Learn how to pronounce the letter Ř
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Intro |
|---|
| Veronika: How do you pronounce ř? |
| Antoni: And how is it different from R? |
| Antoni: At CzechClass101.com, we hear these questions often. Imagine the following situation: Ben Lee is trying to solve a crossword puzzle. He can't think of the right word, so he asks his friend, Ela, for help: |
| "What's a synonym of "speaker"?" |
| Ben: Jaké je synonymum k řečníkovi? |
| Dialogue |
| Ben: Jaké je synonymum k řečníkovi? |
| Ela: Možná rétor. |
| Antoni: Once more with the English translation. |
| Ben: Jaké je synonymum k řečníkovi? |
| Antoni: "What's a synonym of "speaker?" |
| Ela: Možná rétor. |
| Antoni: "Maybe "orator."" |
Lesson focus |
| Antoni: Learners sometimes find spelling Czech words challenging — in part because a similar sound can be represented by different letters. In this case, the Czech word for "speaker" and its synonym both have /r/ sounds, but they’re spelled with two different letters. |
| [Recall 1] |
| Antoni: Let’s take a closer look at the dialogue to see the difference between the two sounds. |
| Do you remember how Ben Lee says, "What's a synonym of "speaker?" |
| (pause 4 seconds) |
| Veronika as Ben: Jaké je synonymum k řečníkovi? |
| Antoni: Here, Ben Lee mentions the Czech word for "speaker," which is |
| Veronika: řečník |
| Antoni: This word uses the "r" with a hook, also known as a |
| Veronika: háček. |
| Antoni: For English speakers, the first step to learning how to produce this sound is to first learn how to pronounce the other "r" sound in Czech, which is similar to the rolled "r" in languages like Spanish, Polish, and Russian. |
| [Recall 2] |
| Antoni: Now let’s take a look at our second sentence. |
| Do you remember how Ela says "Maybe "speaker?"" |
| (pause 4 seconds) |
| Veronika as Ela: Možná rétor. |
| Antoni: To answer Ben’s question, Ela gives the synonym for "speaker," which is |
| Veronika: rétor |
| Antoni: the Czech word for "orator." This particular word begins with the "r" sound, but, unlike in the previous example, the "r" here is a regular "r," with no diacritical mark. This character may look similar to the English "r," but it doesn’t sound anything like the English "r" at all. It is the rolled "r" mentioned earlier, and learning how to pronounce is a prerequisite to learning the "r" with the diacritical mark. So, how do you pronounce |
| Veronika: ř ? |
| Antoni: You start by rolling your |
| Veronika: r. |
| Antoni: One of the easiest ways to practice rolling your "r" is the butter-ladder method. With this method, you simply keep repeating either of the two words as fast as you can. You will notice your tongue vibrating as you do this. Eventually, the "dder" and "tter" sounds will begin taking on the trill sound of a rolling "r." Once you’ve learned how to produce the rolling |
| Veronika: r |
| Antoni: sound, the next step is to add this sound: |
| Veronika: zh |
| Antoni: Put the two sounds together and practice slowly until you master it. Here’s one word for you to practice with: |
| Veronika: [NORMAL] řízek [SLOW] řízek |
| Antoni: This word means "cutlet." Here’s another one: |
| Veronika: [NORMAL] říjen [SLOW] říjen |
| Antoni: This is the Czech word for "October." And, finally, |
| Veronika: [NORMAL] přítel [SLOW] přítel |
| Antoni: This word means "friend." |
| Expansion |
| Antoni: There’s no doubt that the |
| Veronika: ř |
| Antoni: sound is one of the most challenging aspects of learning the Czech language. Now, imagine if you have a tongue twister with words dominated by this sound. In fact, there is one: |
| Veronika: Tři sta třicet tři stříbrných stříkaček stříkalo přes tři sta třicet tři stříbrných střech. |
| Antoni: It means, "333 silver fire hoses squirted over 333 silver roofs," and it’s an excellent way to practice saying your |
| Veronika: ř |
| Antoni: sounds, if you ask me. |
Outro |
| Antoni: Do you have any more questions? We’re here to answer them! |
| Veronika: Na shledanou! |
| Antoni: See you soon! |
| Credits: Veronika Ageiwa (Czech, Prague), Antoni (English, synthetic voice) |
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