I vividly remember sitting in the living room with my cousins, laughing over Hebrew. “Just try it, say it,” they all laughed. I felt a rumbling in the back of my throat, trying to create that “chah” sound. My cousins all around started to make the noise; it sounded like an awful chorus, but I just could’t do it, at least not naturally.
A lot of the Hebrew language uses that “chah” sound, which comes from the back of your throat, but the upper palate. This is one sound I specifically remember because my cousins noticed that with my native language, I couldn’t completely make that noise, but there are many more. And these sounds always tend to be rougher. Spanish and all the other Romance languages have a nice sound to them, while I have always said that Hebrew can be abrasive.
Here are some of those words with sounds that are harder to pronounce for native English speakers:
To brush: le’tzah tzeah (this one is a little bit of a tongue twister and has some hard sounds)
Need/must: tzri’khim
Piece: hati-kha (hard with all the emphases on certain sounds)
Rubbing: le’shaf’shef (this one is actually pretty fun to say, but can get confusing)
Giggle: le’tzankek (there is a hard K in this one, that distrugises it from other words)
So these are just a couple of pretty basic words that are harder to say for English speakers.
It is hard for me to say how I am able to distinguish between certain words or phrases in Hebrew, because it has started to come more natural to me, so I would just say a lot of practice and listening. And obviously inferring what words best fit in the context. Over time, I think my ear has just adjusted to the rhythm and patterns of the language. At first, I probably had to focus more carefully on each sound, but now it feels more automatic. I still believe that consistent exposure is what really helps me discriminate between different segments in listening.
What is also interesting about the sound system of Hebrew is the alphabet. Some letters have no sound unless they are with another letter. Or some letters can change sound based on combinations and with a dagesh (a little dot). For example, certain letters change pronunciation depending on whether they have a dagesh or not. So with reading and writing, I will need to know the distinction between the letters and how a dagesh changes the sound.
To produce these sounds in my speech, I will need to practice saying them out loud, especially sounds that do not really exist in English. Listening to native speakers and repeating after them will help train both my ear and my pronunciation. I will be able to improve my listening skills really well with my Italki lessons, talking with family, and listening to books in Hebrew. Overall, continuing to practice, listen carefully, and pay attention to small sound differences will help me improve.
Replies