Self conscious when pronouncing “R's”

Question

I remember taking special reading classes in 5th and 6th grade for this, but basically I have trouble pronouncing words that use the letter 'r'. I don't really know why this is as I am fine with all the other letters. But whenever I say a word that has a strong 'R' to it, like 'Rural', it's extremely hard to pronounce. I think this isn't normal because my family and friends never heard of this issue, and I have looked online but with no luck.

Also, for some odd reason when I do pronounce these words my mind adds emphasis to the 'R' sounding, and I feel like I am really screwing up the pronunciation. I don't know how else to explain it. But I feel like if I subconsciously talk without thinking (or talk really fast) I don't even notice the 'R' sound.

My problem is, since my brain does add that emphasis, it has a negative affect on me. It makes me feel like I am mispronouncing the letter/word and just doesn't feel right.

I'm wondering if there is anything I can do as an adult now to help with this? It doesn't happen when reading, only when speaking out loud.

Answer 1

Is there a way to treat Rhotacism in adults aged 20+?

Learn how to position your tongue to pronounce a clear 'R' sound.

So, after wading through some useless info on short palates, I learned the word "rhotacism," and then took the hop skip and jump internet links to Youtube, where I often end up it seems. And so, literally 20 minutes of Youtube videos taught me how to position my tongue and pronounce a clear R sound! [exclamation!] –quora.com