Uvular Consonants

consonants whose pronunciation involves the contact (obstruent uvular consonants) or near-contact (fricative uvular consonants) of the uvula and the soft palate with the back of the tongue. These types of uvular consonants are relatively rare, occurring only in some Caucasian and Paleo-Asiatic languages. Uvular consonants formed by vibrating the uvula (trilled uvular consonants) include the French and German “r.”