Edition 1.3
26 January 2012
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
Phonemic Structure of Hebrew[1]
(part 2)
d.
Vowel Phonemes
N.b. a convenient way to learn to hear and articulate
vowel length is to listen carefully to: (a) recordings of a couple of spoken
Arabic dialects; or, (b) recordings
of Akkadian poetry.
d.1 Diachronic Development of the Biblical Hebrew Vowel System
|
Box
15 - Distinctive Features of Hebrew Vowels |
|
"A distinctive feature ... is a phonetic property that distinguishes groups of sounds in a given language. And by applying these features to Hebrew, it should be possible to divide the Hebrew vowels into phonetic groups, or classes of sounds. In ... (Hebrew) three features distinguish the vowels one from another. Two of these features reflect the position of the tongue. On a vertical axis, the degree to which the tongue is raised above or lowered below its neutral position characterizes vowel height.... When the tongue is raised, the vowel is high, when lowered it is low; the intermediate zone produces mid vowels.... On a horizontal axis, the presence of absence of lingual backward movement is also distinctive.... In retracted position, the vowel is back; without retraction, the phone is nonback.... The lips are responsible for the third distinctive vocalic feature. A sound produced by articulating the upper and lower lips (lip rounding) is labial. Without articulation, the sound is non-labial.... Thus, the articulation of lips, tongue height, and tongue retraction/non-retraction converge to differentiate Hebrew vowels one from another.... Quoted from Garr 1991 §2.0. See - |
Table 15
Proto-Semitic to Tiberian Hebrew
Vowel Phonemes[2] with Probable and Possible Allophones
|
*/PS/ (c. 3000 BCE) |
*PH (c. 1200 BCE) |
(c. 850-550 BCE) |
(c. 400 CE) |
(c. 850 CE) |
||||||||
|
Short Vowel |
Long Vowel |
Short Vowel |
Long Vowel |
Short Vowel |
Long Vowel |
Ultra-short Vowel |
Short Vowel |
Long Vowel |
/TH/+ |
*Ultra-short Vowel |
*[TH] Short Vowel |
*[TH] Long Vowel |
|
/i/ |
ῑ /iː/ |
/i/ [i] [ɪ] [ẹ] |
ῑ, î /iː/ |
/i/ |
[ĭ], [ă], [ĕ], [ŏ], [ŭ] |
/i/ [i] [ɪ] |
ῑ, î /iː/ |
/i/ |
/ә/ [ɐ̆] [ɛ̆] [ĕ] [ĭ] [ɔ̆]
[ŏ] [ŭ] |
[i] |
[iː] |
|
|
ē /eː/[5] |
ē ê [ẹː][ɛː] |
/e/ [ẹ] [ɛ] |
ē, ê [ẹː][ɛː] |
/ẹ/ |
[ɛ] |
[ẹː] |
||||||
|
/a/ [ɔ̝]? |
ā /aː/
[aː], |
/a/ [ɛ], [a] [ɐ]
[ɔ]? [ɔ̝]? |
/a/ [ɔ̝]? |
[ɛː] |
||||||||
|
ā /aː/? [aː] |
[aː], |
/a/ [a] [ɐ] [ɔ]? [ɔ̝]? |
/aː/ [aː] |
/a/ |
[ɐ] |
[ɐː] |
||||||
|
[ɔ] |
[ɔː] |
|||||||||||
|
/u/ |
/u/ |
ō /oː/ |
/u/ |
/o/ [o̞] [o] |
ō, ô |
/o/ |
[oː] |
|||||
|
/u/ [ʊ]
[u] |
ū, û /u:/ |
/u/ |
[u] |
[u:] |
||||||||
Note
- probable allophones are unmarked; possible allophones are marked with
"?"
