Why Can't I Roll My 'R's If Millions Of Other People Can?

<div><img src="https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/690cb8331800008e970408b8.jpg?ops=scalefit_630_noupscale" alt="A person's mouth" data-caption="A person's mouth" data-credit-link-back="" data-credit="Guido Fuà via Unsplash" />A person's mouth</div><div class="content-list-component text"><p>“Can a rolling ‘R’ be taught?”, Redditor <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/LessElderberry5776/" aria-label="Author: LessElderberry5776" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-expanded="false">u/LessElderberry5776</a> recently posted to <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/" aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-expanded="false">r/explainlikeimfive</a>. </p><p>They explained, “I have tried to learn how to speak Spanish, but the main issue... is that I cannot roll my ’r’s no matter how much I try. My mouth just refuses to make that noise.</p><p>“How are children taught to make that noise, and can adults be taught who have never done it?” they ended.</p><p>Redditor, you and I are (or should that be <a href="https://enunciate.arts.ubc.ca/%CA%80/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">⟨ʀ⟩</a>) in the same boat. I can’t make that noise, no matter how hard I try ― it feels so impossible to me that I wonder if my inability is genetic. </p><p>But then, I think, whole countries are filled with people who can create the sound effortlessly. Do you need to build the appropriate muscles as a kid, a bit like gymnasts? </p><p>Or can everyone learn it? </p><h2><strong>Why can’t I roll my “r”s? </strong></h2><p>The technical term for a rolled “r” is a “voiced alveolar trill”.</p><p>Like all sounds, the noise is made by well-placed vibrations. In this c