The sonorant consonant “r” belongs to the group of consonants that children learn
to produce very late and their pronunciation is often deformed. This is the consequence
of high articulatory demands of this particular sound – efficient work of the tip of the
tongue is required. The following paper presents how a six‑year‑old
boy is gradually
learning how to produce the sound “r”. The author describes how the sound “r” is replaced
with some other well‑articulated
sounds and next how the sounds very similar
to “r” are gradually appearing in the boy’s speech. This process allowed the boy to start
producing a short vocal element similar to “y” but pronounced with the mass of the
tongue located in the back. This kind of articulation is known as sibilant. Finally, the
paper describes the therapeutic process which resulted in the appearance of the correct
pronunciation
