Thursday, June 27, 2019

How to learn to roll your r in Bulgaria

I have been trying to roll my r in Bulgaria for several days. Today I think I finally cracked the secret. As I walked along a mountain path, people said good morning or good day in Bulgarian. I recognized the word, although I had never used it. The third or fourth time I started saying it back. Dobre, dobray, dobray.

After I had passed the person, who said it with a rolled r, I kept repeating it. Eventually I found msyelf saying dob thre (as in three). As I panted I could not say the thr sound properly. I was pulling my tongue back quickly, hardly touching the roof of my mouth. I kept saying it, again and again. I was getting closer and closer to saying it correctly. Somethines I missed. But I just kept on trying. Until I met the next native speaker. Again I bid them good day.

Do it like a toddler. Keep repeating it. What I did was ideal. Instead of tiring one person, I tried it on several. Nobody got tired of me or impatient.
So, take a walk in a foreign country, and reapeat a phrase using the sound you cannot pronounce. By the end of several hours, you will stop worrying about it and start saying it closer to the correct version.

About the Author
Angela Lansbury is a travel writer and speaker, teacher or English and other languages.

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