The letter “resh” (ר) is one of the most difficult ones to pronounce when you start learning Hebrew, and it can continue to plague you even when you become quite fluent. How did Israelis come to pronounce the letter “r” like this, how do we produce the sound, and is it the “resh” our forefathers had in mind? Today host Guy Sharett answers all these questions and more, with tips, tongue-twisters and a touch of socio-linguistics!
New words & expressions:
Hamudim – Cute (pl. masc.) – חמודים
Achshav – Now – עכשיו
Barur – Clear – ברור
Baruch – Blessed – ברוך
Shney shoshanim – Two roses – שני שושנים
Tsarich letsaltsel pa’amayim – You need to ring twice – צריך לצלצל פעמיים
Shma Israel (the “Shema” prayer) – שמע ישראל
“Resh” tongue twister: Parparim rabim pirperu pirpurei pirpurim me’ever le-harim ha-ramim – פרפרים רבים פרפרו פרפורי פרפורים מעבר להרים הרמים
Nirga – Calming down/calmed down (masc.) – נרגע
Say while “gargling”: Israel. Margish (“he feels”).
Robert rotse lir’ot chaverim be-yom revi’i – Robert wants to see friends on Wednesday – רוברט רוצה לראות חברים ביום רביעי
Eich ata margish hayom? – How are you feeling today? – ?איך אתה מרגיש היום
Looking for the monologue text? It’s available to our patrons at patreon.com/streetwisehebrew.
Playlist and clips:
Shoshana Damari – Shney Shoshanim (lyrics)
Shoshana Damari – Tsarich Letsalsel Pa’amayim (lyrics)
Shma Israel – Moshe Hovav (Kol Israel Radio)
Gilgula Shel Ha-resh Ha-mitgalgelet (Short documentary about the Israeli “resh”)
Galey Tsahal IDF Radio news bulletin
Gali Atari – Derech Aruka (lyrics)
Gali Atari & Sagiv Cohen – Me-hamerchakim (lyrics)
Pe’er Tasi – Derech Ha-shalom (lyrics)
Nikolai Rimsky Korsakov – Scheherazade
Guy’s website – Links & Tips
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Nice, but:
Not “all” Sephardi communities rolled the “r”.. All over Iraq and in some places up into southern Turkey, the resh was pronounced like a “gh” (Arabic ghayin), kind of like in French, and not so different from the Israeli resh.. This was also considered part of the “Jewish” accent in Arabic and Aramaic in Iraq and in many areas nearby.
Also, Sephardi communities in Greece have a kindof American “r”, just listen to songs by Yehuda Poliker..
Hi Guy, would I be correct in guessing that the gluttoral resh is the influence of German Jews from the 1930s gradually sifting into society despite it being ‘wrong’.
I’m.guessing the German Jews would have been of hugh status, so, despite their gluttoral resh being incorrect may also have been passuvly accepted and then adopted?
Siôn J.
Wales
It always sound ls very German to me the way Israelis pronounce ‘r’.
I think the European Reich is a culturalso abomination .Coming from Latin America I personally prefer the rrresh . Cheers.