Pronouncing a single `r`

Started by 'Onatxan te Skxawng Tìrey'itan, March 25, 2012, 11:55:47 AM

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'Onatxan te Skxawng Tìrey'itan

I'm getting mixed messages here: In Na'vi in a Nutshell, it says the consonant 'r' sounds like "tt in little, t in water, dd in cuddle". However, in the "how to pronounce Na'vi words" audio pack (from where to download I can't remember so I can't link to it), it says that "seyri" is pronounced (in english transliteration) "sayree". But it also seems to be pronouncing "nari" as "nadi" or "nardi" (with a soft r). So I really just don't get how it's pronounced. Can anyone help?
Nga txo ke flä nìsngä'i, rä'ä kivä Eywa'evengne! ;)

`Eylan Ayfalulukanä

The little 'd' or 't' sound should be in there. If it is not noticeable, the speaker either didn't do it, or did it very softly. Regulating this tongue tap is challenging. In my experience, some word shapes come out with just a slight 'd', others, it is almost as if there was a 'd' in the word. If inappropriately loud or soft, you sometimes have to work at getting it right. The R sounds are tricky for someone with a language where the r's are smooth (like English), and I have worked more on them than any other sound in the language.

Yawey ngahu!
pamrel si ro [email protected]

'Onatxan te Skxawng Tìrey'itan

so what is the proper transliteration?
Nga txo ke flä nìsngä'i, rä'ä kivä Eywa'evengne! ;)

eejmensenikbenhet

Quote from: 'onatxan on March 25, 2012, 03:34:32 PM
so what is the proper transliteration?
There is no English transliteration because in the English language the rs are no alveolar flaps. You could think of the more Scottish pronunciation of the r in three.

The proper pronunciation can be heard in this file from Wikipedia.