Ver. 17.0
June 22, 2010
History of the Ancient and Modern Hebrew Language
By David Steinberg
David.Steinberg@houseofdavid.ca
Home page http://www.houseofdavid.ca/
http://www.adath-shalom.ca/history_of_hebrewtoc.htm
Excursus
1
Phonemic Structure of Pre-Exilic, Tiberian[1] and Israeli
Hebrew Contrasted
o Box 8 - Nature of Consonant and Vowel Length
o
Box 9 - Were Vowel Quantity Phonemic in Biblical Hebrew?
o
Table 8 - Distinctive Vowel Length and Syllable Type in EBHP
and their Reflex in TH
o
Table 10 - Phonemic Status of Vowel and Consonant
Length in Biblical, Tiberian and Israeli Hebrew
o
Box 11 - Trade-off
Between Vowel and Consonant Length
o
Table 11- Consonantal Phonemes in EBHP, TH and Israeli Pronunciation
of BH
o
Box
13 - Consonantal Polyphony in Biblical Hebrew
o
Table 12 -
Consonantal Minimal Pairs in Biblical Hebrew No Longer Valid in Later Hebrew
o
Table
13 - Voiced, Voiceless and Emphatic Consonants in Biblical Hebrew
o
Consonants
that Exist in Modern Pronunciation but were absent in Hebrew of the First
Temple Period
d.1 Diachronic Development of the Biblical Hebrew Vowel System
o
Table
16 - Proto-Semitic to Tiberian Hebrew - Vowel
Phonemes with Possible Allophones
o
Box 14 - Semitic Vowels and their
Actualization
o
Table
17 - Long Vowels
in EBHP by Origin
o
Table 18 -
Shifts in Proto-Semitic Vowels as Hebrew Developed
o
Table 19 -
Vowel Length Minimal Pairs in Biblical Hebrew and their Transformation in Later
Hebrew
o
Table 20 - Vowel
Phonemes Minimal Pairs in EBHP
o
Table
21– Vowel System Tiberian Hebrew
o
Table
22 - Tiberian Vowels of the Same Quality often Have Diverse Origins
o
Box
15 - Vowel System - Modern Israeli Hebrew
d.2 Conventional
Scholarly Transcription of the TH
Vowel System (THCST)
o
Table 23 - THSBL Transcription - Vowel System of Tiberian Hebrew
o
Box 17- Origin
of Matres Lectionis (Vowel Letters)
o
Box 18-
Matres Lectionis in Hebrew
o
Box 19 -
Matres Lectionis in the Biblical Text
a. What is a Phoneme?
Phones and Phonemes
|
“Modern linguistics
insists on an important distinction between phone and phoneme. A
phone is a sound heard or articulated in actual speech, and as such it is a
physical entity which can be measured and recorded by mechanical devices. A classification of consonants as labial, dental, etc. and of vowels as front, back, mid, high, etc. accords with such an approach. By
contrast, a phoneme is what is perceived
to be a particular phonetic entity, and thus by definition
it is an abstraction, something like the common denominator of
countless phones, namely actual sounds which share certain essential
features. Even one and the same speaker—and of course, different speakers
of a given language —pronounces a given phoneme in
numerous variations, which however are normally
perceived as one phoneme, without creating any serious problem of communication.” Quoted from
Joϋon-Muraoka 1991
§ 5 |
A phoneme is -
Ř A contrastive unit in the sound system of a particular
language.
Ř A
minimal unit that serves to distinguish between meanings of words.
Ř Pronounced in one or more ways, depending on the
number of allophones.
Ř Represented between slashes by convention.