|
Box
16 - Semitic Vowels and their Actualization |
|
"Common Semitic or Proto-Semitic has three short vowels (§ 10.5): low/open back velar a, high/close front palatal i, and high/close back velar u with strongly rounded lips. It also possesses the three corresponding long vowels ā, ī, ū. Although additional vocalic phonemes have arisen in various Semitic languages, there are no sufficient grounds to suppose that other vowels belong to the original core of the Semitic phonemic system.... However, the realization of the Semitic vowels a, i, u in actual speech can produce other vocalic sounds, mainly in the case of short vowels (cf. §10.11). There is a widespread tendency in Semitic to pronounce high and low vowels, especially when they are unstressed, as mid vowels [e], [ә], [o].... Thus short [i] and [u] tend to become [ә], as in Ethiopic (§21.30), and the same can happen with [a].... Besides, [i] can easily become [e] by lowering the tongue, [u] becomes then [o]. The lack of appropriate vocalic signs, especially for [ә] and [o], does often not allow determining the presence of these vowels in an accurate way, and "e" will then stand for [ә] and "u" for [o] (§21.3). On the other side, a stressed short vowel tends to become long, and its articulation may at the same time be lowered (e.g. i > ī > ē) or raised (e.g. a > ā > ō)[9]. Some of these new vowels may acquire a phonemic status in a determined language." Quoted
from Lipinski 1997
§21.1. "The short vowels (in Colloquial Arabic) are found in an unsystermatizable multiplicity of qualities; many if not all of them were probably already present in Classical Arabic and only hidden by the orthography, which is limited to three sort vowels a i u. This limitation is legitimate to the extent that, as in fact seems also to be the case in the modern dialects, all that matters for the meaning of the word is whether the vowel belongs to the a-, i- or u-group, while the gradation within the groups depends on accent, syllable structure, neighboring consonants. and also the vowels of adjacent syllables. [Note - Bergsträsser here applies the phonemic principle in the analysis of the minute phonetic detail recorded in his sources.] The a-group stretches from e to o, thus bordering the i- and u- groups on the two sides, and has borderline cases in common, which must especially kept in mind in the e direction. Even the opposition i : u, which for us is established by the contrary natures of the two vowels and in fact appears to be thoroughly realized in Classical Arabic, holds for the dialects only with qualifications: in part they have a full-fledged scale of transitions from i to u, within which the exact placement of the vowel is influenced by accent, syllable structure, and phonetic environment; but in part they make the DISTINCTION BETWEEN i and u dependant on such features. Colloquial Arabic thus reflects the proto-Semitic situation in this regard rather accurately, - Beyond fluctuations within the same quality group, switches from one group to another are common. The direction is usually from the a-group to the i/u-group " Quoted from Bergstärsser 1928/83 p. 188-189. "In numerous Lebanese dialects both vowel quality and quantity are affected by pause, i, u, and a becoming ē, ō and ā (or ä); thus, e.g., in Bišmizzin, contextual byínzil, "he goes down", byúktub "he writes", byíftaḥ "he opens" appear in pause as byínzēl, byúktōb, byíftāḥ." Quoted
from Morag 1989 (p. 102) |
In reconstructing the early Semitic and subsequent Hebrew vowel systems it is essential to keep in mind:
1.
the distinction at every stage between the probable phonemic structure of the
vowel system and the bundle of phones likely to have made up each phoneme. It is probable that the full natural
scale of the principal vowel qualities[10] - i, e, a, o, u - would
have been heard in the speech of Semitic speakers throughout the centuries though the specific qualities of these vowels is mostly unrecoverable
and would, in any case, have varied with time, dialect etc.
2. that Proto-Semitic is thought to have had a similar vowel and
stress system to that of Classical Arabic. The written vowel tradition of
Classical Arabic recognizes 3 phonemic qualities of vowel each of which has 2
phonemic lengths- i/ī, a/ā, u/ū[11], However, early Greek transcriptions[12] of Arabic names show that Arabic of the
period possessed the following vowels i, e, ə, a, o, u.
3. that
ancient Semitic languages, and most modern Arabic dialects,
phonemically distinguished between short and long vowels. The long vowels were
usually quite distinct but the short vowels easily interchanged. To give an
example from Egyptian Arabic[13], a language
that parallels Ancient Hebrew in numerous ways, there are three short vowels i, a, u and 5 long
vowels ī, ē, ā, ō, ū [14]. However, the actualization of /a/ includes [a] and [ɔ]; that of /i/ includes [i] and [e]; that
of /u/ includes [u] and [o]. The allophone
pronounced depends on such factors as: the nature of the surrounding
consonants; whether the syllable is long or short, closed or open; stress;
dialect; speed of speaking and even the sex of the speaker[15]. In Palestinian Arabic /u/ is pronounced
[o] and /i/ [e] before the (non-geminated) final consonant of words[16]. Thus /ʾuktub/ is
pronounced [ʔuktob] and /kātib/ is pronounced [kāteb]. It is
interesting to note the similarity of result, regarding the final vowel, to the
qal imperfect יקטל (TH יִקְטֹל;
EBHP /yiqˈtul/ [yɪqˈtʊl] or [yɪqˈto̞l]), and SC כבד (TH כָּבֵד; EBHP /kaˈbid/ [kɐˈbɪd]
or [kɐˈbɛd]) and the qal active participle קטל (TH קֹטֵל; EBHP (constr.) [qoːˈtɪl] or [qoːˈtɛl]).
Unlike
the living Arabic dialects, we can never recapture the rich reality of the
sound of EBHP. A possible indication of the missing dimensions is given by Rice
and Sa'id in their book Eastern Arabic (p. 5) -
In addition to word stress, Arabic also has another system
of prominence that works independently of stress. We call this vowel
prominence. Like stress, it too is automatic. A long vowel has more sonority (amplitude,
loudness) than a short vowel ....
A short vowel immediately followed by a double consonant is
more tense than a short
vowel elsewhere.... This tenseness is preserved even when the double consonant
is not followed immediately by a vowel...
