In Standard German post-vocalic /r/ is vocalic. It is pronounced similarly to the schwa in English. However, in an area of western Germany known as the Eifel area, it can be realized as a voiceless uvular fricative. The voiceless uvular fricative occurs before voiceless consonants.
The following words can be pronounced with the voiceless uvular fricative in Eifel German:
Berg (mountain)
dort (there)
hart (hard)
Karte (map)
Korb (basket)
Park (park)
Pferd (horse)
Sport (sport)
stark (strong)
Verb (verb)
The words Berg, Korb, Pferd and Verb end with voiceless consonants. This is the result of word-final devoicing. The word-final voiceless consonants create the environment necessary for the realization of the voiceless uvular fricative. The use of the voiceless uvular fricative before voiceless consonants is a feature of Eifel German.
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