Example:
/b/, /j/, /o/
nb. I have not used slashes in the
following tables. For convenience, the transcription is a compromise
between phonemic and phonetic
Box
9
The Nature of Consonant and Vowel Length
|
In pre-medieval Hebrew, vowel[2] and consonant length probably resembled
their manifestation in spoken Arabic. The following is a quote from Raja Tewfik Nasr's An English-colloquial Arabic Dictionary[3], (p. xvi) Variations in the length
of both consonants and vowels produce variations in meaning.... The
difference between the short and long sounds is that the long sounds take a
relatively longer time to be completely produced than the short ones. In the
case of a stop, the explosion occurs after a longer withholding; in the
case of a vowel, lateral, or fricative, it is continued longer; in the case
of a flap, the flaps are repeated (hence the trills); and in the case of a
nasal, the vibration of the vocal cords and the flow of breath through the
nasal passage last longer. |
As with spoken
Arabic "The relative length of consonants and vowels contributes greatly
to the rhythmic patterns of speech...."[4]
and hence is vital to appreciating the meter of biblical poetry.
Box 10
|
Were Vowel
Quantity and Consonant Quantity
Phonemic in BH? |
|
“Proto-Semitic /i:/ and
/u:/ were
retained unchanged throughout the history of Hebrew, but /a:/ became raised and rounded by the fourteenth century BCE
in all or most environments. The evidence of the Tiberian reading tradition …
suggests that there were two raised and rounded allophones of /a:/ which in one
instance yielded doublets ḳan:o’ = ḳan:ĺ’ ‘zealous’. "Eventually, the inherited
short vowels also developed allophones as did the up-gliding diphthongs: [ĺ:]
and [ä] from /a/; and [o:], [o]
and [ĺ] from /u/; [e:], [e],
and [ä] from /i/; [o:] from
/aw/; [e:] and [ä:] from /ay/. The merger of some of
these allophones resulted in a completely reorganized system in which the
number of contrastive qualities was doubled and the role of quantity was
greatly reduced. "Long [i:] and [u:] are in
complementary distribution with [y] and [w], respectively, and alternate with
them, e.g. "Outside of closed unstressed syllables, which
excluded long vowels, Ancient Hebrew had a contrast between long and short
vowels. However,
between the tannaitic period and the time of the Masoretes, short vowels in
stressed syllables lengthened, erasing the contrast in those syllables. Thus,
while Hebrew was still a spoken language, the o of infinitival yĺˈko(w)l ‘be able’ was long, while the o of
sg. 3m. perfect yĺˈkol ‘he was able’ was short, like the ancestor
of ĺ in yәkĺlˈtäm. In the
Pre-Tiberian reading tradition, the o of sg. 3m. perfect "As
a result of this change, length became to a large extent conditioned by
stress[6]. Outside of opened
unstressed syllables (where a length contrast survived), there was a simple rule: stressed vowels are long and unstressed vowels are short. Non-systematic
representation of vowel length through the use of matres lectionis …
developed in Standard Biblical Hebrew. These vowel
letters are used to mark not only etymologically long vowels but also
stressed vowels in pre-pausal[7]
position. In
the Tiberian reading tradition, such vowels were probably no longer than
other stressed vowels, but morphophonemic alterations show that a length
difference had once existed, e.g. tiškab ~ tiškĺb <
*tiškab ~ *tiškāb, yәšal:aḥ ~ yәšal:eaḥ
< *yišal:eḥ ~ *yišal:ēḥ. "Consonant
length
(like vowel length) was phonemic in Proto-Hebrew, but it was not represented
in the biblical period, even in an unsystematic way. Thus, the spelling
crwmym was used for both members of the minimal pair Job "Most
of the Proto-Hebrew minimal pairs are no longer valid
for the Tiberian system…. The fact remains, however, that the Masoretes
considered consonant length important enough to create a sign for it (“strong”
dagesh). Two minimal pairs noted by the Masoretes themselves are
Job "In the tradition of Hebrew that was adopted by the Tiberian Masoretes, the following vowel
quality shifts took place some time before the Masoretic period: e:ē > ɛ:ē, a:ā > a:ɔ̄. The result was the emergence of four vowel
qualities (ɛ, e, a, ɔ) from an original two (e, a). The signs ṣere and qameṣ in Tiberian Hebrew represent vowels that were
long e and a respectively before the operation of the quality
shifts. The signs segol and pataḥ in Tiberian
Hebrew represent vowels that were short e and a respectively before the operation of the quality shifts. "At some stage after these quality shifts had taken place, vowel length became
totally dependent on stress and syllabic structure[9].