As a result of these three features of word stress,
sonority, and tenseness, the acoustic impression of Arabic is quite different
from that of English.
|
Table 16 - Long Vowels in EBHP by Origin |
||||
|
|
Irreducible Long Vowels |
|
||
|
Long Vowel |
Primitive Long Vowel |
Vowel
Lengthened Through Contraction |
||
|
[iː] |
ῑ |
íwy >úːy >íyy >î [íː] e.g e.g. */ˈkiwyu/ > */ˈkûy/ > */ˈkiyy/ > */ˈkiy/
> /ˈkî/ íy > î [íː] e.g e.g. */ˈyíybašu/ > */ˈyîbašu/ > /yîˈbaš/ */ˈkalyu/ > */ˈkaly/ (/EBHP?/) > */ˈkaliy/ (/EBHP?/) > */ˈkalî/ (/EBHP?/) (TH כְּלִי *[kәˈliː]
(contextual) or כֶּלִי *[ˈkɛːli] (pausal) [17] 'tool' */ˈyihyay/ > */ˈyihy/ (/EBHP?/) > */ˈyihiy/
(/EBHP?/) > */ˈyihî/ (/EBHP?/) > (TH /yˈhi/) "may he
be" úy > î e.g. /wayˈyúyśam/ > |
|
|
|
[eː] |
TH מֵת - see next column. |
Word-final
áyu > ê [éː] e.g. */šamōˈnayu/
(PH) →
(/EBHP/+) */šạmōˈnê/ > (TH) /šmōˈnê/ Word-final
íyu > ê [éː] e.g. */bāˈniyu/ → */bōˈnê/ ('building' qal a.p. ms.) מת (TH מֵת) 'dead' (adj.) - the origin of the long eː is unclear i.e. it might have been */ˈmêt/ or */ˈmēt/. In either case we should see מֵת the 3ms. SC as having a stress lengthened, and hence reducible,
vowel i.e. */ˈmeːt/. In transcriptions of EBHP I will use */ˈmêt/ |
Unstressed
diphthong contracts ay > ê [eː] e.g. */bayt/ > /bêt/ (TH בֵּית) 'house of-' |
*/kaˈbidu/ > */kaˈbeːd/ (TH כָּבֵד) 'heavy' (adj.) |
|
[aː] |
TH קָם - see next column. |
Word-final
áya > [áː] e.g. /baˈnaya/ (PH)
> /baˈnay/
> /baˈnâ/
(/EBHP/+) קם (TH קָם) 'standing' (qal ms. ap.) as an example of the large class of II-w and II-y roots. The origin of the long aː is unclear i.e. it might have been */ˈqâm/ or */ˈqām/. In either case we should see קָם the 3ms. SC as having a stress lengthened, and hence reducible,
vowel i.e. */ˈqaːm/. In transcriptions of EBHP I will use */ˈqâm/ for the participle and |
|
*/ˈyadu/ > */ˈyaːd/ (TH יָד) 'hand' |
|
[oː] |
ō (ō < ā)
e.g. |
בוש (TH בּוֹש) 'ashamed' (adj.) - the origin of the long oː is unclear. */ˈbôš/ áʾ not immediately followed by a vowel shifts to â [áː] e.g /ˈraʾšu/ > /ˈrâšu/ → /ˈrôš/ (/EBHP/+) 'head'. |
Unstressed
diphthong contracts aw > ô [oː] e.g. */mawt/ > /môt/ (TH מוֹת) 'death of-' |
*/gaˈdulu/ > */gaˈdoːl/ (TH גָּדוֹל) 'big' (adj.) |
|
[uː] |
ū |
úw > û (TH הושַבְתֶּם) 'you were made to
dwell' íw > û e.g. /ˈyíwkalu/ > /ˈyûkalu/ → /yûˈkal/ (TH יָכוֹל ) 'he will be
able'. |
|
|
4.
that while there two phonological vowel lengths there often (always?) are at
least 4 phonetic vowel lengths i.e.
o
short vowels are longer when stressed
particularly in closed syllables. In addition word final short vowels, as often
in Arabic[18], were probably shortened
long vowels in quality rather than lengthened short vowels. Thus
for /i/, the short vowel within the word was likely pronounced as the laxer
vowel [ɪ]
while the short vowel at end of word as the tenser vowel [i].
Cf. to the parallel long vowel pronounced [iː].
o
long vowels e.g. /iː/ are longer
when stressed [iːˑ].
