Alveolar Trill, what am I doing wrong?

[chrismasas9787]

Hi. I've been trying to roll my R's for about 10 months now, as I am learning Russian. I can roll it sometimes on its own, but saying a word is a different story. And I always hear so much air escaping around the tongue, rather than through the top.

But my biggest issue is that when I touch the tip of the tongue to the alveolar ridge, and I begin to roll, the back of my tongue is almost touching the back of my mouth, causing a sound like the "ch" in "loch". Like when someone is hocking a loogie or clearing their throat when its itchy. I can't seem to relax the back part. It ruins the entire thing and for the life of me I can't make the back part stay down. I guess because I am used to my English R.

What am I doing wrong here? Does anyone else have this same problem?

[svetlana.innovative]

Hey,

Thank you for your question.
Seems it is really hard for somebody to pronounce rolling "R" in Russian.
First what I would recommend you is to keep trying and listening to the audio.
Second, it is not just your tongue that makes a sound, it is breath and mouth as well. Relax you lips and just slightly open the mouth so you will let the air easily go out through it and get the right vibration when it hits your tongue. The tip of your tongue should rest against the palate right above your upper teeth. Now try to pronounce English "THRUST". Try to repeat it several times and see how your tongue moves.
Hope it will help
Feel free to contact us is you have other questions.

Svetlana,
Team RussianPod101.com