Arnt Richard Johansen wrote:
The official Lojban R is the alveolar approximant, SAMPA [\r], which is used in among others US English, UK English, and Swedish. It is also possible to pronounce R as an alveolar trill, SAMPA [r], as in Spanish. The preferred pronunciation, however, seems to be the apico-alveolar tap, "fish-hook r", as in Spanish, some dialects of Japanese, and some dialects of Norwegian.
Where does this "official" and "preferred" come from? The Lojban /r/ is any rhotic sound, including all of these as well as the uvular trill of German, the uvular approximant of French (although as noted some may have trouble pronouncing /xr/ distinctly in the last case), and the retroflex approximant of Chinese. Additionally, the /r/ I use in American English is by no means alveolar; it is a lamino-palatal approximant, with the apex depressed and retracted. -- Not to perambulate || John Cowan <jcowan@reutershealth.com> the corridors || http://www.reutershealth.com during the hours of repose || http://www.ccil.org/~cowan in the boots of ascension. \\ Sign in Austrian ski-resort hotel