In the
history of Hebrew prior to the middle ages it seems to me that the appearance
of new long phonemic vowels may have stimulated a reanalysis of the short
vowels to parallel the long vowels[19].
|
Table 17 - Shifts in Proto-Semitic
Vowels as Hebrew Developed |
|||||
|
*/PS/ (c. 3000 BCE) |
*PH (c. 1200 BCE) |
(c. 400 CE) |
(c. 850 CE) |
(present) |
|
|
/a/ |
/a/ - /šaˈlaːmu/ “peace” |
/a/ - /šaˈlōm/ |
/aː/ - /šaːˈlōm/ |
/å/ - שָׁלוֹם |
/a/ - /šaˈlom/ [ʃɐˈlom] |
|
/a/ - /qaˈtalat/ “she
killed” |
/aː/
- /qaˈtạlâ/ |
/aː/
- /qaˈtalaː/ > /qaːˈtalaː/ > /qaːtәˈlaː/ |
/å/ - קָטְלָה /qåṭәˈlå/ [qɔːṭәˈlɔː] |
/a/ - /qaṭˈla/ [kɐtˈlɐ] |
|
|
/a/ - /ˈdabaru/ |
/a/ - /daˈbaːr/ [dɐˈbaːɾ] |
/aː/
- /daːˈbaːr/ |
/å/ - דָּבָר /dåˈbår/ [dɔːˈvɔːɾ] |
/a/ - /daˈbar/ |
|
|
/a/ - /ˈqatalat/ “she
killed” |
/a/
- /qaˈtạlâ/ |
/ә/
- /qaˈtalâ/ > /qaːˈtalâ/ > /qaːtәˈlaː/ |
/ә/
- קָטְלָה /qåṭәˈlå/ [qɔːṭәˈlɔː] |
/∅/
- /qaṭˈla/ [kɐtˈlɐ] |
|
|
/a/
- /ˈkattaba/ piel
SC 3ms. |
/i/ - /kitˈtib/ [kɪtˈtɪb] |
/i/
- /kitˈtẹb/ |
/i/
- כִּתֵּב /kitˈtẹb/ [kitˈtẹːv] |
/i/
- /kiˈteb/ [kɪˈtɛv] |
|
|
/a/ - /ˈkattaba/ piel
perf. 3ms. |
/i/ - /kitˈtib/
[kɪtˈtɪb] |
/e/
- כִּתֵּב /kitˈteb/ |
/ẹ/
- כִּתֵּב /kitˈtẹb/ [kitˈtẹːv] |
/e/
- /kiˈteb/ [kɪˈtɛv] |
|
|
particle
attached to the direct object |
/a/ -/ˌʾat/ [ˌʔɐt]? [ˌʔɛt]? |
/e/
- /ˌʾat/ > /ˌʾet/ |
/ẹ/
- אֵת /ˌʾẹt/
[ˌʔẹːθ] |
/ʾet/
[ɛt]
or [t] |
|
|
/a/ - /ˌʾat/ [ˌʔɐt]? [ˌʔɛt]? |
/e/
- /ʾat/ > /ʾet/ |
/ɛ/ - אֶת־ /ʾɛt/
[ˌʔɛθ] |
|||
|
/aː/ |
/aː/ - /šaˈlaːmu/ “peace” |
/oː/ - /šaˈloːm/ [ʃɐˈloːm] |
/oː/ - /šaːˈlōm/ |
/oː/ שָׁלוֹם /šåˈlom/ [ʃɔːˈloːm] |
a - /šaˈlom/ [ʃɐˈlom] |
|
/aː/ - /ˈṭābu/
“good” |
/ō/ - /ˈṭōb/ |
/ō/ - /ˈṭōb/ |
/o/ - /ˈṭob/ טוֹב [ˈṭoːv] |
/o/ - /ˈṭob/ [ˈtov] |
|
|
/i/ |
/i/
- /ṣiˈrāru/ “bag” |
/i/
- /ṣiˈrōr/ [ṣɪˈɾoːɾ] |
/ә/?
