# Voiced uvular trill

The voiced uvular trill is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨ʀ⟩, a small capital version of the Latin letter r. This consonant is one of several collectively called guttural R.

## Features

Features of the voiced uvular trill:
* Its manner of articulation is trill, which means it is produced by directing air over an articulator so that it vibrates. Unlike in tongue-tip trills, it is the uvula, not the tongue, that vibrates.
* Its place of articulation is uvular, which means it is articulated with the back of the tongue (the dorsum) at the uvula.
* Its phonation is voiced, which means the vocal cords vibrate during the articulation.
* It is an oral consonant, which means air is allowed to escape through the mouth only.
* It is a central consonant, which means it is produced by directing the airstream along the center of the tongue, rather than to the sides.
* Its airstream mechanism is pulmonic, which means it is articulated by pushing air solely with the intercostal muscles and abdominal muscles, as in most sounds.

## Occurrence

There are two main theories regarding the origination of the uvular trill in European languages. According to one theory, the uvular trill originated in Standard French around the 17th century and spread to the standard varieties of German, Danish, Portuguese, and some of those of Dutch, Norwegian and Swedish. It is also present in other areas of Europe, but it is not clear if such pronunciations are due to French influence. In most cases, varieties have shifted the sound to a voiced uvular fricative [ʁ] or a voiced uvular approximant [ʁ̞].
The other main theory is that the uvular R originated within Germanic languages by the weakening of the alveolar R, which was replaced by an imitation of the alveolar R (vocalisation). Against the "French origin" theory, it is said that there are many signs that the uvular R existed in some German dialects long before the 17th century.
| Language | Language | Word | IPA | Meaning | Notes |
| Afrikaans | Parts of the former Cape Province | rooi | [ʀoːi̯] | 'red' | May be a fricative [ʁ] instead. See Afrikaans phonology |
| Arabic | North Mesopotamian | قمر | [ˈqʌmʌʀ] | 'moon' | Corresponds to [r, ɾ] in most other varieties. See Arabic phonology |
| Breton | Kerneveg | bro | [bʀoː] | 'country' | Corresponds to [r~ʁ] in standard Breton. See Breton phonology |
| Catalan | Some northern dialects | córrer | [ˈkoʀə] | 'to run' | See Catalan phonology |
| Dutch | Belgian Limburg | rood | | 'red' | More commonly a flap. Uvular pronunciations appear to be gaining ground in the Randstad. Realization of /r/ varies considerably among dialects. See Dutch phonology |
| Dutch | Central Netherlands | rood | | 'red' | More commonly a flap. Uvular pronunciations appear to be gaining ground in the Randstad. Realization of /r/ varies considerably among dialects. See Dutch phonology |
| Dutch | Randstad | rood | | 'red' | More commonly a flap. Uvular pronunciations appear to be gaining ground in the Randstad. Realization of /r/ varies considerably among dialects. See Dutch phonology |
| Dutch | Southern Netherlands | rood | | 'red' | More commonly a flap. Uvular pronunciations appear to be gaining ground in the Randstad. Realization of /r/ varies considerably among dialects. See Dutch phonology |
| Dutch | Flemish Brabant | rood | | 'red' | More commonly a flap. It is one of the least common realizations of /r/ in these areas. See Dutch phonology |
| Dutch | Northern Netherlands | rood | | 'red' | More commonly a flap. It is one of the least common realizations of /r/ in these areas. See Dutch phonology |
| Dutch | West Flanders | rood | | 'red' | More commonly a flap. It is one of the least common realizations of /r/ in these areas. See Dutch phonology |
