Abdullah Bo Shgeia
Is the "ר" sound in Hebrew pronounced two ways? שלומ! When I listen to music in Hebrew, sometimes i hear the "ר" as the arabic "rrr ر." And sometimes I hear it as the Arabic "ghain غ." Is there specific situations when either of these pronunciations is used? Your help is appreciated!
Feb 1, 2015 3:25 AM
Answers · 8
2
Hi Abdullah, Basically the letter "ר" is pronounced the same always. Maybe what happens is that sometimes after a specific letter it could sound a bit different for a beginner. But it's still the same. Yet, there are some people (especially singers) that pronounce the letter like the arabic parallel, although it's for artistic reasons I believe. Hope it helps, Aviel
February 1, 2015
One thing to add: The pronunciation that's similar to غ comes from Ashkenazi Yiddish speakers, especially those from France and Germany where R's are pronounced like that. The pronunciation that's similar to ر comes from Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews (from the Middle East and Spain), as well as from Russian immigrants. This is also how the letter was pronounced in Ancient Hebrew.
June 26, 2015
By the way sorry for my spelling, I hate texting from my phone! :@ I hope this information helped you :)
February 4, 2015
Shalom Abdullah. You are right, the reason for these two different sounds of letter reish can depend on what accent of Hebrew the person speaks. Modern Hebrew is spoken in Sephardic/Spanish accent today meaning the Mediterranean accent of Hebrew from Jews who lived by the Mediterranean region. When Hebrew was being revived the Mediterranean accent was chosen because it seemed to be the most original since Israel is by the Mediterranean Sea. So Israelis pronounce letter Reish like letter R in Frenchc which makes a very nasal sound, it's very close to the sound the Arabic letter Ghein. But some Israelis from Mizrachi background, Oriental Jews from Arabic speaking countries pronounce letter Reish like R in Arabic making a rrrrr sound like the Spanish rolling R. You'll probably hear this pronunciation while listening to Mizrachi Music.
February 4, 2015
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