it
is down and further back.
In the R sound, the tip of the
tongue is not touching anything.
Also, in the L sound, the
lips remain more neutral.
In the R sound, they round somewhat.
And sometimes, at the beginning of a
word especially, they round a lot.
Let’s look at a word pair
where the only difference
between the two words is
the R and the L consonant.
Rate, late.
Here you see both of the
sounds side-by-side.
Notice in the R sound for ‘rate’,
that the lips are more rounded.
In the L sound, the tip of the tongue
is up against the roof of the mouth,
behind the front teeth.
Now you will see me speak one of the words,
either ‘rate’ or ‘late’, with no sound.
I want you to study the mouth
position and guess which one it is.
The word that I said is ‘rate’,
which begins with the R.
Note the starting mouth position.
Rate.
The lips were in a tight
circle for the R sound.
Now let’s look at a word
pair where it is the sound
that comes at the end of the
words that makes the difference.
Cuddle, which ends in the L sound, and
cutter, which ends in the R sound.
Cuddle, cutter.
Here the sounds are a little more relaxed
as they come at the end of the word.
However, the tongue is
still up in position,
tongue tip touching behind the
front top teeth for the L sound,
and the lips are still somewhat
rounded for the R sound.
You can see this dark space
in the mouth for the R sound.
That is because the tongue is
further back in this sound.
Here again I will say one of
the words without the sound.
Guess what the word is based
on the mouth position.
The word was ‘cuddle’
with the L sound.
And now a word pair where the R and L
sound comes in the middle of the word.
Feeling and fearing.
Here again are both sounds.
The lips are more rounded
for the R sound.
And the tongue tip for the L is, as
expected, raised to the roof of the mouth.
In the R sound you can see
more dark space in the mouth
because the tongue is
pulled further back.
In the L sound the
tongue is more forward,
and therefore you can see it
more easily through the teeth.
Again, I will repeat one of
the words without sound.
Guess which word it is, based
on the mouth position you see.
The word was ‘feeling’,
with the L sound.
I hope this helps you to understand
how these sounds are different.
When you practice, use a mirror.
And make sure that you see in the mirror the
correct mouth position for these sounds.