Q&A: Does the FLAP T sound like an "R"?
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- čas přidán 9. 07. 2024
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I make videos for EFL/ESL students. I'm from the US and my teaching focuses on American pronunciation and American culture. I hope my videos help you out^^ I love constructive criticism, but keep it nice!
The flap t sounds like the "R" sound of Spanish, Portuguese and Italian not the English language "R". I guess that's what the person who sent you the question meant!
You´re completely right.
that's right. it's like Portuguese "R", as in "AGORA". thanks for the explanation. it's clear now. HI FROM BRAZIL.
@Silverback 21 They're pretty damn similar. I speak both and I can't tell the difference.
Silverback 21 yeah, they are similar
yes, they are the same: voiced alveolar tap or flap en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiced_dental_and_alveolar_taps_and_flaps And it occurs in Spanish, Portuguese, etc
Not an English R, but it sounds kinda like a Spanish R sometimes. R in Spanish and English are quite different. For instance when I say that flat T in the word "better" I use my Spanish R and my American friends hear it as a flat t (d). That's just my opinion though.
Eliud Suárez Thanks, Eliud!!
+Eliud Suárez yes
+Eliud Suárez i am Spanish speaker and i did not understand that
soldadopreciso Lo que quiero decir (y estoy seguro de ello) es que la D en inglés se pronuncia igual que la ere (R) simple del spañol cuando va en el medio de una palabra. Y es el mismo sonido que usan cuando una T en inglés va en el medio de una palabra. Por ejemplo un americano diría la letra T en la palabra "water" usando el sonido R simple del español en lugar de una T. Los britanico no hacen lo mismo.
Definitivamente si es como la R en español porque si toca el paladar junto a losmdientes superiores
Thank you so much for making these videos. They're very helpful
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!
Teachers like you are very VERY few
Amazing! Finally I could finally undersand why I doesn't seem like an R sound. The easiest way is to pronounce words with these sounds, flap t, d and r, in front of a mirror and realize on which parts of the mouth the tongue toches! Thank you!
you are so right!! I didn't understand when I had to use the "R sound" or the D sound" now I have no doubt it's a short D that sounds like a "R". thank you so much!!! this helped me a lot!!!
I've been searching everywhere about flap t not because I might not be able to pronouce it or listen it, but because I have noticed when flap t comes after r-controlled it is harder for no native English speakers (or at least for me), so I came to think that in words like chortle, startle, girdle, mortal people just need to pronounce the flap and drop the r sound before; in no time I realised I had been wrong and when I dropped the r in mortal I said model and when I pronouced mortal dropping the flap t I said moral. I did not noticed this by myself, I noticed this practicing with Google Search or CZcams asking them checking if they understood what I wanted to mean because I do not have a tutor. I had doutbs if I was making other mistakes or I needed to keep both sounds, now you have made the example with party I am sure that they are needed to keep both. Now I know where I have to focus on!
Thank you!!!
I am Korean and have been very confused about the flap T and now it is very clear. ㄹ Korean alphabet is used for both R and L sound and that's why we have known a wrong pronunciation like water →wah rer.
It is transparent ans thank u for your explanation. Touching versus not touching is the key to identify the correct sound.
Perfect! Thank you very much! from Brazil!
Thanks a bunch for the Explanation about how to pronounce the flap T. BTW, many congrats because you pronounce " GRACIAS" perfectly. Greetings from NICARAGUA.
Good explanation teacher! I am latin, I speak Spanish and I confess I've always said you (American people) pronounce the letter "t" like a "Spanish r". Now I see for the effects I didn't do harm to my students, because as you say in Spanish the "r" touches (that's it), but as an English teacher I should know this. Very Interesting and important to me. Muchas gracias amigo coachshanesesl
Great to meet another ET!!! It's the little things that actually bring frustration/joy to the students AND to the teachers!!
Thank you, you deserve five stars, and I really only understood from you. Thank you for the size of the sky
you are absolutely right.
Yes, You are right . Actually when making the R sound in spanish the tongue touches . That's why we get confused . Thanks a lot Shane you're the best teacher on earth.
Thank you, Santiago!
