VOCAL PROBLEM - PRONOUNCING 'R' - a defective utterance of the /r/ sounds
a sort of lisping - as 'weally, quite attwactive' for 'really, quite attractive'.
an example of faulty articulation
VOCAL PROBLEM - PRONOUNCING 'R'
| The technical term for this is rhotacism (rho·ta·cism) (ro¢t[schwa]-sizm) a speech disorder consisting of imperfect pronunciation of the r sound. |
| Outside dialect, this is a medical condition consisting of an inability or difficulty in pronouncing the letter "r", due to the exercise of the many muscles in the tongue. |
| The 'r' sound is complicated and is related to 'l'. 'R' ranges up to heavily trilling, as in Scottish dialects. |
| In phonetics, think of the rolled French r-sound. Apart from phonetics, think of the sound of a cat purring. |
Here is a site about correcting this problem as a speech therapist:
http://speech-language-pathology-audiology.advanceweb.com/Common/editorial/editorial.aspx?CC=47240
VOCAL PROBLEM - PRONOUNCING 'L'
| Lambdacism – a speech disorder involving faulty pronunciation or excessive use of the l-sound. |
| A Chinese person will tend to substitute l for r, calling a US native an "Amelican". Is this rhotacism (mispronouncing the r) or lambdacism (excessively using the l)? |
| The authorities seem to agree that it is lambdacism. |
| The Japanese tendency to substitute r for l, calling a British person an "Engrishman", is rhotacism. |
AFFECTED or DISTORTED 'r'
This can signify social class - British upper class fops, 18th Century dandies, Bertie Wooster.
Oliver Goldsmith, She Stoops to Conquer (1773)
Richard Brinsley Sheridan, The Rivals (1775)