/Ø/?- /ṣәˈrōr/ |
/ә/
- צְרוֹר |
/∅/
- /ṣ∅ˈror/ [tsˈʁ̞oʁ̞] |
|
/i/
- /ˈsiprahu/ “his
book” |
/i/
- /sipˈrahu/
> /sipˈrô/ [sɪpˈɾoː]
|
/i/
- /sipˈrô/ |
/i/
- סִפרוֹ |
/i/
- /sipˈro/ [sifˈʁ̞o] |
|
|
/i/
- /i/ |
/i/
- /i/ - /ʾilˈleːm/ [ʔɪlˈlẹːm]
"deaf" |
/i/
- /e/
- /ʾilˈleːm/ |
i
- ẹ
- אִלֵּם /ʾilˈlẹm/ [ʔilˈlẹːm] |
/i/
- /e/
- /ʾiˈlem/ |
|
|
/ciwˈweːr/ |
/ciwˈweːr/ |
עִוֵּר /ciwˈwẹr/ [ciwˈwẹːɾ] |
/ciˈver/ [iˈvɛʁ̞] |
||
|
/i/
- /ˈʾāsiru/ qal
a.p. “one who
ties” |
/i/ - /’ōˈseːr/ [’oːˈsẹːɾ] |
/e/ - /’ōˈseːr/ |
/ẹ/ - אֹסֵר /’oˈsẹr/ [’oːˈsẹːɾ] |
/e/
- /’oˈser/ [oˈsɛʁ̞] |
|
|
/i/
- /ˈʾilu/ “god” |
/i/ - /ˈʾeːl/ [ˈʔẹːl] |
/e/ - /ˈʾeːl/ |
/ẹ/ - אֵל /ˈʾẹl/ [ˈʔẹːl] |
/e/ - /ˈʾel/ [ˈɛl] |
|
|
/ī/ |
/iː/ - /’aˈsīru/ “prisoner” |
/iː/
- /’aˈsiːr/ |
/iː/
- /’aːˈsiːr/ |
/i/ - אָסִיר /’åˈsir/ [’ɔːˈsiːɾ] |
/i/ - /’aˈsir/
[ɐˈsiʁ̞] |
|
/ī/ - /ˈmīnu/ “kind,
variety” |
/ī/ - /ˈmīn/ [ˈmiːn] |
/ī/ - /ˈmīn/ |
/i/ - מִין /ˈmin/ [ˈmiːn] |
/i/ - /ˈmin/ [ˈmin] |
|
|
/u/ |
/u/
- “it was
said” |
/u/
- /dubˈbar/ [dʊbˈbɐɾ] |
/u/
- /dubˈbar/ |
/u/
- דֻּבַּר /dubˈbar/ [dubˈbɐɾ] |
/u/
- /duˈbar/ |
|
/u/ - /ˈruḥābu/
> /ruˈḥōbu/ "plaza
inside city gate" |
/u/
- /rụˈḥōb/ |
/ә/?
/Ø/?
- /rәˈḥōb/ |
ә
- רְחוֹב /rәˈḥob/ [ɾәˈħoːv] |
/ә/
- /rәˈḥob/ [ʁ̞әˈxov] |
|
|
/u/ - “his
greatness” |
/o/
- /gudˈlô/ |
/ɔ/ - גָּדלוֹ /gǫdˈlo/ [gɔðˈloː] |
/o/- /godˈlo/ [godˈlo] |
||
|
/u/
- /ˈyaqum/ “let him
stand” |
/u/
- /ˈyaqum/ [ˈyɐqʊm]? [ˈyɐqo̞m]? |
/u/
- /yaːˈqum/ |
/o/- יָקֹם /yåˈqom/ *[yɔːˈqoːm] |
/o/
- /yaˈqom/ [yɐˈkom] |
|
|
|
/u/
- /wayˈyaqum/ “he
stood” |
/u/
- /wayˈyaqum/ [wɐyˈyɐqʊm]? [wɐyˈyɐqo̞m]? |
/u/
- /wayˈyaːqum/ |
/ɔ/
- /wayˈyåqǫm/ *[wayˈyɔːqɔm] |
/waˈyaqom/ |
|
/ū/ |
/ū/ - /yaˈqūmu/ “he will
stand” |
/uː/
- /yaˈqūm/ [yɐˈquːm] |
/uː/
- /yaːˈqūm/ |
/u/
- יָקוּם /yåˈqum/ *[yɔːˈquːm] |
/u/
- /yaˈqum/ [yɐˈkum] |
|
/uː/ - /ˈṭūbu/ “goodness” |
/uː/ - /ˈṭūb/ [ˈṭuːb] |
/uː/ - /ˈṭūb/ |
/u/ - טוּב /ˈṭub/ [ˈṭuːv]
|
/u/ - /ˈṭub/ [ˈtuv] |
|
|
/aw/[22] |
/aw/ - |
/aw/ - /ˈmawt/ [ˈmɐwt] |
/awe/ -- /ˈmaːwet/ |
/åwɛ/ - מָוֶת /ˈmåwɛt/ [ˈmɔːwɛθ] |
/awe/ - /ˈmawet/ |
|
/aw/ - /mawt/ “death
of” |
/aw/ - /ˌmawt/ [ˌmɐwt]/[ˌmo̞wt] |
/o/
- מוֹת /ˌmot/ [ˌmoːθ] |
/o/
- /ˌmot/ [mot] |
||
|
/ay/ - /ˈbaytu/ "house" |
/ay/ - /ˈbayt/ [ˈbɐyt] |
/ayi/ - /ˈbayit/ |
/ayi/ -
בַּיִת /ˈbayit/
[ˈbɐːyiθ] |
/ayi/ - /ˈbayit/ [ˈbɐyɪt] |
|
|
/ay/ - /bayt/ "house
of" |
/ay/ - /ˌbayt/ [ˌbɐyt]/[
ˌbɛyt] |
/ệ/
- /ˌbệt/ |
/ẹ/
- בֵּית /ˌbẹt/
[ˌbẹːθ] |
/e/ - /ˌbet/
[bɛt] |
|
Table
18 - Vowel Length Minimal
Pairs in EBHP and their
Transformation in Later Hebrew |
||||
|
Consonantal Phonemes |
(c. 850-550 BCE) |
(c. 400 CE) |
(c. 850 CE) |
(Present) |
|
/a/
- /ā/ |
גלה |
/gaːˈlaː/ |
גָּלָה [gɔːˈlɔː] |
[gɐˈlɐ] |
|
גלה |
/gaːˈlaː/ |
גָּלָה /gåˈlå/ [gɔːˈlɔː] |
||
|
/u/
- /ū/ |
תמת [ˈtɐmʊt]? [ˈtɐmo̞t]? |
/taːˈmot/ |
תָּמׁת [tɔːˈmoːθ] |
[tɐˈmot] |
|
תמות |
/taːˈmuːt/ |
תָּמוּת |
[tɐˈmut] |
|
|
/i/
- /ῑ/ |
מן |
/min/ |
מִן־ |
[min] |
|
מין |
/ˌmiːn/ |
מִין |
[ˌmin] |
|
|
בן absolute
stressed form |
/ˈbẹːn/ |
בֵּן /ˈbẹn/ [ˈbẹːn] |
[ˈbɛn] |
|
|
בן [bɪn-]? [bɛn-]?[1] |
/bɛn/ constr.
