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R

R is the eighteenth letter of the modern Latin alphabet

Latin alphabet

The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world today. It evolved from the western variety of the Greek alphabet called the Cumae alphabet, and was initially developed by the Ancient Romes to write the Latin....
. Its name in English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England and has lingua franca status in many parts of the world as a result of the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and that of the United States from the mid 20th century onwa...
is spelled ar (; pronounced or ).

original Semitic letter was probably inspired by an Egyptian hieroglyph for "head", pronounced t-p in Egyptian, but it was used for by Semites because in their language, the word for "head" was Rêš (also the name of the letter). It developed into Greek ?

Rho (letter)

Rho is the 17th letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 100. It is derived from Proto-Canaanite alphabet R? "head" ....
(Rhô) and Latin R.

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Encyclopedia

R is the eighteenth letter of the modern Latin alphabet

Latin alphabet

English language

History

The original Semitic letter was probably inspired by an Egyptian hieroglyph for "head", pronounced t-p in Egyptian, but it was used for by Semites because in their language, the word for "head" was Rêš (also the name of the letter). It developed into Greek ?

Rho (letter)

Rho is the 17th letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 100. It is derived from Proto-Canaanite alphabet R? "head" ....
(Rhô) and Latin R. It is likely that some Etruscan and Western Greek forms of the letter added the extra stroke to distinguish it from a later form of the letter P.

Minuscule

The minuscule (lower-case) form of r developed through several variations on the capital form. In handwriting it was common not to close the bottom of the loop but continue into the leg, saving an extra pen stroke. The loop-leg stroke shortened into the simple arc used today.

Another minuscule, r rotunda

R rotunda

The r rotunda is an old letter variant. Between the Middle Ages and today, many ways of writing alphabetical characters were lost. Besides a variety of ligature , conjoined letters, scribal abbreviations, swash characters, and the "long s" with its own ligatures, one was the "r rotunda"....
, kept the loop-leg stroke but dropped the vertical stroke. It fell out of use around the 18th century.

Various phonetic realizations of R

See rhotic consonant

Rhotic consonant

Rhotic consonants, or "R"-like sounds, are non-lateral liquid consonants. This class of sounds is difficult to characterise phonetically, though most of them share some acoustic peculiarities, most notably a lowered third formant in their sound spectrum....
, r-colored vowel

R-colored vowel

In phonetics, vocalic r refers to the phenomenon of a rhotic segment such as or occurring as the syllable nucleus. This is a feature of a number of Slavic languages such as Czech language, Macedonian language and Serbo-Croatian language, as well as some western Bulgarian language dialects....
, and guttural R

Guttural R

In linguistics, guttural R refers to pronunciation of a rhotic consonant as a guttural consonant. These consonants are usually uvular consonant, but can also be realized as a velar consonant, pharyngeal consonant, or glottal consonant rhotic....
for discussion of the family of 'r' sounds.

In the International Phonetic Alphabet, represents the alveolar trill

Alveolar trill

The alveolar trill is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents dental consonant, alveolar consonant, and postalveolar consonant trill consonant is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is r....
sound. Other languages may use the letter r in their alphabets (or Latin transliterations schemes) to represent rhotic consonants different from the alveolar trill. In Haitian Creole, it is represents a sound so weak that it is often written interchangeably with w, eg. Kweyol for Kreyol.

