Norwegian Language: Retroflex Sounds, The "R-Sound"

[@CommentaireCarotte]

I love languages. It's funny how hard R's are tough to pronounce for English speakers. As French is my native language, the examples you have here are surprisingly easy to pronounce for me. By chance we can still twist our tongue on sounds like ð.

[@vat69man2002]

Your videos are very helpful. Thank you for all the time and effort you have given to them.

[@Neueregel]

Very useful R-phonemes and specific word explanations & examples. Thanks, once again

[@infinite5795]

It's easy for Indian speakers since Sanskrit and Dravidian language speakers have plenty of retroflexes.

[@miguelangellopezperez9436]

Oh my God. I think that I fell in love with your tongue position lessons hahaha Nah, seriously. I appreciate so much your effort and work to do this, Karin.

[@clarach21]

This has really helped me with my lessons! It makes learning a new language so much easier when I can see how the sounds are made.

[@abdulrhmanmouhish8816]

Thanks!!! very amazing work, really I am very happy when I show your videos, we spend perfect time and learn Norwegian Smoothly

[@kevinleungreal899]

Something interesting is that the examples of letter groups in this video, the letter that follows "r" is always an alveolar consonant, which means when articulating it your tongue (upper side) touches your alveolar. The r+something in Norwegian is like articulating that "something" with you tongue (bottom side) touching your alveolar.

[@deceivingthedeceiver]

Thanks for the video! I'm slowly starting to sound Norwegian.. now if only I could get rid of my Canadian accent.

[@NorwegianTeacher]

It will come in time :D good luck!

[@weiniande7431]

Norwegian Teacher - Karin For meg det er veldig viktig .Nå du forklare til meg riktig hvordan kan jeg dialekt dette . Så jeg trenger forklare til meg også sj ,sk og kj. forhånd tusen takk

[@aleyzeeo-aleyzee2101]

Sheldon I'm not a motherborn English speaker but at first my English accent was disturbing my norsk pronunciation 😂 I do feel u brah

[@RobertoGroban]

AWESOME VIDEO =D !!! Thanks a lot for making it. I feel like I'm already starting to get the hang of retroflex consonants. Tusen takk!!! Greetings from Mexico!

[@mayamoon9207]

I'm watching your entire Norwegian sounds playlist right now :) Some sounds are hard for me to pronounce so these videos help me a lot. Tusen takk

[@irukandjiandme]

can't thank you enough for this video dude

[@NorwegianTeacher]

awesome :D

[@zajczex1]

"dude" lol

[@michaeldubery3593]

I needed this! I have been trying to roll literally every single r (even if just quickly!), and for no reason lol

[@NorwegianTeacher]

Michael Dubery haha ^^ Im sorry i didnt teach you this sooner ^^ Impossible to roll these ones ^^

[@diegofarfan7543]

Thank you so much! Yours is the only one video I found about this subject

[@novepipps]

Tusen takk 🌞

[@dariovettori5517]

tusen takk én gang til for videoene dine, alltid så hjelpsome og dessuten lette :)

[@alexandraviolet]

Wonderful! I am slowly learning and enjoying it. Thank you for all your time and effort. I am so grateful to you for helping me learn your language. All the best to you and yours, Karin!

[@sikena]

I’m learning Norwegian rn but I’m so glad that I also know Punjabi which has retroflex consonants

[@berhoom2024]

Yeah, all Indic languages. The D was the most similar.

[@iceamerica5852]

In Indic languages, each of those retroflex sounds have phonetic alphabets so that they can be precisely written e.g.- RT is ठ. RD is दी or डी, for the reader to reproduce the exact pronounciation while reading.

[@dag7311]

You are excellent teacher. Inspiring.

[@NorwegianTeacher]

Daugirdas Norkus wow, thank you

[@dag7311]

Crienexzy - Norwegian Teacher

[@dag7311]

Daugirdas Norkus and yep du er den beste!

[@bensingh850]

A very interesting insight on this fascinating and unique language,thank you karin.

