Were you aware that not everyone can roll their R's? My sister can't, my daughter, one of my nieces and my nephew can't. My other niece can. As for myself--I can roll my r's like there is no tomorrow.
I am very proud of my R rolling ability. I can hold my roll for 16 beats. I can r roll at the beginning, middle and end of a word. I can roll up and down 2 octaves. I'm an exceptional r roller.
So, it was much to my chagrin that I found out that my r rolling would not be appreciated by the Spanish speaking community. Not only would it not be appreciated but I was in danger of making a complete ass out of myself if I rolled at the wrong time. I have to tell you, I was mortified as all the times I had so proudly r rolled went through my mind. I saw it all in a new light, realizing that what I thought were looks of wonder on the faces of people I had so proudly r rolled in front of were probably actually attempts not to laugh.
It is acceptable to roll at the beginning of a word, but not in the middle or the end. You can occasionally roll in the middle if the word has 2 rs. Even if you roll at the beginning, you risk sounding affected and artificial. There are many rules that I was not aware of, to numerous to recount.
So, I've given up r rolling. I can't remember the rules and I don't want anyone to laugh at me, but I feel like something beautiful has ended. Once again, my special talents go unappreciated. What can I do? Do you have any suggestions?
