Английская Википедия:Hebrew alphabet

Материал из Онлайн справочника
Перейти к навигацииПерейти к поиску

Шаблон:Short description Шаблон:About Шаблон:Use dmy dates Шаблон:Infobox writing system Шаблон:Contains special characters Шаблон:Alphabet

The Hebrew alphabet (Шаблон:Lang-he,Шаблон:Ref label Шаблон:Transliteration), known variously by scholars as the Ktav Ashuri, Jewish script, square script and block script, is traditionally an abjad script used in the writing of the Hebrew language and other Jewish languages, most notably Yiddish, Ladino, Judeo-Arabic, and Judeo-Persian. In modern Hebrew, vowels are increasingly introduced. It is also used informally in Israel to write Levantine Arabic, especially among Druze.[1][2][3] It is an offshoot of the Imperial Aramaic alphabet, which flourished during the Achaemenid Empire and which itself derives from the Phoenician alphabet.

Historically, two separate abjad scripts have been used to write Hebrew. The original, old Hebrew script, known as the paleo-Hebrew alphabet, has been largely preserved in a variant form as the Samaritan alphabet. The present "Jewish script" or "square script", on the contrary, is a stylized form of the Aramaic alphabet and was technically known by Jewish sages as Ashurit (lit. "Assyrian script"), since its origins were alleged to be from Assyria.[4]

Various "styles" (in current terms, "fonts") of representation of the Jewish script letters described in this article also exist, including a variety of cursive Hebrew styles. In the remainder of this article, the term "Hebrew alphabet" refers to the square script unless otherwise indicated.

The Hebrew alphabet has 22 letters. It does not have case. Five letters have different forms when used at the end of a word. Hebrew is written from right to left. Originally, the alphabet was an abjad consisting only of consonants, but is now considered an "impure abjad". As with other abjads, such as the Arabic alphabet, during its centuries-long use scribes devised means of indicating vowel sounds by separate vowel points, known in Hebrew as niqqud. In both biblical and rabbinic Hebrew, the letters Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang can also function as matres lectionis, which is when certain consonants are used to indicate vowels. There is a trend in Modern Hebrew towards the use of matres lectionis to indicate vowels that have traditionally gone unwritten, a practice known as "full spelling".

The Yiddish alphabet, a modified version of the Hebrew alphabet used to write Yiddish, is a true alphabet, with all vowels rendered in the spelling, except in the case of inherited Hebrew words, which typically retain their Hebrew consonant-only spellings.

The Arabic and Hebrew alphabets have similarities because they are both derived from the Aramaic alphabet, which in turn derives either from paleo-Hebrew or the Phoenician alphabet, both being slight regional variations of the Proto-Canaanite alphabet used in ancient times to write the various Canaanite languages (including Hebrew, Moabite, Phoenician, Punic, et cetera).

History

Файл:Paleo-Hebrew abjad.svg
Paleo-Hebrew alphabet containing 22 letters, period, geresh, and gershayim
Файл:Aleppo Codex Joshua 1 1.jpg
The Aleppo Codex, a tenth century Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible. Book of Joshua 1:1

Шаблон:Main The Canaanite dialects were largely indistinguishable before around 1000 BCE.[5] An example of related early Semitic inscriptions from the area include the tenth-century Gezer calendar over which scholars are divided as to whether its language is Hebrew or Phoenician and whether the script is Proto-Canaanite or paleo-Hebrew.[6][7][8][9][10][11]

A Hebrew variant of the Proto-Canaanite alphabet, called the paleo-Hebrew alphabet by scholars, began to emerge around 800 BCE.[12] An example is the Siloam inscription (Шаблон:Circa).[13]

The paleo-Hebrew alphabet was used in the ancient kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Following the exile of the Kingdom of Judah in the 6th century BCE (the Babylonian captivity), Jews began using a form of the Imperial Aramaic alphabet, another offshoot of the same family of scripts, which flourished during the Achaemenid Empire. The Samaritans, who remained in the Land of Israel, continued to use the paleo-Hebrew alphabet. During the 3rd century BCE, Jews began to use a stylized, "square" form of the Aramaic alphabet that was used by the Persian Empire (and which in turn had been adopted from the Assyrians),[14] while the Samaritans continued to use a form of the paleo-Hebrew script called the Samaritan alphabet. After the fall of the Persian Empire in 330 BCE, Jews used both scripts before settling on the square Assyrian form.

The square Hebrew alphabet was later adapted and used for writing languages of the Jewish diaspora – such as Karaim, the Judeo-Arabic languages, Judaeo-Spanish, and Yiddish. The Hebrew alphabet continued in use for scholarly writing in Hebrew and came again into everyday use with the rebirth of the Hebrew language as a spoken language in the 18th and 19th centuries, especially in Israel.

Description

Шаблон:Hebrew alphabet navigation

General

In the traditional form, the Hebrew alphabet is an abjad consisting only of consonants, written from right to left. It has 22 letters, five of which use different forms at the end of a word.

Vowels

In the traditional form, vowels are indicated by the weak consonants Aleph (Шаблон:Script/Hebrew), He (Шаблон:Script/Hebrew), Waw/Vav (Шаблон:Script/Hebrew), or Yodh (Шаблон:Script/Hebrew) serving as vowel letters, or matres lectionis: the letter is combined with a previous vowel and becomes silent, or by imitation of such cases in the spelling of other forms. Also, a system of vowel points to indicate vowels (diacritics), called niqqud, was developed. In modern forms of the alphabet, as in the case of Yiddish and to some extent Modern Hebrew, vowels may be indicated. Today, the trend is toward full spelling with the weak letters acting as true vowels.

