# Forum Learning Russian Language Pronunciation, Speech & Accent  Kartaviy er (guttural/uvular R)

## Uvula

http://youtube.com/watch?v=_5efbcL3eqg 
At around 00:59 the guy says "nravish'sya" with a uvular R.  Where is this guy from?

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## Scrabus

He's from Iran. And his accent is really very noticeable during all song =).

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## Оля

> the guy says "nravish'sya" with a uvular R. Where is this guy from?

 Many Russians pronounce R as an uvular R. That's not an accent. 
But the guy in the clip has a noticeable accent, of course. He's not Russian.

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## TATY

> http://youtube.com/watch?v=_5efbcL3eqg 
> At around 00:59 the guy says "nravish'sya" with a uvular R.  Where is this guy from?

 This guy is foreign, but lots of Russian can't pronounce a rolled R and instead say an Uvular R.

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## gRomoZeka

> This guy is foreign, but lots of Russian can't pronounce a rolled R and instead say an Uvular R.

 Not "lots", but some do. It isn't considered an accent and some people even find it cute, kinda "french".  ::  
What's about how common uvular R is... I think it's not common. I've known only one or two adult persons who couldn't roll their R, but small kids more often have this problem. The thing is most of them learn to roll their R eventually, there's some easy exercises for that (tongue twisters and such).

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## TATY

> Originally Posted by TATY  This guy is foreign, but lots of Russian can't pronounce a rolled R and instead say an Uvular R.   Not "lots", but some do. It isn't considered an accent and some people even find it cute, kinda "french".  
> What's about how common uvular R is... I think it's not common. I've known only one or two adult persons who couldn't roll their R, but small kids more often have this problem. The thing is most of them learn to roll their R eventually, there's some easy exercises for that (tongue twisters and such).

 Lots, some, same thing. I said "lots" because it's certainly not rare and is quite common.

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## Vincent Tailors

a uvular R in Russian is commonly considered unnatural. Like something is wrong with the person. It's not a dialect.
I cannot pronounce a uvular R, it sounds like rkh.

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## gRomoZeka

> Lots, some, same thing. I said "lots" because it's certainly* not rare and is quite common.*

 Wel, it IS rare. Among a few hundreds of people I know today noone uses uvular R's. 
And as Vincent said it's not a dialect, this kind of pronunciation doesn't depend on where the person lives. Some kids can't roll their R's in their early years (2-4 y/o). But it's regarded as a defect of diction, and most parents work on helping their child to overcome this pronunciation problem.

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## Remyisme

Exactley, it is a defect of diction, it is not suppoused to be.

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## Vincent Tailors

It's much easier to roll R than to learn to make a uvular trill.

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## Scrabus

> It's much easier to roll R than to learn to make a uvular trill.

 It was otherwise for myself. I couldn't pronounce this sound properly for some time. So, for me uvular trill easier ).

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## TATY

> Originally Posted by TATY  Lots, some, same thing. I said "lots" because it's certainly* not rare and is quite common.*   Wel, it IS rare. Among a few hundreds of people I know today noone uses uvular R's. 
> And as Vincent said it's not a dialect, this kind of pronunciation doesn't depend on where the person lives. Some kids can't roll their R's in their early years (2-4 y/o). But it's regarded as a defect of diction, and most parents work on helping their child to overcome this pronunciation problem.

 Really? I know 3 people who do it and I don't know many Russian speakers. And Lenin, of course  :P  
I know it's not a dialect. It's called a "speech defect" in English.

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## Vincent Tailors

> Originally Posted by Vincent Tailors  It's much easier to roll R than to learn to make a uvular trill.   It was otherwise for myself. I couldn't pronounce this sound properly for some time. So, for me uvular trill easier ).

 I have no idea how you make it sound like an "r" and not like some "kh".

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## gRomoZeka

> Really? I know 3 people who do it and I don't know many Russian speakers. And Lenin, of course  :P

 I know Lenin too, but not personally.  ::  
And yes, really. I knew two "non-rollers" - one kid in my first grade and another guy... don't remember his name. But it was long ago.   

> It's called a "speech defect" in English.

 OMG, thanks! I knew something was wrong with "defect of diction", but didn't know how to say it right.  ::

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## TATY

Does anyone know how to say "lisp" in Russian? It's when someone pronounces S like a th.

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## Lampada

> Does anyone know how to say "lisp" in Russian? It's when someone pronounces S like a th.

 *Шепелявить* _Я шепелявлю
Он/она шепелявит
мы шепелявим
вы шепелявите
они шепелявят_

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## scotttheshark

сюсюкать и  шепелявить синоними? 
глагол "Шепелявить" более употребленный?

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## gRomoZeka

My En-Ru dictionary says yes (probably in English they are synonyms  :: ), but in reality "сюсюкать" is used mostly to describe using baby talk (when adults speak to a baby deliberately mispronouncing some words to sound more sweet), and generally the overly syrupy talk. Also it's often used ironically or negatively:
Хватит с ним сюсюкать. Покажи, кто здесь главный! ~ Don't be so soft with him. Show him, who is the boss! 
"Шепелявить" on the other hand is neutral. It's a common verb for describing a lisp (inability to pronounce some hushing sounds for whatever reason). It doesn't have any other meaning.

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## Оля

> сюсюкать и  шепелявить - синонимы? 
> глагол "шепелявить" более употребительный?

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## xXHoax

I assume it's just like English speakers pronouncing r as w. It is considered more of a speech impediment than an accent.

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