Ver. 17.0

June 22, 2010

 

 

 

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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 Hebrew[1]

(part 2)

d. Vowel Phonemes

d.1 Diachronic Development of the Biblical Hebrew Vowel System

 

Table 16

Proto-Semitic to Tiberian Hebrew

Vowel Phonemes[2] with Probable and Possible Allophones

PS[3]

*/PS/

(c. 3000 BCE)

*PH

(c. 1200 BCE)

EBHP

*/EBHP/+ *[EBHP]

(c. 850-550 BCE)

PTH

*/PTH/+ *[PTH]

(c. 400 CE)

TH

/TH/+ *[TH]

(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/

[i] [ɪ] [ẹ]

ῑ /iː/

/i/

[i] [ɪ] [ẹ]

ῑ, î /iː/

/i/

[i] [ɪ] [ẹ/ɛ]

ῑ, î /iː/
[iː]

/ә/[4]

[ĭ], [ă], [ĕ], [ŏ], [ŭ]

/i/

[i] [ɪ]

ῑ, î /iː/

/i/

ḥîreq

/ә/

[ɐ̆] [ɛ̆] [ĕ] [ĭ] [ɔ̆] [ŏ] [ŭ]

 

[i]

[iː]

ē /eː/[5]

ē ę
eː
/eː/

[ẹː][ɛː]

/e/

[ẹ] [ɛ]

ē, ę
/eː/

[ẹː][ɛː]

/ẹ/

Ṣērę

[ɛ]

[ẹː]

/a/

[ɛ], [a] [ɐ] [ɔ]?

[ɔ̝]?

ā /aː/ [aː],
[ɐː]

/a/

[ɛ], [a] [ɐ] [ɔ]? [ɔ̝]?

/a/

[ɛ] [a] [ɐ] [ɔ]? [ɔ̝]?

/ɛ/[6]

Sĕgōl

[ɛː]

ā /aː/?

[aː]
[ɐː]

â, ā?, aː /aː/

[aː],
[ɐː]

/a/

[a] [ɐ] [ɔ]? [ɔ̝]?

/aː/

[aː]
[ɐː]

/a/

Pataḥ

[ɐ]

[ɐː]

ĺ, ɔ /ɔ/[7]

Qāmeṣ

[ɔ]

[ɔː]

/u/

[o̞]? [o] [ʊ] [u]

ū /u:/

/u/

[o̞]? [o] [ʊ] [u]

ō /oː/

/u/

[o̞] [o] [ʊ] [u]

ō, ô, oː
/oː/[8] [oː]

/o/

[o̞] [o]

ō, ô
/oː/

/o/

Ḥōlem

[oː]

ū ű /u:/

ū, ű /u:/

/u/

[ʊ] [u]

ū, ű /u:/

/u/

Qibbuṣ-Šűreq

[u]

[u:]

Šwa and Ḥatef Vowels

Note - probable allophones are unmarked; possible allophones are marked with "?"

Box 14

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.

 

"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 17

Long Vowels in EBHP by Origin

 

Irreducible Long Vowels

 

Long

Vowel

Primitive Long Vowel

Vowel Lengthened Through Contraction

Vowel Lengthened Through Stress

Homogeneous Diphthong Contraction

Heterogeneous Diphthong Contraction

[iː]

ῑ

íwy >úːy >íyy >î [íː] e.g

e.g. */ˈkiwyu/ > */ˈkűy/ > */ˈkiyy/ > */ˈkiy/ > /ˈkî/
(TH כִּי) 'burning'

 

íy > î [íː]  e.g

e.g. */ˈyíybašu/ > */ˈyîbašu/ > /yîˈbaš/
(TH יִיבַשׁ) 'it will be dry'.

 

Word-final iy > î  e.g

*/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/ >
/wayˈyîśim/
(TH  וַיִּשֶֺם ) 'he put'.

 

 

[eː]

TH מֵת - see next column.

Word-final áyu > ę [éː] e.g.

*/šamōˈnayu/ (PH) → (/EBHP/+) */šạmōˈnę/ >  (TH) /šmōˈnę/

 

Word-final íyu > ę [éː] e.g.

*/bāˈniyu/ → */bōˈnę/ ('building' qal a.p. ms.)

 

מת (TH מֵת) 'dead' (adj.) - the origin of the long eː is unclear i.e. it might have been */ˈmęt/ 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 */ˈmęt/

 

*qiʾl >* qệl > qʾệl

Unstressed diphthong contracts ay > ę [eː] e.g.

*/bayt/ > /bęt/

(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
*/ˈqaːm/ for the 3ms. SC.

 

*/ˈyadu/ > */ˈyaːd/

(TH יָד)  'hand'

[oː]

ō (ō < ā) e.g.

/ˈqāṭilu/ (PNWS) → /qōˈṭeːl/ (/EBHP/+)

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 > ű
e.g. /ˈhúwšabtima/ → /hűšabˈtim/ e.g

(TH הושַבְתֶּם) 'you were made to dwell'

 

íw > ű  e.g.

