I was taught how to read in an ashekenazi yeshivah where no difference was made between the aleph and ayin. I keep trying to make my ayin gutteral but it never sounds exactly how the sephardim pronounce it. Is there a specific technique I can use to get the right sound. What can I do to practice pronouncing this letter?
The intention behind this question is so that I would be able to read the daily prayers accurately according to my tradition.
There is an excellent video discussing the proper pronunciation of the letter Ayin with several clear examples by Rabbi David bar Chaim from Machon Shilo.
The relevant section begins at point 3:06-07 in the video. Enjoy! https://youtu.be/iAx1rwU9x4M?si=QafneOw4FBbfNinB
א is a glottal stop, like the break in the phrase "uh-oh". It's a closure or clicking of the glottis, which is the lowest opening in the throat used for speech, right above the voice box.
The correct pronunciation of ע is a voiced pharyngeal fricative. The simplest way to describe the sound to an English speaker, in my opinion, is by squeezing the throat and using your voice at the same time. A good way to practice this is by bunching up your tongue as far back as you can until you feel your throat’s opening get narrower. Try to replicate that feeling in your throat, but keep the tip of your tongue behind your teeth, and breathe out while using your voice.
Sources: ספר היצירה, דקדוקי הטעמים, short Hidāyat al-Qāriʾ II.§1.¶2 (plus personal research).
Before the later Neviim, ע and ח each had two pronunciations, like ש still does. And just as with ש, their secondary sound was more forward.
For ע, the main sound was as just I described, and the one still in use today. The secondary one was more forward, like Modern-Hebrew Resh. This ancient aspect of Hebrew is reflected in Ancient Greek and Latin transcriptions.
(It should be noted that some Mizrahi Jews pronounce ע as a pharyngealized glottal stop, which is like an א followed by ע. This is a modern pronunciation influenced by pre-modern colloquial Arabic and is different from the original pronunciation of ע. One proof is the above paragraph, which would not be possible if ע were a glottal stop.)
The correct pronunciation is a pharyngealized glottal stop. The best way to learn to pronounce this letter is to properly learn to pronounce Teth (ט) first. This is a pharyngealized voiceless alveolar stop. To make this sound, make your tongue into a cup. It should be pressing on your furthest back top molars. You should also feel an uncomfortable sensation in your throat, which might cause you to gag a little until you get used to it. Keeping your tongue in this shape, say 'Ta'. It'll come out sounding odd, and half way between a T and D. Once you can do that easily, you're ready to try an Ayin. The glottal stop is the sound you probably don't hear that occurs at the beginning of all the words that start with a vowel sound. It's easiest to hear it as the '-' in 'uh-oh'. Make your tongue into the bowl shape and say 'oh'. It will sound weird again in the same way as the Teth. That's an Ayin. Practice 'uh'-'Oh' until you sound like a Yemenite.