Alveolar trill Alveolar trill The alveolar trill is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents dental consonant, alveolar consonant, and postalveolar consonant trill consonant is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is r....	Listen	Arabic Arabic language Arabic is a Central Semitic language, thus related to and classified alongside other Semitic languages languages such as Hebrew language and Aramaic language.... , Armenian Armenian language The 'Armenian language' is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenians. It is the official language of the Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh.... , Bulgarian Bulgarian language Bulgarian is an Indo-European languages, a member of the Slavic languages linguistic group.Bulgarian demonstrates several linguistic innovations that set it apart from all other Slavic languages except Macedonian language, such as the elimination of grammatical case, the development of a suffixed definite article , the lack of a verb infin... , some dialects of British English British English British English or UK English is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere.... or in emphatic speech, Finnish Finnish language Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland and by Finnish people outside of Finland. It is one of the official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden.... , German German language German is a West Germanic languages, thus related to and classified alongside English language and Dutch language. It is one of the world's world language and the most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union.... in some dialects, Hungarian Hungarian language Hungarian is a Uralic languages unrelated to most other languages in Europe. It is mainly spoken in Hungary and by the Hungarian minorities in the seven neighbouring countries.... , Icelandic Icelandic language Icelandic is a North Germanic languages, the language of Iceland. Its closest relative is Faroese language and Norwegian dialects such as Telemark dialect and Sognam?l.... , Italian Italian language Italian is a Romance languages spoken by about 63 million people as a first language, primarily in Italy. In Switzerland, Italian is one of four Linguistic geography of Switzerlands.... , Japanese Japanese language IPA: [n?iho?go] is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is related to the Ryukyuan languages.... in emphatic male speech, Lithuanian Lithuanian language Lithuanian is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognised as one of the official languages of the European Union. There are about 2.96 million native Lithuanian speakers in Lithuania and about 170,000 abroad.... , Latin, Norwegian Norwegian language Norwegian is a North Germanic languages language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is an official language. It is also spoken as a second language among Norwegian-Americans in the United States of America, especially in the central northern states.... , Polish Polish language Polish , an official language of Poland, has the largest number of speakers of any West Slavic languages. Polish-speakers use the language in a uniform manner through most of Poland, and it has a regular orthography.... (in careful pronunciation), Catalan Catalan language Catalan is a Romance languages, the national language and official language of Andorra, and a official language in the Autonomous Communities of Spain of the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Valencian Community and in the city of Alghero in the Italy List of islands in the Mediterranean of Sardinia.... , Portuguese Portuguese language Portuguese is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia and Portugal. It is derived from the Latin language spoken by the Romanization Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula around 2000 years ago.... (traditional European form), Romanian Romanian language Romanian or Daco-Romanian ; self-designation: limba rom?na, ) is a Romance languages spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova.... , Russian Russian language Russian is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages, and the largest native language in Europe.... , Scots Scots language Scots or Lowland Scots refers to the Germanic Variety derived from Middle English spoken in parts of Lowland Scotland, Northern Ireland and the border areas of the Republic of Ireland.... , Spanish Spanish language Spanish or Castilian is a Romance languages that originated in northern Spain, and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile and evolved into the principal language of government and trade.... and Albanian Albanian language Albanian is an Indo-European languages spoken by nearly 6 million people, primarily in Albania and Kosovo but also in other areas of the Balkans in which there is an Albanian population, including the west of the Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, and southern Serbia.... 'rr', Swedish Swedish language Swedish is a North Germanic languages language, spoken by around 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along the coast and on the ?land islands.... , Welsh Welsh language Welsh ]], is a member of the Brythonic branch of Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, in England by some along the Welsh Marches and in the Welsh settlement in Argentina in the Chubut Valley in Argentina Patagonia.... , in standard Dutch Dutch language Dutch is a West Germanic languages spoken by over 22 million people as a first language, and about 5 million people as a second language."1% of the EU population claims to speak Dutch well enough in order to have a conversation." Outside the European Union the number of second language speakers of Dutch is very small. Most native... , Galician Galician language Galician is a language of the Iberian Romance languages branch, spoken in Galicia , an Autonomous communities of Spain located in northwestern Spain, as well as in small bordering zones in the neighbouring autonomous communities of Asturias and Castile and Le?n and in Northern Portugal....
Alveolar approximant Alveolar approximant The alveolar approximant is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents alveolar consonant and postalveolar consonant approximant consonant is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is r....	Listen	English English language English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England and has lingua franca status in many parts of the world as a result of the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and that of the United States from the mid 20th century onwa... (most varieties), Dutch Dutch language Dutch is a West Germanic languages spoken by over 22 million people as a first language, and about 5 million people as a second language."1% of the EU population claims to speak Dutch well enough in order to have a conversation." Outside the European Union the number of second language speakers of Dutch is very small. Most native... in some Dutch dialects (in specific positions of words), Faroese Faroese language Faroese , often also spelled Faeroese , is a West Nordic or West Scandinavian language spoken by 48,000 people in the Faroe Islands and about 12,000 Faroese people in Denmark....