unstressed form) |
בֶּן־ |
[bɛn-] |
|
|
בין |
/ˈbīn/ |
בִּין /ˈbin/ [ˈbiːn] |
[ˈbin] |
|
|
/ῑ/
- /ay/ |
סוסי |
/sūˈsiː/ |
סוּסִי /suˈsi/ [suːˈsiː] |
[suˈsi] |
|
סוסי |
/sūˈsay/ |
סוּסַי /suˈsay/ [suːˈsɐy] |
[suˈsɐy] |
|
|
/aː/ - /aw/ |
שר |
ֺ/ˈšaːr/ |
ֺשָר
/ˈšår/ |
[ˈʃɐʁ̞] |
|
|
שור /ˈšawr/ [ˈʃɔ̝wɾ] |
/ˈšôr/ |
שׁוֹר |
[ˈʃoʁ̞] |
Table 19
Vowel
Phonemes Minimal Pairs */EBHP/
(c. 700-600 BCE)
|
a |
aː |
i |
iː |
u |
uː |
oː |
eː |
ay/aːy |
aw/aːw |
|
a |
/gāˈlâ/: /gaˈlâ/[24] |
/ˌʾil/: /ʾal/[25] |
/qaˈṣar/: /qaˈṣῑr/[26] |
/qaˈtal/: /quˈtal/[27] |
/ˌcūl/: |
/ˌʾab/: |
|
|
|
|
|
aː |
/ˌbin/: /ˌbān/[30] |
/sūˈsâ/: /sūˈsῑ/[31] |
/ˌtār/: |
/qaˈtalâ/: /qaˈtalū/[33] |
/sūˈsâ/: /sūˈsō/[34] |
|
/sūˈsâ/: /sūˈsay/[35] |
/sūˈsâ/: /sūˈsâw/[36] |
|
|
|
i |
/ˌbin/: /ˌbῑn/[37] |
|
|
/*kaˈbōd/: /kaˈbid/[38] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
iː |
|
/ˈqūmῑ/: /ˈqūmū/[39] |
/sūˈsῑ/: /sūˈsō/[40] |
/yirˈṣê/: /yirˈṣū/[41] |
/sūˈsiː/: /sūˈsay/[42] |
/sūˈsῑ/: /sūˈsāw/[43] |
|
|
|
|
|
u |
*/muˈtῑ/: /mūˈtῑ/[44] |
/yaˈkōl/: /yaˈkul/[45] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
uː |
/ˈqōm/: /ˈqūm/[46] |
/raˈṣê/: /raˈṣū/[47] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
oː |
/raˈṣō/: /raˈṣê/[48] |
/sūˈsô/: /sūˈsay/[49] |
/sūˈsô/: /sūˈsâw/[50] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
eː |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ay/aːy |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
aw/aːw |
|
Box
17 - Distinctive Features of TH Vowels |
|
The .. (TH) vowel system is primarily quality-sensitive, arranged in a four-tier structure of vowel height. The upper three tiers contain pairs of vowels, internally differentiated by backness and labiality. On the lowest tier lies the nonlabial, back [ɑ]. i u e o ɛ ɔ ɑ Each vowel sign represents
a unique vowel quality. This system also accommodates
vowel length. Yet since length is not intrinsic to any one vowel, this
feature must be uncovered by grammatical investigation. Whereas vowel quality
is overt in ... (TH), vowel quantity is covert (GKB §10d ). Quoted from Garr 1991 §10. See - |
Table 20
Vowel System Tiberian
Hebrew (TH)
[51]
1.
