Tuesday, February 15, 2005, 00:30 GMT
I never had a problem with the uvular trill until I had laser surgery for sleep apnea. What do they do? They cut away the uvula. I was studying Arabic at the time, and the sound that's usually transliterated as "gh" is that type of trill. I was surprised, and a bit upset, that I could no longer pronounce that sound.
I've since learned from someone at a sleep apnea institute in the US that they always discuss the possibility of this result of the procedure with their Arabic and Hebrew-speaking patients prior to the operation (maybe they don't get many French-speaking patients).
Losing my uvular trill is a small price to pay for being able to sleep more soundly, however, and I've learned to fake the sound fairly well.
As for the alveolar trill, it's easy for me to do after "u" and "o," a bit more difficult after "a" and "e," and most difficult after "i." I don't recall having a problem with it when I was studying Italian in school, so maybe with practice the ability would return.
I've since learned from someone at a sleep apnea institute in the US that they always discuss the possibility of this result of the procedure with their Arabic and Hebrew-speaking patients prior to the operation (maybe they don't get many French-speaking patients).
Losing my uvular trill is a small price to pay for being able to sleep more soundly, however, and I've learned to fake the sound fairly well.
As for the alveolar trill, it's easy for me to do after "u" and "o," a bit more difficult after "a" and "e," and most difficult after "i." I don't recall having a problem with it when I was studying Italian in school, so maybe with practice the ability would return.