[@drumfish2162]

Tusen takk, Karin. Denne videoen var mest nyttig.

[@mehyarzarzar1230]

That was quite useful, thank you Karin! I have been struggling to make it since I have started studying Norwegian... I was just failing to say "der borte" in a proper way. I used to watch my local Norwegian friends saying it and I used to wonder then if they have two tongues.... thank you indeed!

[@AccioFreaks]

This was really helpful! I didn't know any of these sounds before waching this. Tusen takk, Karin! ^_^

[@NorwegianTeacher]

Great :D

[@em-vo4ml]

i appreciate your videos so much! my issue is trying to speak faster. it’s like everything ik just goes out the window

[@theodoralast5893]

Perfect, thank you! I'll try this every day for a week! And btw: the Norwegian accent on English is so nice! I love it!

[@QuiltingCrow]

As a German native speaker I don't seem to have too much trouble with that. That's nice :) Tusen takk!

[@TheStreetFabulous]

This is adorable.

[@26blanco]

Very very helpful your explanations.the image of your tongue very good and clear,thanks

[@JoelSwensenM]

Dette er så nyttig! Tusen Takk!

[@weskos]

I was thinking of words that have these and there are some combos, like 'fortsett' that are interesting with rts together. Thanks for the video.

[@NorwegianTeacher]

absolutely a very fascinating word :D

[@mancdamtramtank]

This is so so helpful. Thank you Karin, you are doing a good thing. :)

[@10a3asd]

Haha I probably look, and sound like an idiot practicing along with the video, but this was helpful 😃

[@laulouisa1388]

Dear Karin, I am learning Norwegian by myself atm. And I'm so glad that i found u on KZbin. As a Chinese, Norway is such a far far away country from us. Thanks for the norwegian tv series SKAM, I found more and more people have interest in learning this language. Unfortunately, in here, there is only one textbook on the market that teaches Norwegian (and I got told by Norwegian or other people who lives in Norway there are quite a lot mistakes on that book). Most of the Chinese i met on the inter who's learning Norwegian are using phone apps, but apps normally don't teach too much of pronunciation and grammar, not to even mentions teaching slangs or introducing information about the life of the Norwegian people today. Again, let me thanks for making all of these wonderful videos. And I have a request, if you know the situation in here, we Chinese are not so easy to get on KZbin (or Facebook), but I really wanna share your videos with all the others who wanna learn Norwegian. So if you allow me, I wanna repost your videos on our local video website Bilibili.com (www.bilibili.com/ here is the address of the website), then all the Chinese youths who wanna learn Norwegian can easily see your videos. I promise I will write your information and the link of the every single video under each one. :) Please let me know whether I'm allowed to do that. Thanks!

[@herpsenderpsen]

I hope she will see this comment!

[@laulouisa1388]

thanks! i hope she can see it aswell!

[@bettykersey700]

herpsenderpsen hoii

[@bettykersey700]

Lau Louisa

[@IanSeg]

Tusen takk Karin =)

[@RakanManson]

However disgusting some people might find it (a bit stubborn on their part, I'd say), watching the position of the tongue is just incredibly helpful!! Especially to those who like perfecting their pronunciation ^^

[@NorwegianTeacher]

Im very greatful to you for saying this. :)

[@RakanManson]

Crienexzy - Norwegian Teacher how could I not? Du er læreren min ^^ Count on feedback, teacher!! :)

[@leonardoalfonso4437]

Love the way you explain!!!

[@camilaersina860]

hi! thank you very much for the pronunciation tip! it has helped a lot!

[@slug534]

I didn't know this before watching your video - it feels strange, but I'm sure it'll become more natural soon enough. Tusen takk! :)

[@NorwegianTeacher]

Probably! It feels unnatural for me to do this as pronounced as this as well ^^

[@TheOoshinjin]

Thank you for your helpful video. I think the same changes in sound also happen in Swedish language :)

[@Rolando_Cueva]

Interesting. Indian languages also have retroflex consonants.