All stressed vowels and all vowels in an unstressed open syllable were
pronounced long[10]. As a result not only qameṣ and ṣere but also pataḥ and segol were pronounced long when stressed
or when in an open syllable. "At some
stage after vowel length became dependent on stress and syllable structure,
long and short o developed into two distinct qualities: o:ō
> ɔ:ō. For this reason long ō occurs only in stressed or
unstressed open syllables whereas short ɔ
occurs only in unstressed closed syllables."[11]
[12] |
Box 11
Trade-off
Between Vowel and Consonant Length
|
In both Hebrew and Arabic, in the words of Blau, "...rhythmically long vowel + simple consonant are more or less identical to
short vowel + double consonant...."[13] Thus pretonic gemination at times substitutes
for pretonic lengthening[14]. See
also Elision of word-final aleph with
compensaatory lengthening of the preceeding vowel. |
Box 12
Pausal
Forms
|
Pausal forms in TH are probably closely related to the rhythm of formal
reading of scripture[15]. In many instances they reveal pre-Tiberian stress patterns and the
quality of vowels reduced to vocal šwas in contextual
forms. Where appropriate I include pausal, as well as contextual forms, in
tables. |
Table 8
Distinctive Vowel Length and Syllable Type in EBHP and their
Reflex in TH
|
|
(c. 850-550 BCE) |
(c. 850 CE) |
|
Open stressed syllable |
Long |
Long in [TH] /ˈhu/ *[ˈhuː] "he" |
|
Closed stressed syllable |
Long in nouns, short in
verbs */naˈtan/ "he gave": */naˈtaːn/ "Nathan" */gaˈmal/
"he weaned": */gaˈmaːl/
"camel" |
Long in [TH] /nĺˈtan/ *[nɔːˈθɐːn] "he gave": /nĺˈtĺn/
*[nɔːˈθɔːn] "Nathan" /gĺˈmal/
*[gɔːˈmɐːl] "he
weaned": /gĺˈmĺl/ *[gɔːˈmɔːl] "camal" |
|
Stressed syllable doubly closed
in EBHP N.b. in TH doubly closed syllables rarely remain because
of reduction of geminated final consonant and
insertion of anaptyctic vowels breaking up
other consonantal clusters |
Short */ˈḥuqq/
"law" */šōˈmart/ (<*/šōˈmirt/) qal a.p. fs.
"guard, guarding" |
Long in [TH] /ˈḥoq/ *[ˈħoːq]
"law" /šoˈmɛrɛt/ *[ʃoːˈmɛːrɛθ] "guard, guarding" |
|
Open unstressed syllable |
Long/Short */sūˈgar/ "cage” */suˈgar/ qal passive PC 3ms. "it was closed” |
Long in [TH] /suˈgar/ *[suːˈɣɐːr] "cage” /sugˈgar/ *[sugˈgɐːr] "it was closed” (syllable
closed by gemination resulting in form identical to pual)][17] |
|
Closed unstressed syllable |
Long/Short */min-/
“from” */ˌmīn/ “variety of..” |
Short in [TH] /min-/
“from” /ˌmin/ *[ˌmīn] “variety of..” |
|
Unstressed syllable doubly
closed in EBHP |
Short */ˌḥuqq/ "law of" */šōˌmart/ (<*/šōˌmirt/) qal a.p. fs. constr. "guard
of" |
Long in [TH] /ˌḥoq/ *[ˌħoːq] "law of" /šoˌmɛrɛt/ *[ʃoːˌmɛːrɛθ] |
Table 9
Phonemic
Status of Vowel
and Consonant Length and Quality and of Word Stress over the History of the
Hebrew Language
|
Phase |
Date |
Examples (phonemically presented) |
|
|
c.
2000 - |
/ˈcālamu/ > /ˈcōlamu/ /šaˈlāmu/ > /šaˈlōmu/ /ˈqāṭilu/
> /ˈqōṭilu/ /ˈqāṭiltu/
> /ˈqōṭiltu/ /paˈqīdu/ /ˈ’amara/
(“he said”) /ˈ’amarū/
(“they said”) |
|
c.
