Assimilation (?) Question

[Mr. Z]

Today I noticed that I pronounce the Hebrew word גרף (/gRaf/, "graf", meaning "graph") with an uvular fricative instead of the usual uvular approximant. I am a native speaker of Hebrew, and my native R is an uvular approximant, like that of all native Hebrew speaker in my area. I wondered why I pronounced the R of גרף as a fricative instead, and hoped that someone here could explain it to me (though I have a feeling that it's a really simple and basic process )

[finlay]

... they're not that different, that's all. Some people just use the symbol ʁ to refer to the approximant anyway because they're so similar.

Besides, I'll wager that it varies between the two anyway and you just haven't noticed.

(Incidentally, the uvular trill is also very similar – and again I don't think any language distinguishes the trill and the fricative, but I could be wrong there. My phonetics teacher admitted that he could never pronounce both of them in the same sitting – he'd have fricative days and trill days)

[Astraios]

Besides, I'll wager that it varies between the two anyway and you just haven't noticed.

Yep. Both my teachers have either (but the approximant is more common).

[Mecislau]

I don't believe that's unusual at all. All of the Hebrew I've heard varies considerably between the use of a uvular fricative and a uvular approximant (with, as was mentioned before, the approximant being the more frequent of the two).

[Jetboy]

Wait, I thought <ר> was an alveolar trill. Dammit, and I was making sure to trill it when I got confirmed yesterday. I feel such a fool now.

[Astraios]

Wait, I thought <ר> was an alveolar trill. Dammit, and I was making sure to trill it when I got confirmed yesterday. I feel such a fool now.

It depends where you're from, you can have it as alveolar and no one will look twice. Standard Israeli pronunciation is uvular though.

[CrazyEttin]

Onligatory quote because ot the title of the thread:

"Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated."

Sorry. I tried to resist.

[tezcatlip0ca]

(Incidentally, the uvular trill is also very similar – and again I don't think any language distinguishes the trill and the fricative, but I could be wrong there. My phonetics teacher admitted that he could never pronounce both of them in the same sitting – he'd have fricative days and trill days)

I can do both easily (was practicing [aRa"R\a] the other day, found it too easy, went right to uvular sibilants, which I can't do, they always turn out lateral). What I can't do is a constrictive trill in line with the two (either it goes fricative or the full trill constricts)...