[@gabrielabreu4724]

RD sounds is more like a Flap T in english, interesting, its not difficult to learn, retroflexive R in norwegian yo have to put your tongue back and not to touch the palate, yeah, the retroflex R is like american english R, kind of, I could understand this from you, Karin, thank you so much, the best teacher in norwegian

[@muhanaalqaseem4996]

tusen takk for alle video

[@heycutie4119]

Jeg elsker deg mye

[@mehdidadras1402]

Thank you very much. It's realy useful.

[@aniisahasan7456]

@karin ur videos r very helping thnk u.

[@mfilanc]

can you pronounce the word 'retroflex' with the Norwegian retroflexes? Just wanted to hear what it would sound like :)

[@quzainihassan7925]

great vid karin! I have two impacted teeth and the air slips through, making the /s/ so hard.

[@artstories5828]

Hi Karin, extremely helpful video. Tusen takk for posting! But one the off-chance you're reading this, five years after you created it, I was wondering if you could answer one query: does the retroflex apply across word boundaries, or is it just intra-word? For instance, in "Hvordan går det?", is there a retroflex R, or is it more like an "almost silent R" that doesn't affect the pronunciation of the D?

[@penguinlim]

I know it's 4 years later, but for anyone coming across this today: yes! it can occur across word boundaries

[@arkfamkk7046]

very useful

[@teweldeteamay4397]

Tusen takk lærere

[@drurafeweri7021]

Tusen takk lærer

[@AminGanjfar]

RD and RT sounds more like Indian language :D

[@samodelkini]

Because retroflex sounds are indeed a thing in some Indian languages!

[@ashtarbalynestjar8000]

rs = ष rt = ठ (but rst = ष्ट) rl = ळ rd = ड rn = ण

[@ShubhoBose]

@@samodelkini they are common in the majority of indian languages actually.

[@thunderstorminmyblood3705]

@@ashtarbalynestjar8000 pretty close on the others but the Norwegian RL isn't like the "L" sound you wrote (I speak Marathi and we have that alphabet and so do some South Indian languages)

[@thunderstorminmyblood3705]

@@ashtarbalynestjar8000 and the RN isn't like the N sound you wrote either

[@lauren7376]

Rip me being slightly tongue tied, all my retroflexive R sounds sound the same

[@Melanie-eu1sp]

Thanks, it really helped ! :)

[@NohEnvy]

sheesh, stuff you do is super helpful, thanks much! these conjuntions really busted my balls.

[@aleyzeeo-aleyzee2101]

Mange takk

[@Sodack1712]

The first language i learn in wich the grammar is way too easy but the phonetic a bigger discipline then translating german to polish(Because of the other "principe of time"...)

[@mittensbergeron8380]

not sure if you have a video about this but what about "rr"? such as in herre? I'm just starting to learn Norwegian and your videos have been very helpful!! thank you!

[@vanessadiniz435]

Hi, Karin! First of all, your videos are really very helpful, so... Thanks! In the sentence "Hvordan går det?", the letter D from "det" is retroflex too when you say it fast?

[@NorwegianTeacher]

Vanessa Diniz Hey :) Yes this is true! Because of the "R" from "går" it will be retroflex when saying fast :) good catch :D

[@vanessadiniz435]

Norwegian Teacher - Karin Thank you! :)

[@dangostead781]

Tusen takk! Måtte vite hva retroflekser var for et skoleprosjekt

[@danielugaspace7488]

Tusen takk for videoene, Karin! I've been watching these for a while now! I moved to Norway last year (Stavanger, specifically) and your lessons have been very helpful! Can I kindly ask you to make a video about the use of the verb "to be" in Norwegian? I struggle a lot when I try to say for example "going to be" or "I have been.." or "it has had"... I partially understand the use of "å være" but "å bli" is very confusing... Thanks a lot!!