Full Vowels
(See Were there Long
and short vowels in TH and, if so, were they Phonemic?)
|
Tiberian Vowel
Sign |
Traditional
Name |
/TH/+ |
|
|
|
Short Vowel |
||||
|
בָּ |
å (IPA [ɔ]) |
|
åː (IPA
[ɔː]) |
|
|
כָּל־ |
Qāmeṣ ḥāṭûp/ qāmeṣ qāṭān |
ǫ (IPA [ɔ]) |
ǫ (IPA [ɔ]) |
|
|
בַּ |
a (IPA [ɐ]) |
a (IPA [ɐ]) |
||
|
בֶּ |
Sĕgōl |
Ɛ (IPA [ɛ]) |
ɛ (IPA [ɛ]) |
|
|
בֶּי,
בֶּה, בֶּא |
Sĕgōl mālê |
|
||
|
בֵּ |
Ṣērê |
ẹ (IPA [e]) |
|
|
|
בֵּי,
בֵּה, בֵּא |
Ṣērê mālê |
|
||
|
בִּ |
Ḥîreq |
i (IPA [i]) |
i (IPA [i]) |
|
|
בִּי |
Ḥîreq mālê |
|
|
|
|
בֹּ |
Ḥōlem |
o (IPA [o]) |
|
|
|
בּוֹ |
Ḥōlem mālê |
|
||
|
בֻּ |
u (IPA [u]) |
u (IPA [u]) |
|
|
|
בּוּ |
Šûreq |
|
||
2. Šwa and Ḥaṭep
or Ḥaṭaf Vowels
(See What are the Šwa and Ḥatef Vowels and How
were they Pronounced?)
|
Tiberian Vowel
Sign |
Traditional
Name |
/TH/+ |
*[TH] |
|
בְּ |
Mobile or Vocal Šwa |
ә |
ә |
|
בְּ |
Silent or Quiescent Šwa |
∅ |
∅ |
|
בֲּ |
Ḥaṭep-pataḥ |
ă |
ă |
|
בֱּ |
Ḥaṭep-sĕgōl |
ɛ̆ |
ɛ̆ |
|
בֳּ |
Ḥaṭep-qāmeṣ |
ɔ̌ |
ɔ̌ |
|
Table 21 - Tiberian Vowels of the Same
Quality often Have Diverse Origins |
||||
|
*/PH/ (c. 1200 BCE) |
(c. 850-550 BCE) |
(c. 400 CE) |
(c. 850 CE) |
(present) |
|
/baytu/
> /bayt/ |
/ˌbayt/
'house of' [EBHisr] [ˌbệt] |
/ˌbệt/ |
בֵּית /ˌbẹt/
[ˌbẹːt] |
[ˌbɛt] |
|
/ˈʾilu/ |
/ˈʾeːl/ [ˈʔẹːl] “god” |
/ˈʾeːl/ |
אֵל /ˈʾẹl/ [ˈʔẹːl] |
[ˈɛl] |
|
/qitˈtilu/ |
/qitˈteːl/ (adjectives
of infirmities) e.g. |
|||
|
/ʾilˈlimu/ |
/ʾilˈleːm/ [ʔɪlˈlẹːm] "deaf" |
/ʾilˈleːm/ |
אִלֵּם /ʾilˈlẹm/ [ʔilˈlẹːm] |
[iˈlɛm] |
|
/ciwˈwiru/ |
/ciwˈweːr/ [cɪwˈwẹːɾ] "blind" |
/ciwˈweːr/ |
עִוֵּר /ciwˈwẹr/ |
[iˈvɛʁ̞] |
|
|
(marker of
direct)
object |
/’et/ |
אֵת |
[ɛt] |
|
/mawt/ |
/ˌmawt/
[ˌmɐwt]? [ˌmo̞wt]?
“death of” |
/ˌmôt/ |
מוֹת /ˌmot/ [ˌmoːθ] |
[ˌmot] |
|
/gaˈdālu/[55] |
/gaˈdōl/ [gɐˈdoːl] (qal
inf. abs..) 'becoming great' |
/gaːˈdōl/ |
גָּדוֹל[56] /gåˈdol/ |
[gaˈdol] |
|
/ˈgadulu/ |
/gaˈdoːl/ [gɐˈdoːl] (adj.) “great” |
/gaːˈdoːl/ |
גָּדוֹל /gåˈdol/ |
[gaˈdol] |
Box 18
Vowel
System Modern Israeli Hebrew (IH)[57]
|
“The five vowels are close to cardinal
vowels in pronunciation: i, e, a, o, u. There
is no phonetic contrast between long and short (or tense verses lax) vowels
in Modern Hebrew…. There are three diphthongs,
uy, oy,
ay created
by a nonfront vowel followed by a front offglide, only in word-final
position, e.g. kanuy ‘bought’,
goy ‘gentile’, elay ‘to
me’. Quoted from Modern Hebrew by
Ruth A. Berman in Hetzron 1997. Though it would more accurate to
transcribe /IH/
/a/ as [ɐ]
etc. the exact pronunciation of [IH] is
not germane to our topic and would add needless complications. Thus I will generally
use the following, admittedly imprecise, [IH] transcriptions of vowels - [i, ɛ,
a, o, u]. We can assume that IH vowels are
longer than the short vowels of Ancient
Hebrew but much
shorter than Ancient
Hebrew's long vowels. |
d.2 Conventional Scholarly Transcription of the TH
Vowel System (THCST)
As Joϋon-Muraoka
1991[58] correctly observes there are a "...