Thank you Mr. Shane
Thank you so much! I wanted to know what was the actual difference between R and flap T, although I know the difference in pronunciation. And only your video could explain it properly, thanks!
but you didn't tell us how many ways there are to pronunce the flap t...I'm italian and I sometimes hear the flap t like an italian or spanish "r" (it is the same in Spanish and in Italy) and sometimes like a soft "d"
So I don't understand when I have to use the flap t like an italian "r" and when I have to use it like a soft "d"
how to you pronunce: "I deleted it"
When I pronounce "I deleted it" my tongue hits in the same place he points to in his diagram for all consonants in the phrase. So even my L changes a little! (It still presses flat, not touches, but it presses where D is touched.) In fact, when I say it at a fast conversation speed, I notice I say a word more like "delededid" instead of "deleted it".
I hope I've helped and not made it more confusing. My Spanish pronunciation is very poor, so I can't assist you w/ your spanish-r issue - I don't have a good comparison to use.
For me as a Spanish speaker. T or D sound like the "r" in Spanish in a lot of words. In "I deleted it" I would replace the T and D with a R (delererid) Not an American R tho.
Thanks Coach Shane
This is the most helpful video I have seen about the flap t Thank you teacher :D
Hi coachshanesesl! I'm a native spanish speaker and I've studied phonetics and english for a while. From my limited experience, the flap t definitely is very close (if not the same sound) to the spanish r in the word "pera". In Spanish we got a lot of r sounds. On South America we use mainly three, the simple vibrant alveolar consonant (the flap t), the multiple vibrant alveolar consonant (the one you were mistakenly using in the word "gracias") and the fricative r (the one in the words "rojo" or "perro", not very used on Spain afaik). We use the first one when the r is in between vowels of a same word or when it's preceded by a "b", "c", "d", "f", "g", "p" or "t" (we call these consonants "licuantes") on the same syllable. For example: "cara", "faro", "gracias", "pronto", the first r in the word "querer". Check the pronunciation of these words and tell me what you think about it
I think when you pronounce the Brazilian Portuguese R you tongue touch as in the word gracias or flat T. This explanation was really nice because I always think about the sound in Portugues but I've never considered the differences between American R and Portugues R for example.
From now I will consider that!
Thanks
Thank you Sir
You are the greatest teacher I'v ever seen.
Ali Abdulrahman Thank you so much!!
Damn this channel deserve more views, classy contents.
It's funny because there are many Spanish people here and Brazilians too so to them (us) , it really sounds like an R sound .
Yes, it may sound somewhat like a Brazilian R sound. But, as Shane made his point, it DOES NOT sound like an American R sound.
By the way, I'm Brazilian too, now living in Rio de Janeiro. And the "R" from "Rio" may sound like an H or like a more or less vibrated R, depending on your accent (Brazilian pronunciation).
It is an R, period.
I agree entirely with your point of view. However, it depends on each language a lot.
For example:
Brazilian Portuguese 'h' is silent in many words such as 'helicoptero (helicopter), hotel (hotel), humano (human), while in English the 'h' is pronounced and it sounds to us like our Brazilian portuguese 'r'.
You're awesome!
wow this was very informative thank you a lot shansesl
but I'm still can't got it 😅 when try to speak
great video :) thank you
Thank you sir, this was very useful!
Anyway as an Italian speaker I would say that the way Americans pronounce "t" in words like "beautiful" kinda sounds like an "r", but as you said it dipends on the speaker (or better, the "listener"). So I guess that's the reason why some people say it sounds like an "r" while some say the it doesn't. As far as I can say it doesn't sound as an American "r", so I totally agree with your precise and useful video.
Nice job!
Thank you, sir!
Finally, I got it! Thank you
Thank you, sir! I really enjoy your videos and find them more useful than the more popular ones. I am Russian, by the way. And, in my opinion, the flap 't' does sound like the Russian 'r'. At least, this understanding helped me to get my pronunciation closer to American.