[@NorwegianTeacher]

"å bli" thats a good suggestion. Im writing it down! :) Thank you for your feedback and nice comment :D

[@natufunnatu2700]

great jobbbbbbb

[@WillVRam]

Hello Karin, some friends of mine recoomened your channel to learn Norwegian language so here I am. I've tried to learn it like 6 years ago, but I didnt found much here in youtube. Using Duoling, I readed some commentaries talking about consonants retroflex, retroflex stops etc, and I dont understand a bit. So I asked help and a guy passed this video to me. What is all this things about retroflex on pronnounciation? Where can I learn it? And I have two questioons, : 1- Is the "R" on "Norsk" a consonant retroflex while the "R" in "Kart" a retroflex stop? I am confuse about the diference between these two. 2- 3:31 is the diference between the first "t" and the retroflex "t" because we eject more air from lungs (or stomatch) when we pronounce the retroflex one? Because its stronger Thank you =]

[@herpsenderpsen]

I highly suggest you read the "Norwegian phonology" page on wikipedia, there are links to other wikipedia pages that contain audio examples of the sounds. To answer your questions: Retroflex just means that you put your tongue a bit behind the front of your teeth, touching the roof of your mouth (use google images, an search for "retroflex", there are some illustrations which shows the position of the tongue) 1. *rs* together makes a voiceless retroflex sibilant, which is a retroflex consonant. The *rt* in "kart" makes a retroflex stop. The difference? Think of s and t, you can say *ssss* for as long as you want, but *t* isn't a constant sound. This is the same with rs vs. rt. 2. Here you are comparing a regular t with the retroflex rt. The difference between these two is the placement of your tongue. To simplify it: a regular t is in the front of your mouth, right behind your front teeth, while the retroflex t happens in the roof of your mouth. a bit behind your front teeth.

[@gabberulf]

which dialect are yu basing this upon? not all of norway seem to bu usin all retroflexes..

[@NorwegianTeacher]

This is a good question! Dialects that has the skarre-R does not have this! :) Only dialect with the rolling-R :)

[@romiliciouss]

I have a random question that maybe you can help me with!:)) Why is it "kjekke kjæresten min" and not "kjekk"? I thought kjekke was plural?

[@dcfreak23]

Does anybody know the IPA symbols for these Norwegian retroflex sounds? That would be super helpful.

[@dariopl8664]

My tongue is tired of a two-hour practice, wow.

[@JohanBesterphotos]

Now I understand why the er disappears in "Vegetarianeren" Ve ge ta ri an er en. You sound very much like the girl in the Norwegian course at Duolingo.com!

[@EEE-vl4hy]

I have tongue-tie so my tongue doesn't stretch out very far :/ I'm actually looking to get it corrected soon, so hoping it helps me with some of the pronunciation. I feel my pronunciation is very close to being right, I just use my tongue slightly differently XD thank you so much for your helpful videos, I watch them constantly!

[@NorwegianTeacher]

+Brittany Miller Thank you very much :D hope you get it right soon :D

[@ivylady13]

In the words like Karl and Farlig the r seems to roll. Is that right?

[@freepalestine2199]

👍 👍

[@jeanlauridsen8596]

Hallo Karen.

[@egleshairstylesmakeup7711]

Hei Karin :) Kan du lage en video clip " hos frisør " . Jeg trenger frisør ord :) tusen takk , jeg vente :)

[@NorwegianTeacher]

Egle Bajorinaite Hei :) Trenger du ord for å være frisør eller for at du skal klippe deg? :)

[@egleshairstylesmakeup7711]

Norwegian Teacher - Karin jeg er en frisør, og å gå til Norge, jeg ønsker å jobbe frisør til Norge, nå mye å lære norsk. og jeg vil ulike frisører-ord, Verktøy, kanskje vi kan med dine venner hva dialog for å gjøre deg håret styling :)

[@JoshuaGraves113]

I can't roll my 'r's for the life of me. Practicing it everyday for months now and still can't do it. I've been using the Swedish ord 'orm' as practice in it (it feels like my 'r' rolls when I say it, but I dunno if it actually is.) Can't bother askin' no one if it is it either. People look at me like I'm a moron for practicing some Norwegian/Swedish stuff. :( Though, in retrospect, it is odd for an American like me to be interested in stuff like that soo...

