R.
1. Plain. Nearly like r in roar; as, ruadh reddish, righ a king, ruith run, torr a heap, ceartas justice.
2. Aspirated. Broad: nearly like r in rear; as, car a turn, ruith ran, mòr great.
3. Small: has no sound like it in English; a righ O king, seirbhe satiety, mòir gen. of mòr great.
The plain, aspirated, broad, and small sounds of these Linguals are not distinguished in writing; but they may, for the most part, be known from the relative position of the letters.
RULE.—L, N, R, have their PLAIN sound when, in the same syllable, they are immediately preceded by a plain Liquid, or immediately followed by a plain Lingual; also in the beginning of certain cases and tenses; in all other situations, they have their ASPIRATED sound. They have their SMALL sound when, in the same syllable, they are preceded or followed by a small vowel, with or without an intervening Liquid; in other situations, they have their BROAD sound.