So, the Spanish "r" and the Russian "r"! Thank you^^
***** And Polish as well.
I appreciate much content! I would like to clarify the use of the "R" in Spanish, since I'm Chilean and is my native language. We have two possible sounds for R: a stronger and a weaker (which is what is rather like FLAP T). Then there may be words that are written very similar, but the sound of the R changes, meaning different things. Examples:
VaRios (SEVERAL) - BaRRio (NEIGHBORHOOD)
CaRo (EXPENSIVE) - CaRRo (more common in Spain to say CAR, because in many other countries means CART)
PeRo (BUT) - PeRRo (DOG)
I wish you could hear the pronunciation difference and could see the relationship.
Greetings from Chile !, and desire you can upload more material pronunciation for ever more fully assimilate the American pronunciation! (I made an effort to bring this to English, I hope it is understood)
Es que el habla de que no es una R. Pero una R americana. Yo estoy 100% seguro si es la "R" (ere) del español.
@@eliudsrz si yo tambien escuche a otra persona que e
enseña ingles y dijo que la flap t suena como la r en pero, esto ocurre como en otros idiomas por portugues y arabe
Thanks to you, I can understand the Flap t sound.
For sure,in fact.you're quite right but I must add to that the distinction lies on the tip of the tongue in flapping t and in" r" in Portuguese sound we flap it with almost the back of the tongue a little bit afar from the tip of the tongue.
I'm a native Spanish speaker and I can tell you that in the R in spanish the tongue does not touch the teeth at all. However, I think that the flap t in american english does touch the front teeth with the tongue. I am correct?
It doesn't sound like the English R, but it totally sounds like the Spanish single R when it's between vowels, in words such as pera, coro, cámara, etc
Flap T sounds like a trilled R in the expression 'Check iT out'. In Spanish would be: 'ChekeRaut'.
I’m Brazilian Portuguese speaker as first language. When I hear “better” “little” “gotta” I don’t hear the sound of “d” instead of the sound of Brazilian “r” anyway confusing
Coach! You're awesome! Greetings from Argentina.
Thank you!
Hello. Coach. I have some problems with the word; Party. I always say 'parddddddddi' :(!
Yeah, they meant something like a bit reduced russian R as a flap D sound.
wat about the letter "T" in the word >> " Not " .. sometimes i don't hear the sound of "T" so , it comes like >> " Nuh " .... would u plz make it clear to me .... Thanks in advance .
Yes, not an English R but like a Russian R. When we say "Russian R" we do it like you say [d] but several times per second. and we do it very quickly
In spanish we use 2 sounds for R one strong (erre) and other soft (ere) and flat t really sounds like that soft r
Es así mismo. Pero en el video el aclara no es una R. Pero una R americana. Yo que llevo casi 10 años en USA. Y que siempre me ha gustado el estudio del inglés, y que lo uso diario. Estoy 100% seguro que la Flap T es la R (ere). Del español. No puedo hablar por otros idiomas.
The flapping of /t/ occurs after a vowel or an /r/ and before an unstressed syllable (e.g., in the word started).
Your video is just awesome ! You are very funny too - just keep it up !
I think your English is very good !
It sounds like an arabic R too, everytime I hear it, it sounds like an R to me but not an american R, I know that the american R. the tip of the tongue never touch the alveolar ridge but this Flap T I don't hear any d sound on it, I hear just an spanish/ arabic maybe japaness or chiness 'R'. I need a clarification please.
I love this. I was trying to hear where the R is.... lol my friends hear R in the word beautiful...and I'm baffled
Oh man thank you so much you're awesome ^__^
Thank you!!
In english the flap t and the r are VERY distinct, I hear it, as a spanish speaker, I can say the english flap t is similar to the spanish soft r because we raise the tongue and touch behind the teeth with our "r"s and at the time we don't have the sound of the actual english "r" which I can compare with the sound that makes a dog when pulling something from your hand and you don't release. I think when the teachers compare the flap t with an r they are making comparisons with languages outside english.
The r sound in my native which is arabic comes through tongue touching the upper teeth so flap t looks like r
thnx
It has provided me much alleviation
That's excellent to hear!!
I agree with you. Flap t may sound like no American English r, but British English r
Flap T sounds exactly like R in Arabic but not the American R.
