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Help[Facts] Re: I beg to differ...
in reply to a message by SugarPlumFairy
Well, I'm not sure we're going to agree. The question was whether the pronunciation of Renzo as "Henzo" was accurate. The exact sound of the Brazilian initial R may not exist in English, but since we therefore have to approximate, it is much closer to what English-speakers identify as H than to R, rolled or otherwise. (This does not mean that a native Portuguese speaker could not perceive the same sound as a "soft rolled R").
Listen to this speaker say "raça" and "rua" : http://www.portugueseforcapoeiristas.com/2011/09/pronunciation-focus-brazilian-portuguese-r/ . A native English-speaker perceives this sound as a strongly emphasized H (and this site along with the two I previously linked to also states it is an H sound). I hear the same sound medially in "corrida," "morrer," and "terra." It is not what is commonly called a rolled R, which is articulated with the tip of the tongue.
Edited to add: It would be interesting and helpful if the opening poster, or any other native English speakers who happen to read this, would listen to those two words and state what sound they seem to start with. I'm certainly willing to be corrected, if I am wrong!
Listen to this speaker say "raça" and "rua" : http://www.portugueseforcapoeiristas.com/2011/09/pronunciation-focus-brazilian-portuguese-r/ . A native English-speaker perceives this sound as a strongly emphasized H (and this site along with the two I previously linked to also states it is an H sound). I hear the same sound medially in "corrida," "morrer," and "terra." It is not what is commonly called a rolled R, which is articulated with the tip of the tongue.
Edited to add: It would be interesting and helpful if the opening poster, or any other native English speakers who happen to read this, would listen to those two words and state what sound they seem to start with. I'm certainly willing to be corrected, if I am wrong!
This message was edited 6/19/2012, 12:56 PM
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