Alveolar flap / Alveolar tap Alveolar tap The alveolar tap or flap is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents dental consonant, alveolar consonant, and postalveolar consonant flap consonant is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is 4....	Listen	Greek Greek language Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European.... , Hindi '?', Korean Korean language Korean is the official language of North Korea and South Korea. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China.... '?' (also realised as [l] or [?]),Polish Polish language Polish , an official language of Poland, has the largest number of speakers of any West Slavic languages. Polish-speakers use the language in a uniform manner through most of Poland, and it has a regular orthography.... (in everyday pronunciation) Portuguese Portuguese language Portuguese is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia and Portugal. It is derived from the Latin language spoken by the Romanization Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula around 2000 years ago.... , Catalan Catalan language Catalan is a Romance languages, the national language and official language of Andorra, and a official language in the Autonomous Communities of Spain of the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Valencian Community and in the city of Alghero in the Italy List of islands in the Mediterranean of Sardinia.... , Spanish Spanish language Spanish or Castilian is a Romance languages that originated in northern Spain, and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile and evolved into the principal language of government and trade.... and Albanian Albanian language Albanian is an Indo-European languages spoken by nearly 6 million people, primarily in Albania and Kosovo but also in other areas of the Balkans in which there is an Albanian population, including the west of the Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, and southern Serbia.... 'r', Turkish Turkish language Turkish is a language spoken by over 63 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Cyprus, with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania and other parts of Eastern Europe.... , Italian Italian language Italian is a Romance languages spoken by about 63 million people as a first language, primarily in Italy. In Switzerland, Italian is one of four Linguistic geography of Switzerlands.... , Quechua, Galician Galician language Galician is a language of the Iberian Romance languages branch, spoken in Galicia , an Autonomous communities of Spain located in northwestern Spain, as well as in small bordering zones in the neighbouring autonomous communities of Asturias and Castile and Le?n and in Northern Portugal....
Alveolar lateral flap Alveolar lateral flap The alveolar lateral flap is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ....	Listen	Japanese Japanese language IPA: [n?iho?go] is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is related to the Ryukyuan languages....
Voiced retroflex fricative Voiced retroflex fricative The voiced retroflex fricative is a type of consonantal sound, used in some Speech communication languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is z`.Like all the retroflex consonants, the IPA symbol is formed by adding a rightward pointing hook extending...	Listen	Mandarin Standard Mandarin Standard Mandarin, or Standard Chinese, is the official modern Spoken Chinese used in People's Republic of China and Republic of China, and is one of the four official languages of Languages of Singapore.... as an allophone, Spanish Spanish language Spanish or Castilian is a Romance languages that originated in northern Spain, and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile and evolved into the principal language of government and trade.... used as an allophone of [r] in some South American accents.
Retroflex approximant Retroflex approximant The retroflex approximant is a type of consonantal sound, used in some Speech communication languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is r`....	Listen	some varieties of American English American English PhonologyIn many ways, compared to English language in England, North American English is conservative in its phonology. Some distinctive accents can be found on the East Coast of the United States , partly because these areas were in contact with England, and imitated prestigious varieties of English English at a time when those varieties we... , Mandarin Standard Mandarin Standard Mandarin, or Standard Chinese, is the official modern Spoken Chinese used in People's Republic of China and Republic of China, and is one of the four official languages of Languages of Singapore.... as an allophone
Retroflex flap Retroflex flap The retroflex flap is a type of consonantal sound, used in some Speech communication languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is r`....	Listen	Hindi '??', sometimes Scottish English Scottish English Scottish English refers to the Variety of English language spoken in Scotland. It may or may not include Scots language depending on the observer....
Uvular trill Uvular trill The uvular trill is a type of consonantal sound, used in some Speech communication languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , a small capital R....	Listen	German German language German is a West Germanic languages, thus related to and classified alongside English language and Dutch language. It is one of the world's world language and the most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union.... stage standard, French French language French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries.... ; some Dutch Dutch language Dutch is a West Germanic languages spoken by over 22 million people as a first language, and about 5 million people as a second language."1% of the EU population claims to speak Dutch well enough in order to have a conversation." Outside the European Union the number of second language speakers of Dutch is very small. Most native... dialects (mainly in Belgium), Swedish Swedish language Swedish is a North Germanic languages language, spoken by around 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along the coast and on the ?land islands.... in Southern Sweden
Voiced uvular fricative Voiced uvular fricative The voiced uvular fricative is a type of consonantal sound, used in some Speech communication languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is R....	Listen	German German language German is a West Germanic languages, thus related to and classified alongside English language and Dutch language. It is one of the world's world language and the most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union.... , Danish Danish language Danish is one of the North Germanic languages , a sub-group of the Germanic languages branch of the Indo-European languages. It is spoken by around 6 million people, mainly in Denmark; the language is also used by the 50,000 Danes in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein in Germany where it holds the status of minority language.... , French French language French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries.... in and around Paris, Modern Hebrew Hebrew language Hebrew is a Semitic languages of the Afro-Asiatic languages. Modern Hebrew is spoken by more than seven million people in Israel and Classical Hebrew is used for prayer or study in Jews communities around the world.... , Portuguese Portuguese language Portuguese is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia and Portugal. It is derived from the Latin language spoken by the Romanization Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula around 2000 years ago....

