Demystifying Arabic Sounds: “kha” خ and “ghain” غ

Things You Need to Know About Arabic… and English

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1y ago 5:23

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Thought they do sound similar because they are both pronounced in the soft palate, these two sounds are very different. Both sounds are also fricative. This means that, as the air is pushing through, there is friction at the point of articulation (the point where the sound is being produced), between something at the bottom and something at the top of the inside of the mouth or throat. For the sound “kha”, خ , the friction is between the back of your tongue and the soft palate. The soft palate is the soft part of your palate. You can physically discover the soft palate by feeling the hard palate with your finger, then moving your finger back until you feel the soft palate. The sound of “ghain”, غ , on the other hand, is a uvular sound. It is produced by the uvula trying to touch the back of your tongue as the air is pushing through, which results in the uvula repeatedly touching the back of the tongue. This is what happens when you gargle. You can actually see the uvula if you wide open. It is that little muscle dangling in the back of your mouth. You may have seen cartoon characters screaming. You can actually see their uvula dangling in the back of their mouth. I seem to remember seeing Popeye’s uvula, as he scream, feeling the effects of spinach on his muscles. This is in fact, the same sound as the French “R”. You can hear it clearly, in the refrain of Édith Piaf’s song: “Non, je ne regrette rien”. In fact, I have always wondered why the capital of Iraq is not spelled “Bardad” instead of Bagdad, in French. Or even better: Bardaad, to accounts for the alif in بغداد. Attaching a link to the Quora post so you can read other answers: https://www.quora.com/Are-the-khaa-and-ghayn-sounds-in-Arabic-supposed-to-sound-similar

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