I pronounce initial R’s with the upper teeth on the very bottom of the inside lower lip. Not rhotic. What’s the IPA for this

ipaphoneticspronunciationrhoticity

The Wikipedia page "Pronunciation of English /r/" doesn't mention an option for pronouncing R where the upper teeth are really, really at the bottom of the inside lower lip, practically touching the gums by moving the lower lip up over the upper teeth. Not rhotic.

I use this pronunciation for R in rain, rail, really, etc.

In comparison, when saying V, I do not bring the lower lip nearly as high up over the top teeth. If you want to see what I'm talking about, get ready to say V, then jack that lower lip way higher.

Best Answer

It sounds like you're describing a labiodental approximant [ʋ]. That sound is documented to occur as a pronunciation of /r/ for some English speakers, noted on the Wikipedia article voiced labiodental approximant, and in fact also mentioned on the page “Pronunciation of English /r/” that you linked to.

For me, r at the start of syllables has a labiodental coarticulation, but is not purely labiodental.

I found an article that discusses some research on labiodental realizations of /r/.

the bottom lip is raised resulting in an approximation of the inner surface of the bottom lip with the front surface of the upper incisors. As a result, the vertical lip position measure presented in this paper seems to indicate that /r/ is accompanied by a labiodental-like lip posture.

(Hannah King and Emmanuel Ferragne, “Labiodentals /r/ here to stay: Deep learning shows us why”, Anglophonia [Online], 30 | 2020, Online since 20 December 2020, connection on 16 December 2023. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/anglophonia.3424)

The focus of this study is comparing lip posture for /r/ vs. /w/. I haven't seen yet a study that compares the position of the lips for /r/ vs. /v/. Even if the lip position is a bit different, I think that both would still be included in the same general category of 'labiodental' consonants under the IPA.