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Glite Dictionary
👄 Speech disorder 🔤 Sound change
rhotacism

rhotacism

1 9.9
Having trouble saying the r sound correctly
  • noun
  • /ˈroʊtəˌsɪzəm/
  • Specialized
: rhotacismo
  • Children with rhotacism may substitute the 'r' sound with a 'w' sound.

Examples

  • After months of practice, her rhotacism became much less noticeable.

  • Many children experience rhotacism as they learn to speak.

  • The speech therapist helped the boy overcome his rhotacism before he started school.

  • The speech therapist specializes in treating rhotacism.

  • Children with rhotacism often struggle to say words like 'rabbit' correctly.

  • In speech therapy, we work with kids who have rhotacism to help them improve their pronunciation.

  • Her rhotacism made it difficult for her to say her own name without practicing.

Synonyms

misarticulation
vsrhotacism
  • Specialized
1 8.6

Saying speech sounds the wrong way, often in children

is limited to difficulty producing the letter r sound

Surface Forms

rhotacism singular
rhotacisms plural

Morphology

rhotacism = rhotac + ism

A technical/medical term formed from a Greek combining form referring to 'r' plus '-ism'; the clinical sense ('difficulty pronouncing r') is specialized and not transparent to typical learners.

Etymology

Rhotacism comes from the Greek name rho, the letter 'r', and is used for a speech problem when someone cannot say the 'r' sound correctly. That's why rhotacism means difficulty pronouncing 'r'.