The two valid American “R” shapes

Yesterday, I joined an AMA class with Coach Mila, and she was so helpful and patient with my American R sound. I can’t appreciate her enough, because now I understand how to pronounce that tricky “R” sound. Now I want to share a bit about what used to confuse me about it.

I’ve just discovered that there are two ways to pronounce the American R sound. I used to practice the first way, and yesterday Mila helped me learn the second way. After that, I did some research to understand the difference. Let me copy and paste a description I got from ChatGPT.

The two valid American “R” shapes

1️⃣ Bunched /r/ (first image)

The tongue body is pulled back and bunched up toward the palate
The tip stays down (does not touch the teeth or roof)
The sides of the tongue lightly touch the upper molars
Very common in General American English

✅ This matches the instruction “the tip of the tongue must not flick to the top of the mouth or teeth.”

2️⃣ Retroflex /r/ (second image)

The tongue tip curls slightly upward and back
The tip does not touch the palate
The tongue root is still pulled back
Also fully native and correct in American English

✅ Labeled as retroflexed (apicopre-palatal) — a classic phonetic description

I used the bunched /r/ (first image) because that was the only way I found online. However, Coach Mila taught me the second way, and I find that the retroflex /r/ (second image) is much easier for me. It makes my “R” sound clearer.

I just want to share this as a way to thank you, Coach Mila, and I also hope it can help others like me.

4 comments