[@hege4318]

Not to worry :) I'm from the west part of Norway (Stavanger), and here we don't use rolling r ;) We use a scarring r, more like making cat purring noises :P But also most of the words in this vid don't apply to our Stavanger accent ;) Good to know. In Stavanger we combine words more, so it's in general harder to understand, BUT our pronunciation are often more similar to other languages :) (In stead of saying "Jeg" -> "Eg" (I), "Hva heter du?" -> Ka hetteru? (What's your name), "Hvorfor?" -> "kefår?" (Why?) ;) )

[@amnane3722]

takk skal du ha Karin

[@Domatesc]

so cute omg

[@ytmikeperu]

Nice to meet you, Karin. You've done a great job. I love learning languages so much and Norwegian captivated me so much... But, like the 90% of learners, I am struggling with the retroflex sounds (The "R-Sound") and the "Skj", "Kj" sounds, etc. While watching you and other Norwegian teachers online, I have been thinking about this a lot... Do we really have to suffer if our non-native tongue is not able to fully copy the retroflex sounds the native make? Sometimes, people get so intimidated and demotivated and they quit on learning the whole thing... I don't want to stop just because my tongue and my brain can't copy the new sounds because the child phase (in which we learn our native languages) is over and it's harder to copy these tongue-palate sounds. I am not saying that we should not care about these lessons because they are so important and they give us the whole picture of how Norwegian phonetics is based on. However, I think the idea is, if our brains can't make us articulate Norwegian exactly, to adapt the sounds. My native language is Spanish and I've came across many people who have a hard time with rolling their "r"s but they speak so fluently... So that gets me thinking... This is a message especially to all Norwegian learners who are struggling like me. If our brains are able to make the sounds, GREAT! If they can't, let's try our best and adapt them and don't get stuck. I will continue exercising my tongue with the retroflex thing, but if I can't do it exactly, it doesn't mean I will stop the whole learning journey.

[@NorwegianTeacher]

+Michael Angelo Velásquez Gargurevich This is so true! No norwegian would have any trouble at all understanding you if you dont use this R-sounds. They are hard. You dont really have to know that much for us to understand you. The most important thing is to talk to other norwegian people, so you are comfortable making words and thinking in norwegian :)

[@TheTankill]

Thanks for the video. But I still have a question related to this topic. When one word ends with "r" and the next word starts with "s", do you still pronounce "rs" as "sh" sound? For example when you say vær så snill

[@NorwegianTeacher]

Very good point! YES! In this case I say "væ-shå-snill" :) It maily because we are used to talking fast. But with "vær så snill" which almost is a tre-worded-word... So even if I pronounce the words SLOWLY i will say the SH sound :P

[@gercules043]

For those who knows Russian it's not a big deal to pronounce that :)

[@TolgahanDag]

r in Karl and Farlig are exactly same as "ğ" in turkish.

[@NorwegianTeacher]

Tolgahan Dag uH! That is very interessting you have a character for it :D

[@TolgahanDag]

Norwegian Teacher - Karin Yes, it is. :) It is very common & softened form of g and k. Pronunciation of turkish & norwegian are very similar at some aspects btw.

[@ezekielhambissa777]

interesting

[@muhanaalqaseem4996]

kan du gi meg navnet på facebok

[@trippplefive]

i'm just going to throw this out there. marry me?

[@lamidom]

Why do you think women need to marry someone trough the internet?

[@minicastor4867]

RS is totally easy for slovians :P

[@veronicasturniolo3681]

This is a gold mine❤ tusen takk Karin🫶 your videos are so helpful in gaining insights my self studying

[@nedzatjelici5803]

you are so cyte and crazzy..

[@konstantiniougov7524]

Твою рязанско-мурманскую физиономию ни за каким языком не спрятать-))

[@richamo13]

Why do you Norwegians always forget to pronounce letters that are obviously in the word!!

[@sharoncohenjones4489]

They are far from the only ones. English is full of silent letters.