Codes for computing

In Unicode

Unicode

Unicode is a computing industry standard allowing computers to consistently represent and manipulate Character expressed in most of the world's writing systems....
the capital R is codepoint U+0052 and the lower case r is U+0072.

The ASCII

ASCII

American Standard Code for Information Interchange , is a coding standard that can be used for interchanging information, if the information is expressed mainly by the written form of English words....
code for capital R is 82 and for lowercase r is 114; or in binary

Binary numeral system

The binary numeral system, or notation with a radix of 2. Owing to its straightforward implementation in digital electronic circuitry using logic gates, the binary system is used internally by all modern computers....
01010010 and 01110010, correspondingly.

The EBCDIC

EBCDIC

Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code is an 8-bit character encoding used on IBM mainframe operating systems such as z/OS, OS/390, VM and VSE , as well as IBM midrange computer operating systems such as OS/400 and i5/OS ....
code for capital R is 217 and for lowercase r is 153.

The numeric character reference

Numeric character reference

A numeric character reference is a common markup construct used in SGML and other SGML-based markup languages such as HTML and XML. It consists of a short sequence of character s that, in turn, represent a single character from the Universal Character Set of Unicode....
s in HTML

HTML

HTML, an Acronym and initialism of HyperText Markup Language, is the predominant markup language for Web pages. It provides a means to describe the structure of text-based information in a document?by denoting certain text as links, headings, paragraphs, lists, and so on?and to supplement that text with interactive forms, embedded '...
and XML are "R" and "r" for upper and lower case respectively.

Dog's Letter

The letter R is sometimes referred to as the littera canina (canine letter). This phrase has Latin origins: the Latin R was trilled so it sounds like a snarling dog. A good example of a trilling R is the Spanish word for dog, perro. In William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English people poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's preeminent dramatist....
's Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet is a Shakespearean tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young "Star-crossed" whose untimely deaths ultimately unite their feuding families....
, such a reference is made by Juliet's nurse in Act 2, scene 4, when she calls the letter R "the dog's name." The reference is also found in Ben Jonson

Ben Jonson

Benjamin Jonson was an England English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satire plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist , and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his Lyric poetry poems....
's English Grammar.

R

History

Minuscule

Various phonetic realizations of R

Codes for computing

Dog's Letter

See also