1200 - |
/cōˈlamu/ /šaˈlōmu/ /qōˈṭilu/
(ms. a.p. qal) /qōˈṭiltu/
(fs. a.p. qal) /paˈqīdu/ /’aˈmara/ /’aˈmarū/ |
|
|
c.
1000 - |
/cōˈlaːm/ /šaˈlōm/ /qōˈṭeːl/ (ms.
a.p. qal) /qōˈṭilt/
(f.s. a.p. qal) /paˈqīd/ /’aˈmar/ /’aˈmarū/ |
|
|
c.
500 BCE – c. 200 CE |
/cōˈlaːm/ /šaˈlōm/ /qōˈṭẹːl/
(ms. a.p. qal) /qōˈṭɛlt/ (fs.
a.p. qal) /paˈqīd/ /’aˈmaːr/ /’aˈmarū/ |
|
|
c.
850 CE |
/coˈlĺm/ [coːˈlɔːm] /šĺˈlom/ [ʃɔːˈloːm] /qoˈṭẹl/
[qoːˈṭẹːl] /qoˈṭɛlɛt/
[qoːˈṭɛːlɛθ] /pĺˈqid/ [pɔːˈqiːđ] /ʾĺˈmar/ [ʔɔːˈmɐːr] /ʾĺmәˈru/ [ʔɔːmәˈruː] |
|
|
No Phonetic distinction in length of vowels (IH) |
Current
Israeli Hebrew |
/oˈlam/ /šaˈlom/ /koˈtɛl/ (ms.
a.p. qal) /koˈtɛlɛt/
(fs. a.p. qal) /paˈqid/ /aˈmar/ /amˈru/ |
Table 10
Phonemic Status and
Phonetic Realization of Vowel and Consonant Length in Biblical, Tiberian and
Israeli Hebrew
|
*PH (c. 1200 BCE) |
(c. 850-550 BCE) |
(c. 850 CE) |
(present) |
Phonemic distinction based on and
comments |
|
/min/ |
/min/ [mɪn] “from” |
מִן־ /min/
[min] |
[min] |
PH – vowel length EBHP - vowel length, stress
TH – spelling, stress and
context IH – spelling and context |
|
/mīn/ |
/ˌmīn/
[ˌmiːn] “variety
of..” |
מִין /ˌmin/ [ˌmiːn] |
[min] |
|
|
/ˈšitu/ √šyt |
/ˈšeːt/
[ˈʃẹːt] “base” |
שֵׁת /ˈšẹt/ *[ˈʃẹːθ] |
[ˈʃɛt] |
PH – vowel length EBHP - vowel quality TH and IH –spelling and
vowel quality |
|
/ˈšītu/ √šyt |
/ˈšīt/
[ˈʃiːt] |
שִׁית /ˈšit/ *[ˈʃiːθ] |
[ˈʃit] |
|
|
|
/ʾitt/ [ʔɪtt] "with" |
אֵת /ʾẹt/
*[ʔẹːθ] |
[ɛt] |
EBHP - consonant length (gemination) and, possibly, vowel quality. TH and IH - context |
|
|
/ˌ’at/ or /ˌ’it/ (particle
indicating direct object) |
אֵת /ˌʾẹt/
*[ˌʔẹːθ] |
[ɛt] |
|
|
אֶת־ /ʾɛt/
*[ʔɛːθ] |
[ɛt] |
|
||
|
/ˈcabdu/ |
/ˈcabd/ “slave” |
עֶבֶד |
[ˈɛvɛd] |
PH – vowel distribution and length. EBHP – vowel quality and
distribution; spelling TH and IH – vowel quality
and distribution; spelling |
|
/ˈcabadū/
> |
/caˈbạdū/ [cɐˈbɐduˑ] “they
served” |
עָבְדוּ /cĺbәˈdu/ |
[avˈdu] |
|
|
/yaˈqūmu/ |
/yaˈqūm/ [yɐˈquːm] “he
will stand” (qal
indicative) |
יָקוּם /yĺˈqum/ |
[yaˈkum] |
PH – vowel length, final short vowel and stress
