The most common sound represented by the letter r in English is the voiced postalveolar approximant, pronounced a little more back and transcribed more precisely in IPA as ⟨ɹ̠⟩, but ⟨ɹ⟩ is often used for convenience in its place. For further ease of typesetting, English phonemic transcriptions might use the symbol ⟨r⟩ even though this symbol represents the alveolar trill in phonetic transcription.
The bunched or molar r sounds remarkably similar to the postalveolar approximant and can be described as a voiced labial pre-velar approximant with tongue-tip retraction. It can be transcribed in IPA as ⟨ψ⟩[1] or ⟨ɹ̈⟩.
Features
A schematic mid-sagittal section of an articulation of a voiced alveolar approximant [ɹ].A schematic mid-sagittal section of an articulation of a voiced postalveolar approximant [ɹ̠].
Phonetic realisation of /r/, especially in some Eastern Dialects and sometimes in conjunct before consonants. Corresponds to [r ~ ɾ] in others. See Bengali phonology
Allophone of the more usual and traditional flap or trill [ɾ~r] and is sometimes thus pronounced by some younger speakers due to exposure to mainstream English.
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