+Ahmed Samir yeeeh true like r in arabic
Hi i do think the question was not clearly asked... The person asking the question refered to the R in arabic, spanish and portugese, not the actual american R.
Ahmed absolutely
no t not r
You are absolutely correct, the T does not sound like the American R but it it sound similar to a soft or fast spanish R (no the rolling R).I´m a spanish speaker and it took me some time to understand that when you are learning english you should not mix sounds or pronunciation from our native language because it will create some confusion. Thanks Shane
Yes, to have a "separate mind" is very important!!!
'U wanna fight' hahahah
thanks man , very helpful
Every time you ask it, many american teachers think of the R in english.
Hello Shan, if you don't flap the "t" in the word "little", does it sound funny? ( It is ok to pronounce it with a true T?)
Obviously, this isn't the English R we're talking about. In portuguese we have two kinds of R, maybe three if we are talking about some regions in Bresil. It's difficult for us to think this sounds like a "d" because our 'd' sounds like "Die" or sometimes /dj/ like "gentle". Our 'R' sound is sometimes like "house" and sometimes like in "practical". The "R" like "are" is not so common for us but we can do it without big problems. So, in this case you are talking about, for me, as a bresilien, we never listen /d/ sound but a portuguese 'r' like in "Pirata do Caribe".
I hear just a Spanish/ Arabic maybe Japanese or Chinese 'R'.
And I think Americans name it as flap T or D sound to just not be confused with the American R sound where the tip of the tongue never touches the alveolar ridge.
We call the t between two vowels a flap T but I don't know how to call a d between two vowels, like daddy, madder or body/buddy which sounds like a flap t.
Can we call it a flap D?
People are talking about the alveolar tap, as seen in the Spanish "R" sound. Not the English "R" sound.
Yes, It´s a good observation
thank you
Abdullah Alshehri My pleasure!!
I mean the er sound is a little similar to the Spanish r, but the d is is a duh sound so it's really not related
Agree, FLAP T do NOT sound like an American-R, but it sound like an R in most European languages.
🤔🤔I am not sure if you are right. Spanish language has two different sounds for "r" . One equal to flap t (r) and another one to english "r" that's "rr".
Sorry but in spanish we don't say grracias we say gracias.
Yes, you are right. I think spanish-english teachers use the spanish R sound like an example, because we dont have any closer sound in spanish. But you are ultimately right because our point of view is very confuse. A question... do you have an android app?
Thanks, Rafael. We do NOT have an Android app. But we will!!!
I'm talking about American H and Brazilian R.
The r in my country is called the "rolling-r" Its completely different from the English r, but it somewhat sounds like the flap t because the sound vibrates so much that it sounds like a d
The point here is that the T or D sound between two vowels sounds like an R in some languages, as Spanish, Portuguese and Japanese, for example.
Maybe, Americans think the T sounds like a D in these cases because the D also has an "R" sound, but not the English R sound. lol
"(...) we're talking about american pronunciation so we should not take spanish pronunciation (...) look american pronunciation as american pronunciation and use american sounds." I think that is the best advice for foreign speakers. Thank you.
thanks alot thats was my confusion
For us, spanish people, and for portugueses and italians, the flat T is and our R, like in Amor, Caro, María, etc (not our RR or initial R, like in Ratón, Roca, Carro, Perro, etc). We don`t have the same T, D, and R like in english. We don`t say "gracias" like you said, but with and softer R, like your flat T. Many be your pronunciation of "gracias" is more like in italian. In spanish I see 3 differents R, the strong RR and initial R, other softer like in my surname HuRtado, tarta, tortilla, Córdoba, (an R between a vowl and a consonant) and other much softer like in "querida", "toro", héroe"", "caer", "andar", "amor" (an R between vowels, and final in a word), this last R is your flat T. For example, the word "Retorcer" (To twist) have the 3 differents R sounds: the first R is strong, the second R is middle, and the last R is softer. The first R may be long like your R, but the second and last R are short like your flat T, or D.
yeah, spanish speakers thrill the r so we really touch the alveolar ridge with the middle part of the tongue
It does not sound like an american 'R' and thats true. But in most European languages it does sound like that. I'm polish and when I hear an american saying "Got it", "Gotta" or "Lottery" I definitely hear an R sound of my native language.
