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From: dacosta@prl.philips.nl (Paulo da Costa)
Subject: Re: German and French uvular 'r'
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References: <3ac3ts$oi1@mother.usf.edu> <CzDuvI.G6M@inter.NL.net> <3aeq63$7f0@cville-srv.wam.umd.edu> <CzFDzL.D05@spss.com>
Date: Mon, 21 Nov 1994 08:41:21 GMT
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In <CzFDzL.D05@spss.com> markrose@spss.com (Mark Rosenfelder) writes:

>I'm told that an initial r- in the carioca accent is pronounced [h],
>and a medial -r- as [R*] (that is, like a French r).  Thus "Rio de Janeiro"
>is pronounced [hiu dZi ZaneR*u].  Other parts of Brazil have different
>r's; in Sao Paulo a trilled r is common.

Good heavens, no! Initial r in most of Brazil (if not all of it) is
pronounced like English h, with one exception for Rio (more on this
later). Medial r followed by a vowel is _always_ trilled. Syllable-final
r (including rr) is where differences creep in: Cariocas like myself use
what you call a French r (although I think it's more like a Dutch g)
before a voiced consonant, and an h otherwise (rr gets an h).

The exception for initial r in Rio is that it depends on the following
vowel(s). I pronounce r in "rio" and "rua"  as your French r, but in
"rato", "reto", "rota" it's an h. Emphasis can also change an r from h
to a French r (in any position), so this difference is less important
than the other ones.

Your example, in other words, should have [R*iu] and [Zaneru]. You
should also do something about the d, which is not [dZ] (shouldn't it be
d-slashed?).
-- 
Paulo M. C(astello) da Costa,  /\/\/\  Minha terra tem palmeiras  /\/\/\
Philips Research Laboratories, \/\/\/  Onde canta o sabia'...     \/\/\/
Building WAY5 093, Prof. Holstlaan 4, 5656 AA Eindhoven, The Netherlands
E-mail: dacosta@prl.philips.nl  Phone: +31 40 742147  FAX: +31 40 744657