distinguish indicative from preterite/jussive EBHP - vowel length and stress
distinguish indicative from jussive. Preterite distinguished from jussive by waC
-, in this instance way, prefix. TH - vowel quality and
stress for wayyĺqĺm IH vayaˈkam frequent but considered
incorrect. |
|
/ˈyaqum/ |
/ˈyaqum/[19] [ˈyɐqʊm]
or [ˈyɐqo̞m] “let
him stand” (qal
jussive) |
יָקׁם /yĺˈqom/
|
[yaˈkom] |
|
|
/ˈyaqum/ |
/wayˈyaqum/ [wɐyˈyɐqʊm]
or [wɐyˈyɐqo̞m] “he
stood” (qal
preterite) |
וַיָּקָם /wayˈyĺqǫm/ |
[vayaˈkam] |
|
|
|
/ˈhašmid/ [ˈhɐʃmɪd] or “destroy!” |
הַשְמֵד /hašˈmẹd/ |
[haʃˈmɛd] |
EBHP – vowel length and stress. TH and IH - vowel quality |
|
|
/hašˈmīd/ |
הַשְׁמִיד /hašˈmid/ |
[haʃˈmid] |
|
|
/ˈṭabbaḫu/
> |
/ṭabˈbaːḫ/ |
טַבָּח /ṭabˈbĺḥ/ [ṭɐbˈbɔːħ] |
[taˈbax] |
PH – vowel length
and quality and consonant length. EBHP –vowel quality and
consonant length TH - vowel quality, stress,
number of syllables and residually consonant length IH - vowel quality, stress, number of syllables
and consonant quality |
|
/ṭaˈbāḫu/
> |
/ṭaˈbōḫ/ [ṭɐˈboːx] |
טָבוֹחַ /ṭĺˈboːaḥ/ [ṭɔːˈvoːɐħ] |
[taˈvoax] |
|
|
/ˈḫātamu/
> |
/ḫōˈtaːm/ [xoːˈtaːm] |
חוֹתָם /ḥoˈtĺm/ [ħoːˈθɔːm] |
[xoˈtam] |
PH – vowel length EBHP - vowel quality and
length TH and IH - vowel quality |
|
/ḫaˈtāmu/
> |
/ḫaˈtōm/
[xɐˈtoːm] |
חָתוֹם /ḥĺˈtom/ [ħɔːˈθoːm] |
[xaˈtom] |
|
|
/šaˈlāmu/ > |
/šaˈlōm/ [ʃɐˈloːm] |
שָׁלוֹם /šĺˈlom/
[ʃɔːˈloːm] |
[ʃaˈlom] |
PH – vowel quality
and length EBHP –vowel length and vowel
quality; suffix ū TH - vowel quality; suffix
u IH - vowel quality; suffix
u |
|
/ˈšalamū/
> |
/šaˈlạmū/ [ʃɐˈlɐ̣muˑ] |
שָׁלְמוּ /šĺlˈmu/ [ʃɔːlәˈmuː] |
[ʃalˈmu] |
|
|
/maˈrādu/ > √RWD |
*/maˈrōd/ [mɐˈɾoːd] “homelessness” |
מָרוֹד /mĺˈrod/ [mɔːˈɾoːđ] |
[maˈʁ̞od] |
Note the regular noun
formation All periods context
only |
|
/maˈrādu/> √rwd |
/maˈrōd/ [mɐˈroːd] |
/mĺˈrod/ [mɔːˈroːđ] |
[maˈʁ̞od] |
|
|
/zaˈkaːr/ [zɐˈkaːɾ] |
זָכָר /zĺˈkĺr/
[zɔːˈxɔːɾ] |
[zaˈxaʁ̞] |
PH – vowel length (u - ū) EBHP – suffix ū TH - vowel quality and
suffix u IH - vowel distribution and quality and
suffix u |
|
|
/ˈđakarū/
→ |