What about the word 'irritating', would you pronounce both ts as flap ts. Thank you! :)
second one only for me.
Hi Shane. As spanish speaker i would say the flap t sounds like the spanish vowel "r" so if you are teaching how to pronounce the flap t to spanish speakers, that makes sense.
Yes, but the more advanced a student becomes, the less comparisons to his/her language he/she should make! Thanks^^
I read that I can reply your english lesson with audio and my voice to test or validate my pronounciation. Is it true? How can I do that? I figure that I might upload a video response and give you the web address
These days I receive SO much email and SO many questions, but I'll try and listen^^
got it ....
The flapped t in American English sounds identical to the flapped r in Spanish.
I just have to use the Spanish "R", easy... They're almost the same.
I can't pronounce the letter d instead of t
Español wow
It doesn't sound like R to me and I'm not a native English speaker. I've picked up most of my English through the radio. When I was young I used to binge listening to the radio even tho I understood nothing.
This is something that I just learnt when I was in college. I learnt the flap T isn't an R sound. I teach my students that the flap T sounds like an R sound that we have in Portuguese to make them pronounce some words more easily.
Yes, in other languages it may sound like an R, but not in American English^^
@@coachshanesesl we have 2 R in Spanish. A strong one and a weak one. The single R is weaker, the double R (RR) is stronger. The weakest one is the Flap T.
The brazilian portuguese r has three distinct sounds: carro (car, vehicle - similar, but not equal to the american h), caro (expensive - very, very, similar to the american soft d)) and carne (meat - in some brazilian regions it's pronounced slightly similar to the american r). The vibrant brazilian r (caro) is not so vibrant as spanish r and that makes it closer to the american soft d than the spanish r.
The oficial pronounce of the word 'carne' is with the soft r (the same of 'carro') but in some regions of Brazil (like the country parts of the state of São Paulo, in Minas Gerais and in parts of the Center West region) it's pronounced slightly similar to the american r. We call it 'pronúncia do interior' (country pronouce) or 'pronúncia caipira' (countryman pronounce).
HI ! I live in Argentina. It ´s so difficult to me pronouncing the flap t. It really sounds like a soft "r" when you speak spanish. In our language, the way to pronounce "r" is very different than the american one. Even, our soft r is much stronger than yours. i ll keep trying. thanks !
Este hombre se está refiriendo a la R en inglés pero el sonido "flap T" es exactamente igual a la R en español cuando está entre vocales. Pronúnciala así y veras que te dirán que lo has hecho bien.
For those who find it hard to pronounce flap t (or flap d), I do not recommend to try. That's because it makes you sound like you are "running" in speech and swallowing words and you make it harder for people to understand you.
try to slow the video to 0.25x and hear that, it's really D
at 3:31 I heard G instead of D.
GOT IT...the G is a "g" but the first T is the "flap T"!!!
💎💕🌸🌺
how to pronounce 'features'
fee-cherz
It may sound like an R, and those comments probably come from Latinos, cuz our (I’m Colombian) Soft R sounds more like an English Flap T. I’d love to send you a video with some examples, I’m not sure if you have an email so I can share it with you
It sounds like a portuguese "r" like in amarelo...
En amerrica
españool
papa!! arriba!!
Water is pronounced with rolled r.
Not in the USA.
't' between two vowels, pronounce like 'R' in Arabic 'ر' , not 'R' in English
AHMED MASCARA ????
Can you give an example?
Man, the flap t sounds exactly like Spanish or Italian soft r, not like american one. Another thing, in the UK, especially in London, de t is not normally flapped, it's glottalised, so in the UK people don't say "bedder", they say "be-er".
In spanish we have two R sounds one with the strong rolled tongue R and another R kind of flap T that sounds a very soft R. For example: we pronounce the R in the word GRACIAS like a flap T or "d" ok? This R is very very soft R, EVEN a R softer than your american flap T we almost do not touch the tongue against the upper part of the mouth...so these two Rs in spanish are the two sounds that english language doesn´t have. Adios!