Meaning of hard r | Babel Free

Definitions

1. A movie that is intentionally produced to be R-rated ("Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian") by the Motion Picture Association (MPA), typically due to its multiple scenes of violence or nudity.
   US
2. A rhotic sound which is emphatic or strongly enunciated; in English accents especially a postvocalic consonantal r, as distinguished from its absence in a nonrhotic accent or from an R-coloured vowel.
   informal
3. Alternative letter-case form of hard r.
   alt-of
4. The hard r at the end of the word nigger when spoken with a General American accent and considered more offensive than the African-American Vernacular English pronunciation conventionally spelled nigga, whose final sound is sometimes called soft a.
   US

Examples

“Sugar Cookies would probably rate a 'hard-R' today, but six years ago it got an X, made a brief appearance on the 42nd Street porno circuit, and disappeared without a trace.”

“For a "soft R" like⟳ "Four Weddings and a Funeral," which features a smattering of profanity, a theater might check identifications only lightly. But it will turn⟳ tough for a "hard R" like⟳ Oliver Stone's "Natural Born Killers," one of the most violent movies of recent years.”

“I believe⟳ we'll hear⟳ later from the movie industry's lobbyist, Mr. Valenti, that not all "R"s are really "R"s. More specifically, and I quote from Mr. Valenti's written testimony: "Some R-rated are hard "R"s and some are soft "R"s."”

“A HARD R rating would seem to be between “R” — which has meant restricted to adults, because of various elements — and “NC-17.””

“Her English accent was still noticeable, though hard r's surfaced in it from time to time.”

“Rhineland Germans have⟳ a soft, back "r," while those in eastern and southern Germany use⟳ an alveodental "r," due (one supposes) to the respective influence⟳ of the French on the one hand and Slavs or Italians on the other. The "hard r" is said to carry⟳ better in an auditorium or on the radio, so performers from the Rhineland must learn⟳ to deliver⟳ those "theatrical r's."”

“His broad "a's" and hard "r's" forever marked him as a son of the Midwest.”

“There is both a soft r and a hard r, the latter usually spelled ŕ (ŕege – king).”

“In Blood on the Tracks, Dylan has his r's mostly on half-articulation. Medial and terminal r's are appropriately turned off in the bluesy “Meet⟳ Me in the Morning,” but the songs of this album have⟳ more hard r's than we've heard in a long time, including some words where we might expect⟳ to find⟳ the “r” missing: “weather,” “horses,” “heart,” “boxcar door,” “apart,” “anymore."”

“‘Make⟳ sure you hit the hard R’s.’ He was obsessed with R’s. I’m like⟳, OK, arrrre you sure?”

“First and foremost / You are under no circumstances / Ever permitted / To say⟳ the n-word / I don't care if it's soft a or hard r”

“While telling the story, Student B said the "N-word". Student A told Student B that using that language was not okay. Student B's response was "It's okay, I don't say⟳ it with the hard R."”

“Opinions will continue⟳ to differ⟳ about the N-word — does pronunciation that ends in a soft “a” versus a hard “r” make⟳ a difference?”

CEFR level