Topic: The Spanish rolled r

[Silouan]

Hola Amigos (sorry my Spanish is pretty lame)

I  have a great deal of difficultly properly rolling my r - how should a native English speaker learn this sound?  Hopefully our resident Spanish teacher can help me out, as I would assume it is a fairly common problem. 

Gracias,

Nectário

[Fr. David]

I  have a great deal of difficultly properly rolling my r - how should a native English speaker learn this sound?  Hopefully our resident Spanish teacher can help me out, as I would assume it is a fairly common problem. 

<rolls up sleeves>  OK...

Lemme see if I can 'splain this over the 'Net...

Place the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth, behind your top teeth, as if you were getting ready to make a "d" sound.

Relax your tongue slightly, but not SO much that you lose the "d-sound" shape.  Really, the BACK of your tongue should be relaxed.

Lower the back of your tongue and force air past your tongue's tip and out your mouth.  The idea is to force the tongue forward just enough with your breath to where it (the tip of your tongue) leaves the roof of the mouth and then immediately snaps back to its original place (since you should still be holding your tongue there), then out again, then back again, etc...the "rolled r" sound is actually this repetitive, staccato stopping of air by the tip of your tongue against the roof of your mouth.

Hope this helps.

[Tallitot]

I grew up billingual and i've never been able to make that R roll!

[Mat. Elizabeth]

My daughters say: Put your tongue on the roof of your mouth, take a deep breath and go "burrrrrrrrrrrrr" - only without the "b".

   Maybe???   Our 9 yr. old Rosamarie LOVES to roll that "r"!

In Christ, Mat. Elizabeth (A Kansas gringa married to a native Spanish speaking Orthodox Priest from the Dominican Republic - living in the Rio Grande Borderlands of South Texas and Mexico). Go figure...  Who ever said God doesn't have a sense of humor???

[Silouan]

Thank you Pedro.  It did help some, but I can tell this will take some practice.  I ask this not only for Spanish (which I can usually make out a good deal of reading from my Latin) but also I am trying to learn some liturgical responses in Arabic.  The Greek rho is much simplier - must mean Greek is the only acceptable liturgical language, right?

If I remember right from history class, wasn't there a Latin American dictator that killed people who couldn't roll their r in order to "purify" the spanish of I think it was Cuba.  

[PerogiPincher]

Hi Silouan,

Our Orthodox Church down here in the very south of Florida has Spanish Liturgy at least once a month.  Being that our Church is located in a Hispanic neighborhood, our mission is to bring them into our Church and embrace their language and culture.  So I am assuming that Spanish is an accepted liturgical language. With Vladika's blessing, of course.

Also, pardon my switch from the main topic, but I have a quick question for Matuska Elizabeth. 

Matuska, are you now fluent in speaking Spanish?  Also, is Irene Perdomo of any relation to you?  Irene and I sing in the choir together and her brother happens to be a priest. He (her brother) served in our parish this past Bright Tuesday.

May God Bless

Deborah

[Mat. Elizabeth]

Hello, Deborah!  Irene is my sister-in-law - "Tia Irene" at our casa.  We are trying to work on music in Spanish, too, for Liturgy and other services. Irene sent us some you use there - some done by Pricilla Rivera - and we are trying to get it on the computer and worked up to a nice, "sharable" formata.  It will take Quite some time, though.  Did you see our website yet?  Fr. Antonio is Irene's brother.  They look like family, si?   www.stgeorgepantry.org    Sadly, no, I am not fluent in Spanish. We can read/sing the music and get through services, though.  Spanish is my husband's 1st language, however.  We are but hopeless learners....

Please give her bessitos from us all, okay?

[PerogiPincher]

Hola Matushka Elizabeth,

Sorry, for the late response. The Tropical Storm took out our phone line.

OK. Will definitely give Tia Irene many bessitos when I see her this Sunday!! 

I know of Priscilla, she is a parishioner at Sts Peter and Paul. My husband and I were married there over 20 years ago; When the Imperial Margarine commercal was popular on TV. (the corny one with the crowns magically appearing on top of the head of the person who was eating the margarine, Tah dah dah dah!!) Our wedding crowns resembled those used on the commercial. Our friends who have never been to an Orthodox wedding still kid us about it, to this day. 

Anyway, loved the website!  I even logged on to "ask an X" because I was curious. I would like to get in touch with the Graphic Designer; she and I are in the same profession.

May God Bless,
Deborah

[ExploringOrthodoxy]

Many thanks Pedro!  I shall practise, practise, practise!

I'm trying to make the Arabic "r", which is similar (if not the same!): between it and the deep "h" I fear I'll never be understood!