Voiced uvular fricative

A voiced uvular fricative is a special sound that some languages use when people speak. This sound is made at the back of the mouth near a small part called the uvula. The symbol that represents this sound in a special alphabet used by language experts is ⟨ʁ⟩, which looks like an upside-down small uppercase letter ⟨ʀ⟩. Sometimes, this sound is written simply as ⟨r⟩ when describing speech sounds broadly.

This kind of sound is part of a group called guttural R when it appears in European languages. Another similar sound, called a voiced uvular approximant, can also be used in place of the fricative. It is sometimes written with a special mark added to the symbol ⟨ʁ⟩, like ⟨ʁ̞⟩, to show the difference.

There is also a related sound called a voiced pre-uvular fricative, which is sometimes referred to as a post-velar. More information about this can be found in the article about the voiced velar fricative.

Features

The voiced uvular fricative is a special sound used in some languages. It is made by narrowing the airflow in the back of the mouth, which creates a rough, hissing sound. The back of the tongue is placed near a small piece of tissue in the back of the mouth called the uvula to make this sound. When this sound is produced, the voice box vibrates, giving it a soft quality. This sound is made only with air flowing out through the mouth, not the nose, and the airflow is directed straight down the middle of the tongue.

Occurrence

In Western Europe, a special way of saying "r" sounds spread from northern French to several dialects and ways of speaking in Basque, Catalan, Danish, Dutch, German, Judaeo-Spanish, Norwegian, Occitan, Portuguese, Swedish, some versions of Low Saxon, and Yiddish. Not all of these still use this exact sound today. In Brazilian Portuguese, the "r" sound is usually made in different ways, except in southern Brazil, where people often use this special "r" sound.

This special sound is also found in most Turkic languages, except for Turkish, and in Caucasian languages.