# Pronunciation of Israeli colloquial Hebrew



## iGoleh

I've been studying Hebrew for a while, when I get the chance I speak with Israeli's roughly my age (21) whenever I can, and I've adopted a sort of pronunciation that I'm sure isn't exactly prestigious.

The most obvious examples I can think of are.. 

Completely dropping heh in speech unless absolutely necessary

Absolutely failing to pronounce glottal stops such as alef or ayin (i.e. la'avod is basically lavod with the a being kind of drawn out)

Turning "ohev *et hame*dinah" into "oev '*tam*dinah"

I never use "sheli" unless I have to.

Regardless of the word, it is always "ve" for and, never "u", i.e. "v'banot" vs. "u'vanot"

And my reish is sort of weak.  It almost sounds closer to a french r than a full trill.

I'm certain there are more atrocities, but that's all that comes to mind.  If I'm caught speaking like this in Israel on a day to day basis will I be labeled as the dreaded "ars"?

Be kind


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## spinetta

Just to add to your doubts: I've been told that my Italian (rolled) *r *wouldn't stand out (much) in Hebrew, yet all the audio clips show the Israeli *r* as more similar to the German *r*.

..which sounds the opposite of what you are asking.


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## Tamar

> And my reish is sort of weak. It almost sounds closer to a french r than a full trill.


 
The Israeli R is what you describe (I don't care what people say is "supposed" to be our R). Sounds like you got it right (which surprises me since the English speakers I know can't say it, can bearly hear it)  
In general, it sounds like you have a most common pronunciation.



> I never use "sheli" unless I have to.


What do you mean by that? Could you give an exemple? (Just curious)


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## Maayan

iGoleh said:


> I've been studying Hebrew for a while, when I get the chance I speak with Israeli's roughly my age (21) whenever I can, and I've adopted a sort of pronunciation that I'm sure isn't exactly prestigious.
> 
> The most obvious examples I can think of are..
> 
> Completely dropping heh in speech unless absolutely necessary
> 
> Absolutely failing to pronounce glottal stops such as alef or ayin (i.e. la'avod is basically lavod with the a being kind of drawn out)
> 
> Turning "ohev *et hame*dinah" into "oev '*tam*dinah"
> 
> I never use "sheli" unless I have to.
> 
> Regardless of the word, it is always "ve" for and, never "u", i.e. "v'banot" vs. "u'vanot"
> 
> And my reish is sort of weak. It almost sounds closer to a french r than a full trill.
> 
> I'm certain there are more atrocities, but that's all that comes to mind. If I'm caught speaking like this in Israel on a day to day basis will I be labeled as the dreaded "ars"?
> 
> Be kind


Hi iGoleh,
You're describing the Tzabar way of speech. The "Ars" speech will include rude words and offensive tone. Most young Israelies speak the way you describe, myself included, and I'm not that young. 
I guess every generation has its unique characteristics, for better or worse 



spinetta said:


> Just to add to your doubts: I've been told that my Italian (rolled) *r *wouldn't stand out (much) in Hebrew, yet all the audio clips show the Israeli *r* as more similar to the German *r*.
> 
> ..which sounds the opposite of what you are asking.


 
Spinetta, I've just remembered when I was a kid, early 1990's, I joined the school choir and there the music instructor worked very hard to make us kids use your rolled Italian R when singing, as all of us had iGoleh's German/French r  

I'm not sure why (probably a fashion thing) but nowadays you'll hear most singers (including older singers, who used to sing with a rolled R during the 1980's) use instead the everyday's r in their video clips.


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## jdotjdot89

That's exactly how I speak as well.

Though occasionally when in a state of "language-flux" (so-to-speak) switching from French to Hebrew I'll replace the resh with the actual French r.


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## origumi

My two cents:

The description above of young Israeli accent is good.

I think that in la`avod the `ayin is usually lost, yet the two "a" are preserved.

No matter how hard you try to pronounce Hebrew "R" - an Israeli will spot you as foreigner once you use it.

Be very careful with the word "ars". It's rather rude: (a) originally an Arabic term that means "pimp". (b) For many years, and in a way even now, a derogatory attribute for Sepharadi (usually Moroccan Jew) youngster.


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## hadronic

jdotjdot89 said:


> That's exactly how I speak as well.
> 
> Though occasionally when in a state of "language-flux" (so-to-speak) switching from French to Hebrew I'll replace the resh with the actual French r.


 
You make a difference between French and Hebrew "r"s ?


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## jdotjdot89

Yes.  They're not exactly the same.


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## hadronic

Strange... as French myself, I don't hear any difference.
The sole difference I can make, is that French R can turn into a ח sound depending on the environment, which is never the case for Hebrew ר, but besides this...


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## iGoleh

I suppose the differences are very subtle.  I've heard a million opinions of how reish is supposed to sound, ranging from a dutch r to a french one, and a spanish trill from mizrachi friends.

As far as I know, it seems that the most common pronunciation is a very soft uvular reflexive sound rather than a full uvular trill present in german.  I'll hear news correspondents in Israel pronounce a very full trill, while I'll hear popular music artists and many "ordinary" folk pronounce something close to a french r.  Depending upon its position in the word, it may be barely audible to native English speakers.

I use hebrew quite frequently just so I can recall words more quickly, my girlfriend continues to say "tzipo" instead of "tzipor", she can hear no difference but it seems clear to me.

I suppose since Israel is a huge melting pot the pronunciation of reish is irrelevant, 3rd generation Israelis seem to pronounce it in almost a universal fashion, but with so many different ethnic groups within the country....I think it would be difficult to classify a certain pronunciation as a "correct" pronunciation.

I prefer the pronunciation I'm currently using though, sounds nice


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## jdotjdot89

Agreed on all counts.


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## Tamar

I also agree


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