The Uvula

[Coppit]

(Not sure where to post this)
At school in the 1940s stress was placed oh that fact that generally, the French had uvulas longer than the English enabling them more easily to make nasal sounds. There were illustrations in our text books.
Was the over-emphasised? Is much attention paid to it nowadays?

[Calibax]

I suppose it is possible that the regular use of the uvular trill in French may lead to an increase in the size of the uvula. I don't think it would affect nasal sounds though.

[jno]

apparently uvulopalatopharyngoplasty makes it impossible to speak French

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty

but I'd never heard that natural selection had privileged the French with longer and better uvulas than lesser breeds. (I thought it was the strings of onions round their necks that honed their pronunciation!) Interesting theory, though.

[jourdain2]

The French differ from us in all sorts of ways, including physically. Just try living there when you are 5'8" tall, size 7 feet and a neat size 16. Nothing fits, believe me! I had a nightmare buying clothes and shoes, so I'm quite prepared to believe that their bodies have adapted to suit their language - although I got pretty good at it with practice!

[Peter Pedant]

and dont forget Linda Lovelace's uvula in Deep Throat - the film - was something else completely

I cant remember if she ever spoke French

[Jackdaw33]

As someone who has been speaking French for over 50 years I have never had a problem with nasal sounds or the or the rolling 'r'. Took me a bit of time to perfect the trilled 'r' when learning Russian.