Many speakers of Brazilian Portuguese use the alveolar retroflex approximant. It is the same sound which is used in English. However, the alveolar retroflex approximant of Brazilian Portuguese only occurs in the syllable coda.
The alveolar retroflex approximant can occur in the following words:
ar (air)
carne (meat)
norte (north)
porta (door)
sorte (luck)
The alveolar retroflex approximant is used in southern and central Brazil. However, those who do not use the retroflex approximant use the alveolar tap, alveolar trill, glottal fricative, velar fricative or uvular fricative instead. In word-final position, many speakers delete the rhotic consonant.
The retroflex approximant is not used in European Portuguese. It may be that the retroflex originated in the native languages of Brazil. The restriction of the retroflex approximant to the syllable coda can be considered a weakening process, a form of lenition.
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