Tusk's uvular 'r' when speaking in Polish

Both Tusk and Gronkoiwcz-Waltz are probably the best-known politcal celebrities to pronounce the 'r' sound the French or uvular way. Is that just a speech defect or an optional pronunciation? The reason I ask is I recall I had encountered several uvular speakers in the Szczecin area. Could thatpossibly have been a leftover of the 'autochtoni' in that area or maybe an element of Kashub pronunciation?

Very possibly. While I don't believe I've ever heard either of those two individuals speak, the influence of Kashubian, hence of the North German uvuluar 'R', is doubtless present:-)

Really, the French/uvular 'r'? Never noticed... If you have a vid, I'd really like to see it, quite curious ;)

I too:-)

yes

Tusk and Gronkowiec are on TV often enough these days. Just watch the news for a few days and I'm sure you'll see and hear them.

Will you stop?

So now you're against people using the uvular 'r'?

You are still not able to write the name of Warsaw's City President correctly I see.

I was going to call her Duckgirl but thinking up respectful names for leading political personalities is your forte.

You mean as competition for Marta Kaczyńska ? Btw I suppose in your definition of Polishness Kashubians do not qualify ?
When we are talking about the French "r" - you of course behave as an idiot again. I myself have a most Frech "r" when I speak Polish and neither the Prime Minister nor the City President have it.

To roll one's "r's" as the French do was once considered an aristocratic preserve, so-called grasejowanie. Watch the video making fun of this pronunciation, particularly Ludwik Sempoliński's (starozakonny książe) part faking that mania: żądam satysfacji z bRonią w Ręku...

Watch from 7:00 time stamp:

Polonius as "an afterthought" tried a different angle of sniping. Notice "the autochtoni" or the Kasiubian angle.

a false track

That's the official version of Tusk's unsavoury first name:

Julianna Tusk (babcia) wyjechała w młodości za granicę i ponoć zachwyciła się pewnym brytyjskim lordem o imieniu Donald. Dlatego tak dała na imię swemu synowi, który z kolei przekazał je własnemu dziecku.

So we are once again on the aristocratic track.

The only unsavoury first name I could imagine would be Adolf.
Maybe you could copy the complete link, so that we know it does not come from fronda.pl?
Actually I just found it....www4rzeczpospolita.blox.pl/2007/10/BIOGRAFIA-DONALDA -TUSKA.html
The source tells everything.

nonsensopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Donald_Tusk

Coudl be if they ditched it overnight. But yesty both were on TV uvulating away.

Do you have a problem with a French "r".? As in relation not being able to write GW's name properly?

Hi! There is not such a thing as a "French "r" since this letter is pronounced in a lot of different manners acccording to areas. It can be rolled or pronounced almost like a Spanish "j" (which I do) and alot of other varieties.

That's not English, it is mayor. For a foreigner your English is OK, but not always.

Polonius only uses this to snipe from a a different angle at his favourite enemies. He forgot to mention President Komorowski :)
Though why Kashubians would talk with a French accent?
Me, coming from a trilingual country, am convinced the French "r" exists. My French friends here in Poland for sure have it, and my wife and daughters are convinced I have it as well.

sobieski
Komorowski defintiely does not use the uvular 'r'.
Did you fail to see this post:

Uvular R is not one of the phonological and phonetic characteristics of Kashubian.
pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Język_kaszubski#W.C5.82a.C5.9Bciwo.C5.9Bci_j.C4.99zyka_kaszubskiego

It must be about Mr Tusk's fatuously haughty, aristocratic air he is exuding.

But Tusk defintiely is unaristocratic in appearance. Looks more like a chłopek-roztropek and the shifty eyes make him look suspect.. Komorowski deifnitely proejcts the aura of a traditonal Polish szlachciura, esp. when he sported his moustache.

yes



you guys are dumb or just pretend that never heard about youtube?

Nina Terentiew is the best example of person with the so called "French r" speech defect...

I couldn't agree more. He could have been an excellent professional soccer player. Being a politician, he wasted his talent.

On occasion, I think I've heard some Polish native speakers (both from Cracow, by the way!) use the uvular/"French"/"High German" 'R' when saying, for instance "baRdzo", instead of rolling it off the tongue or trilling it "baRRRRdzo", the way I've always heard it pronounced.

It's probably just a coincedence, however. Either that, or my hearing's defective (which is also possibleLOL)

It must have been szpieg z krainy deszczowców! Karramba! :)

No, somehow I don't think so. I'm pretty sure they were respectively both speaking Polish:-) Spanish and Italian however do also have almost an identical trilled R-sound'LOL

The trilled 'r' that exists in Polish, Spanish and Italian is not the same as the guttural uvular one. The former is made by vibrating the tongue against the back of the upper teeth whilst the flatter throaty one -- by vibrating the uvula.