| English | Cape Flats | red | [ʀɛd] | 'red' | Possible realization of /r/; may be [ɹ ~ ɹ̝ ~ ɾ ~ r] instead. See South African English phonology |
| English | Northumbrian dialect | red | [ʀɛd] | 'red' | More often a fricative. Dialectal "Northumbrian Burr", mostly found in eastern Northumberland, declining. See English phonology |
| English | Sierra Leonean | red | [ʀɛd] | 'red' | More often a fricative. |
| French | French | rendez-vous | | 'rendezvous', 'appointment' | Dialectal. More commonly an approximant or a fricative [ʁ]. See French phonology |
| German | Standard | rot | | 'red' | In free variation with a voiced uvular fricative and approximant. Can be realized as voiceless after voiceless consonants. See Standard German phonology |
| Hebrew | Hebrew | ירוק | [jaˈʀok] | 'green' | May also be a fricative or approximant. See Modern Hebrew phonology |
| Italian | Some speakers | raro | [ˈʀäːʀo] | 'rare' | Rendition alternative to the standard Italian alveolar trill [r], due to individual orthoepic defects and/or regional variations that make the alternative sound more prevalent, notably in South Tyrol (bordering with German-speaking Austria), Aosta Valley (bordering with France) and in parts of the Parma province, more markedly around Fidenza. Other alternative sounds may be a voiced uvular fricative [ʁ] or a labiodental approximant [ʋ]. See Italian phonology. |
| Japreria | Japreria | peŕo | [peʀo] | 'dog' | Contrasts with flap [ɾ], represented orthographically by ŕ. |
| Judaeo-Spanish | Judaeo-Spanish | mujer | [muˈʒɛʀ] | 'woman', 'wife' | |
| Low Saxon | Zwols | priezen/prysen | [pʀi:zn̩] | 'prices' | Only in the city and its immediate surroundings, not in the area surrounding Zwolle. |
| Luxembourgish | Luxembourgish | Rou | [ʀəʊ̯] | 'silence' | Prevocalic allophone of /ʀ/. See Luxembourgish phonology |
| Occitan | Eastern | garric | [ɡaʀi] | 'oak' | Contrasts with alveolar trill ([ɡari] 'cured') |
| Occitan | Provençal | parts | [paʀ] | 'parts' | See Occitan phonology |
| Occitan | Southern Auvergnat | garçon | [ɡaʀˈsu] | 'son' | See Occitan phonology |
| Occitan | Southeastern Limousin | filh | [fʲiʀ] | 'son' | See Occitan phonology |
| Norwegian | Southern dialects | rar | [ʁ̞ɑːʁ̞] | 'strange' | Either an approximant or a fricative. See Norwegian phonology |
| Norwegian | Southwestern dialects | rar | [ʁ̞ɑːʁ̞] | 'strange' | Either an approximant or a fricative. See Norwegian phonology |
| Portuguese | European | rarear | [ʀɐɾiˈaɾ] | 'to get scarcer' | Alternates with other uvular forms and the older alveolar trill. See Portuguese phonology |
| Portuguese | Fluminense | mercado | [me̞ʀˈkadu] | 'market', 'fair' | Tendency to be replaced by fricative pronunciations. In coda position, it is generally in free variation with [x], [χ], [ʁ], [ħ] and [h] before non-voicing environments. |
| Portuguese | Sulista | repolho | [ʀe̞ˈpoʎ̟ʊ] | 'cabbage' | Alternates with the alveolar trill and [h] depending on the region. Never used in coda. |
| Romani | Some dialects | rrom | [ʀom] | 'man' | Allophone of a descendant of the Indic retroflex set, so often transcribed /ɽ/. A coronal flap, approximant or trill in other dialects; in some it merges with /r/ |
| Selkup | Northern dialects | ӄаӄри | [ˈqaʀlɪ̈] | 'sledge' | Allophone of /q/ before liquids |
| Sioux | Lakota | ǧí | [ʀí] | 'it's brown' | Allophone of /ʁ/ before /i/ |
| Sotho | Regional variant | moriri | [moʀiʀi] | 'hair' | Imported from French missionaries. See Sesotho phonology |
| Swedish | Southern | räv | [ʀɛːv] | 'fox' | See Swedish phonology |
| Yiddish | Standard | בריק | [bʀɪk] | 'bridge' | More commonly a flap [ʀ̆]; can be alveolar [ɾ ~ r] instead. See Yiddish phonology |