R, the German Kurrent letter r

History

The letter R occupies the 18th position in the German alphabet. Phonetically, it represents a rhotic consonant, realized historically as an alveolar trill [r] or uvular fricative [ʁ], and vocalized as [ɐ] in syllable codas.

Lowercase r in Kurrent has a very distinctive shape completely unlike Latin cursive r: it begins with a short vertical stroke, rises into an upward hairline that loops slightly above the waistline, drops down into a small hook, and exits at the baseline. Capital R begins with a vertical stem, loops into an upper lobe, and flares out with an energetic right leg.

The letter r is frequent in administrative headings: 'Regierung' (government), 'Rathaus' (town hall), 'Religion' (religion), and 'Recht' (law). Its unique Kurrent ductus is one of the first shapes students of paleography must learn.

R is the fifth most frequent letter in German text, at about 7% of all letters.^[1] At the start of the twentieth century the rolled tongue-tip r still prevailed in most of Germany; today the uvular r is more widespread, and the rolled r is heard mostly from the oldest rural speakers.^[2]