The r at the End of a Word

In Standard German, this is not a mistake but the normal case: after vowels, /r/ is frequently vocalised. In sehr (“very”), the r after the long vowel is heard only as an off-glide, roughly [zeːɐ̯]. In unstressed endings such as in Vater and Lehrer, the vowel [ɐ] takes its place, the so-called “Vater schwa” (also low schwa): [ˈfaːtɐ], [ˈleːʁɐ]. The two phenomena are related, but not identical in every respect.

The German word sehr thus demonstrates r-vocalisation itself: there is hardly a consonantal r left in it.

Spanish behaves differently. At the end of a word, the r usually remains a consonant, mostly a brief tap [ɾ]: flor [ˈfloɾ]. Regionally and depending on context, the realisation can be weaker, longer or different, but as a rule it remains a consonant. Anyone who transfers the German habit will pronounce flor more like [ˈfloɐ̯].

German r-vocalisation and its possible transfer concern not only the absolute end of a word but often also an r at the end of a syllable – even inside a word. In enfermo, the r stands before the m, in Spanish usually as a brief tap [en.ˈfeɾ.mo]; vocalised, the word would sound roughly like [en.ˈfeɐ̯.mo]. What flor and enfermo have in common is the syllable-final position of the r.

Reír (“to laugh”) brings both together. In Spanish, the word begins with a trilled r and ends with a tap: [re.ˈiɾ]. German-speaking learners may transfer two habits at once here: a back [ʁ] at the beginning of the word and vocalisation at the end, roughly [ʁe.ˈɪɐ].

Reír also appears on the topic page Soft Spanish, hard German, seen from another angle – the glottal stop between the two vowels. Here, only the r matters.