bhbe 1: writing and pronouncing hebrew
TRANSCRIPT
TECHNICAL NOTE In this lesson, the names of Hebrew consonants, vowels, and other marks are spelled as they sound to English speakers, not according to their traditional spellings.
Let’s start with the Hebrew consonants.
In the examples that follow, the /ah/ sound comes from the vowel (the line under the letter), not from the consonant.
Let’s turn now to the Hebrew vowels.
In the examples that follow, the /b/ sound comes from the consonant ב, not from the vowel.
The final mark introduced here is not exactly a vowel, but that’s the closest category we have in English.
בית =בWhen it has a dagesh (dot) inside, beyt sounds like the b in bravo.
Without the dagesh, it sounds like the v in victor.
דלת =דDahlet sounds like the d in delta.
You need not try to pronounce ד and ד differently (though some charts and textbooks advise pronouncing ד like the th in then).
חית =חKheyt is a voiceless pharyngeal fricative. Act like you’re making the sound of h in hotel, but make the sound way back in your pharynx rather than in your mouth, without vibrating your vocal cords. Charts and textbooks often compare the sound to the ch in Bach, but it’s airier than that.
כף =כWhen it has a dahgesh inside, kaf sounds like the k in kilo.
Without the dahgesh, it sounds airier, almost the same as the letter ח.
At the end of a word, כ changes its shape to ך.
עין =עʕahyin is a voiced pharyngeal fricative. Charts and textbooks usually advise beginning students to treat it as silent. It’s really closer to an almost inaudible g as in golf, made way back in the throat.
FUN FACT When Jews in the Hellenistic era translated biblical texts from Hebrew to Greek, they represented the ע sound as γ in proper nouns.
פא =פWhen it has a dahgesh inside, pey sounds like the p in papa.
Without the dahgesh, it sounds like the f in foxtrot.
At the end of a word, פ changes its shape to ף.
ריש =רCharts and textbooks usually advise beginners to pronounce reysh like the r in Romeo. Modern Israeli speakers trill the sound at the back of the tongue; it almost sounds like gargling.
תו =תTahv sounds like the t in tango.
(Yes, that’s the same sound as ט.)
You need not pronounce ת and ת differently (though some charts and textbooks advise pronouncing .(like the th in think ת
Kahmeyts sounds like the a in father.
(Yes, it sounds just like pahtahkh.)
Kahmeyts is sometimes combined with ה at the end of a word, with no change in sound.
קמץ ◌=
Pahtahkh and kahmeyts sometimes combine with י, which makes either one sound like the English word eye.
Segohl sounds like the e in egg.
Segohl is sometimes combined with י, which makes it sound like the ey in they.
סגול ◌=
Tseyrey sounds like the ey in they.
Tseyrey is sometimes combined with י, with no change in sound.
צרי ◌=
Kheereq sounds like the ee in bee.
Kheereq is sometimes combined with י, with no change in sound.
חירק ◌=
Kahmeyts-khatoof sounds like the word oh.
Kahmeyts-khatoof looks exactly like kahmeyts. For best results, assume this symbol represents kahmeyts, and learn by example when it represents kahmetys-khatoof.
קמץ־חטוף ◌=
Khohlem sounds like the word oh.
Khohlem is sometimes combined with ו, appearing as ו, with no change in sound.
חולם ◌=
Khateyf-pahtahkh sounds like the a in arise. It’s the same sound as pahtahkh, but said more quickly and never stressed.
חטף־פתח ◌=
Khateyf-kahmeyts sounds like the o in omit. It’s the same sound as kameyts-khatoof, but said more quickly and never stressed.
חטף־קמץ ◌=
Khateyf-segohl sounds like the e in excuse. It’s the same sound as segohl, but said more quickly and never stressed.
חטף־סגול ◌=
A sheva at the beginning of a word or the second of two consecutive shevas is called sheva naʕ or “moving sheva.” It sounds just like khateyf-segohl.
שוא נע ◌◌= ◌◌
TIP Listen to the audio Hebrew Bible available at www.aoal.org/hebrew_audiobible.htm to get used to the sounds of Hebrew words.