Re: |r|, |rr| and other Rs. :)

Chris Bates wrote:

> What language is Samarra in?
Well, it's located in Iraq, so I'd assume it's Arabic, and probably
trilled-- but whether it's spelled with a double r in Arabic I don't know.
(There's a neat story associated with Samarra, from which John O'Hara drew
the title of his novel "Appointment in Samarra" [or Samara?])

In addition to the well-known trills, and uvulars, "r" is also realized as a
velar fricative (voiced or voiceless) in various languages. I've always been
given to understand that the title *Weirdest and Rarest R in the World* goes
to our American/English one; at least it's notoriously difficult for
foreigners to acquire.

Slightly off topic: I heard Mr. Allawi's speech the other day, and was
struck by his pronunciation of _Saddam_, it seemed rather muffled and
"swallowed" -- am I correct in suspecting that that "dd" represents an
emphatic/velarized sound?

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