/ˈyíwkalu/ > /ˈyűkalu/ → /yűˈkal/

(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 18

Shifts in Proto-Semitic Vowels as Hebrew Developed

Nb. form in [square brackets] is a reconstructed pronunciation of the preceding /phonemic/ form where likely alternatives exist

PS

*/PS/

(c. 3000 BCE)

EBHP

*/EBHP/

(c. 850-550 BCE)

*PH

(c. 1200 BCE)

EBHP

*/EBHP/+ *[EBHP] [20]

(c. 850-550 BCE)

PTH

*/PTH/+ *[PTH]

(c. 400 CE)

TH

/TH/+ *[TH]

(c. 850 CE)

IH

[IH]

(present)

/a/

a

a - /šaˈlaːmu/

“peace”

a - /šaˈlōm/
[ʃɐˈloːm]

/aː/ - /šaːˈlōm/

/ĺ/ -  שָׁלוֹם
/šĺˈlom/
[ʃɔːˈloːm]

a - [ʃaˈlom]

a

a - /qaˈtalat/ “she killed”

/aː/ - /qaˈtạlâ/
[qɐˈtɐ̣lɐˑ]

/aː/ - /qaˈtalaː/ >

/qaːˈtalaː/ >

/qaːtәˈlaː/

/ĺ/ - קָטְלָה

/qĺṭәˈlĺ/

[qɔːṭәˈlɔː]

a - [katˈla]

a-a

a - /ˈdabaru/

a - /daˈbaːr/

[dɐˈbaːɾ]

/aː/ː - /daːˈbaːr/

/ĺ/ -  דָּבָר

/dĺˈbĺr/ [dɔːˈvɔːɾ]

a - [daˈvaʁ̞]

a

a - /ˈqatalat/

“she killed”

a - /qaˈtạlâ/
[qɐˈtɐ̣lɐˑ]

/ә/ - /qaˈtalâ/ >

/qaːˈtalâ/ >

/qaːtәˈlaː/

/ә/ - קָטְלָה

/qĺṭәˈlĺ/
[qɔːṭәˈlɔː]

∅ - [katˈla]

a

a - /ˈkattaba/

piel SC 3ms.

i - /kitˈtib/

[kɪtˈtɪb]

i - /kitˈtẹb/

i - כִּתֵּב

/kitˈtẹb/ [kitˈtẹːv]

i - [kiˈtɛv]

i

a - /ˈkattaba/

piel perf. 3ms.

i - /kitˈtib/

[kɪtˈtɪb]

e - כִּתֵּב

/kitˈteb/

ẹ - כִּתֵּב

/kitˈtẹb/ [kitˈtẹːv]

ɛ - [kiˈtɛv]

 

a

particle attached to the direct object

a-/ˌʾat/

[ˌʔɐt] or [ˌʔɛt]

e - /ˌʾat/ > /ˌʾet/

ẹ - אֵת /ˌʾẹt/ [ˌʔẹːθ]

 [ɛt] or [t]

a

a-/ˌʾat/

[ˌʔɐt] or [ˌʔɛt]

e - /ʾat/ > /ʾet/

ɛ - אֶת־ /ʾɛt/ [ˌʔɛθ]

/aː/

/oː/

/aː/ -

/šaˈlaːmu/

“peace”

/oː/ -

/šaˈloːm/

[ʃɐˈloːm]  

/oː/ -

/šaːˈlōm/

/oː/  שָׁלוֹם

/šĺˈlom/

[ʃɔːˈloːm]

a - [ʃaˈlom]

ō

/aː/ - /ˈṭābu/ “good”

/ō/ - /ˈṭōb/
[ˈtob]

/ō/ - /ˈṭōb/

/o/ - /ˈṭob/  טוֹב

[ˈṭoːv]

o - [ˈtov]

/i/

i

/i/ - /ṣiˈrāru/

“bag”

/i/ - /ṣiˈrōr/

[ṣɪˈɾoːɾ]

ә - /ṣәˈrōr/

ә - צְרוֹר
/ṣәˈror/ [ṣәˈɾoːɾ]

∅ - [tsˈʁ̞oʁ̞]

i

/i/ - /ˈsiprahu/

“his book”

/i/ - /sipˈrahu/ >

/sipˈrô(h)/

[sɪpˈɾoːh]

/i/ - /sipˈrô/

/i/ - סִפרוֹ
/sipˈro/ [sifˈɾoː]

 

i - [sifˈʁ̞o]

i

/i/ - /i/
/qitˈtil/ adjectives of infirmities

/i/ - /i/ - /ʾilˈleːm/

[ʔɪlˈlẹːm] "deaf"

i -e -  /ʾilˈleːm/

i - ẹ - אִלֵּם

/ʾilˈlẹm/ [ʔilˈlẹːm]

i - ɛ -  [iˈlɛm]

 

/ciwˈweːr/
[cɪwˈwẹːɾ]
"blind"

/ciwˈweːr/

עִוֵּר

/ciwˈwẹr/
[ciwˈwẹːɾ]

[iˈvɛʁ̞]

i

i - /ˈʾāsiru/

 qal a.p.

“one who ties”

ˈi - /’ōˈseːr/

[’oːˈsẹːɾ]

ˈe - /’ōˈseːr/

ˈẹ - אֹסֵר

/’oˈsẹr/ [’oːˈsẹːɾ]

ɛ -- [oˈsɛʁ̞]

i

/i/ - /ˈʾilu/

“god”

i - /ˈʾeːl/
[ˈʔẹːl]

e - /ˈʾeːl/

ẹ - אֵל

/ˈʾẹl/ [ˈʔẹːl]

ɛ - [ˈɛl]

/ī/

 

/iː/ - /’aˈsīru/

“prisoner”

/iː/ - /’aˈsiːr/
[’ɐˈsiːɾ]

iː - /’aːˈsiːr/

ˈi - אָסִיר

/’ĺˈsir/ [’ɔːˈsiːɾ]

ˈi - [aˈsiʁ̞]

 

/iː/ - /ˈmīnu/

“kind, variety”

ˈī - /ˈmīn/

[ˈmiːn]

iː - /ˈmīn/

ˈi - מִין

/ˈmin/ [ˈmiːn]

ˈi - [ˈmin]

/u/