bewilderingly large number of transliteration methods...." However,
generally the transcription systems used in biblical scholarship follow -
(t)he accepted rules of Hebrew grammar,
including the current Sephardic pronunciation ... (as) laid down in medieval
1. The traditional Sephardic pronunciation of the
vowels (inherited, as it seems, from the old Palestinian system) was
perpetuated. Their failure to fit the
Tiberian notation was rationalized by the theory that the distinctions between
Tiberian symbols represented differences of length rather than quality: thus patach
was short a, qamatz was long a, segol was short e and tzere was long e.
2. The theory of long and short vowels was also
used to adapt Hebrew to the rules of Arabic poetic metre. For example, in
Arabic (and Persian) poetry, when a long vowel occurs in a closed syllable an
extra (short) syllable is treated as present for metrical purposes, though not
represented in pronunciation. Similarly in Sephardic Hebrew a sheva
following a syllable with a long vowel is invariably treated as vocal. (In
Tiberian Hebrew this is only true when the long vowel is marked with meteg.).[59]
A widely used standard in this tradition is The Society
of Biblical Literature (SBL) Academic Translation Style (THSBL)[60]. Under this system the following transliterations are
prescribed -
|
Tiberian Vowel
Sign |
Name |
SBL Academic
Translation Style[61] |
||
|
Half-Vowel |
Short Vowel |
Long Vowel |
||
|
i vowels |
||||
|
בִּ |
short ḥîreq |
|
i |
|
|
בִּ |
long ḥîreq |
|
|
ῑ |
|
בִּי |
ḥîreq yôd |
|
|
Î[62] |
|
e vowels |
||||
|
בֱּ בְּ |
ĕ |
|
|
|
|
בֶּ |
sĕgōl |
|
e |
|
|
בֶּי |
sĕgōl yôd |
|
|
ê
|
|
בֵּ |
ṣērê |
|
|
ē |
|
בֵּי |
ṣērê yôd |
|
|
ê |
|
a vowels |
||||
|
ḥatep
pataḥ |
ă |
|
|
|
|
בַּ |
pataḥ |
|
a |
|
|
בַּח, בַּע |
furtive pataḥ |
|
a |
|
|
בָּ |
qāmeṣ gādôl |
|
|
ā |
|
בָּה |
final qāmeṣ hê |
|
|
â |
|
ָיו |
3d ms. suffix |
|
|
āyw |
|
o vowels |
||||
|
בֳּ |
ḥatep
qāmeṣ |
ɔ̆ |
|
|
|
כָּל־ |
qāmeṣ ḥāṭûp/ qāmeṣ qāṭān |
|
ɔ |
|
|
בֹּ |
ḥōlem |
|
|
ō |
|
בּוֹ |
full ḥōlem |
|
|
ô |
|
בֻּ |
short qibbuṣ |
|
u |
|
|
בֻּ |
long qibbuṣ |
|
|
ū |
|
בּוּ |
šûreq |
|
|
û |
There are plusses and minuses
inherent in the use of the SPL, or similar THCST,
system. The following examples are based on illustrations using the SPL
notation for THCST -
1. It is claimed to be
"...fully reversible: that is, the
system allows the reader to reproduce the Hebrew characters exactly
(consonants and vowels). However this is only true if the scholar is fully
conversant with the detailed grammatical rules and eccentricities of TH. For
example:
-
whereas dāgēš forte
is indicated by doubling the consonant, a euphonic dāgēš[63]
is not doubled
in the SBL system;
-
both sĕgōl yôd and ṣērê yôd are transliterated as êy.
2. It highlights the fact that vowel length was phonologically
distinct, and audibly important in Ancient
Hebrew as it is in most forms of
Arabic. This
is even more important if scholars actually pronounce, and hear in their mind,
long vowels pronounced with at least twice the duration of short vowels (i.e.
do not use modern
Hebrew pronunciations which ignore historic vowel length). However, the distribution of long and short vowels produced
mostly reflect the reconstructed reality of /PTH/+ which was systemically different
from the /EBHP/
system of over a millennium earlier and the /TH/+ system of half a millennium later.
3. It provides a, more or less, common code for scholars.
Disadvantages:
1. As a proxy
for EBH:
·
The long vowels ofTHCST include many vowels lengthened after the extinction of Hebrew as a
spoken language. Put another way,
many vowels which are long in THCST were short in EBH and LBH e.g.
'word' /EBH/ */daˈbaːr/;
TH
דָּבָר;THCST dābār;
· Many short vowels in EBH and LBH have been reduced to ultra short vowels in THCST e.g. 'word of' /EBH/ */ˌdạbar/; TH דְ”