When used to write Yiddish, vowels are indicated, using certain letters, either with niqqud diacritics (e.g. Шаблон:Script/Hebrew or Шаблон:Script/Hebrew) or without (e.g. Шаблон:Script/Hebrew or Шаблон:Script/Hebrew), except for Hebrew words, which in Yiddish are written in their Hebrew spelling.

To preserve the proper vowel sounds, scholars developed several different sets of vocalization and diacritical symbols called nequdot (Шаблон:Script/Hebrew, literally "points"). One of these, the Tiberian system, eventually prevailed. Aaron ben Moses ben Asher, and his family for several generations, are credited for refining and maintaining the system. These points are normally used only for special purposes, such as Biblical books intended for study, in poetry or when teaching the language to children. The Tiberian system also includes a set of cantillation marks, called trope or Шаблон:Transliteration, used to indicate how scriptural passages should be chanted in synagogue recitations of scripture (although these marks do not appear in the scrolls). In everyday writing of modern Hebrew, niqqud are absent; however, patterns of how words are derived from Hebrew roots (called shorashim or "triliterals") allow Hebrew speakers to determine the vowel-structure of a given word from its consonants based on the word's context and part of speech.

Alphabet

Unlike the Paleo-Hebrew writing script, the modern Ashuri script has five letters that have special final forms,Шаблон:Ref label called sofit (Шаблон:Lang-he, meaning in this context "final" or "ending") form, used only at the end of a word, somewhat as in the Greek or in the Arabic and Mandaic alphabets.Шаблон:Ref label These are shown below the normal form in the following table (letter names are Unicode standard[15][16]). Although Hebrew is read and written from right to left, the following table shows the letters in order from left to right:

Alef Gimel Dalet Zayin Chet Tet Yod Kaf
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:Script/Hebrew
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew
Lamed Mem Samech Ayin Tsadi Qof Resh Tav
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:Script/Hebrew
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:Script/Hebrew

Pronunciation

Alphabet

Шаблон:Main The descriptions that follow are based on the pronunciation of modern standard Israeli Hebrew.

letter IPA Name of letter Pronunciation
Unicode[15][16] Hebrew[17] Modern Hebrew
pronunciation
Yiddish / Ashkenazi
pronunciation
Sephardi

pronunciation

Approximate western European equivalent[18]
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink, Шаблон:IPAblink Alef Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA When ʔ, as in button [ˈbʌʔn̩] or clipboard [ˌklɪʔ⁠ˈbɔɹd]
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Bet Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA, Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA b as in black
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA, Шаблон:IPA /vɛt/ v as in vogue
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Gimel Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA /ˈɡimɛl/ g as in gourd
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew [ɣ] Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPA gh as in Arabic ghoul
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Dalet Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPA, Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA, Шаблон:IPA /ˈdalɛt/ d as in doll
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:Script/Hebrew /ðalεt/ th as in that
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink He Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPA, Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA h as in hold
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Vav Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA /vav/ v as in vogue
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Zayin Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPA, Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA z as in zoo
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew [χ] Chet Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA /ħɛt/ ch as in Bach
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Tet Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA /tɛt/ t as in tool
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Yod Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPA, Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA y as in yolk
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Kaf Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA /kaf/ k as in king
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA ch as in bach
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA k as in king
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink~Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA /χaf sofit/ ch as in bach
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Lamed Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA l as in luck
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Mem Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA m as in mother
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Nun Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA /nun/ n as in night
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA n as in night
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Samekh ְШаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA s as in sight
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink~Шаблон:IPAblink, Шаблон:IPAblink Ayin Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPA, Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA /ajin/ When ʔ, as in button [ˈbʌʔn̩] or clipboard [ˌklɪʔ⁠ˈbɔɹd]. When ʕ, no English equivalent.
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Pe Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPA, Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA p as in pool
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPA, Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA /fe/ f as in full
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPA, Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA p as in pool
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPA, Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA f as in full
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Tsadi Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA, Шаблон:IPA /ˈtsadik/ ts as in cats
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA, Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Qof Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPA, Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA k as in king
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Resh Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA r as in French "r"
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Shin Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA sh as in shop
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA /sin/ s as in sight
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Tav Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPA, Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA, Шаблон:IPA /tav/ t as in tool
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPA, Шаблон:IPA /θav/ th as in thin

By analogy with the other dotted/dotless pairs, dotless tav, ת, would be expected to be pronounced /θ/ (voiceless dental fricative), and dotless dalet ד as /ð/ (voiced dental fricative), but these were lost among most Jews due to these sounds not existing in the countries where they lived (such as in nearly all of Eastern Europe). Yiddish modified /θ/ to /s/ (cf. seseo in Spanish), but in modern Israeli Hebrew, it is simply pronounced /t/. Likewise, historical /ð/ is simply pronounced /d/.

Shin and sin

Шаблон:Further

Shin and sin are represented by the same letter, Шаблон:Script/Hebrew, but are two separate phonemes. When vowel diacritics are used, the two phonemes are differentiated with a shin-dot or sin-dot; the shin-dot is above the upper-right side of the letter, and the sin-dot is above the upper-left side of the letter.

Symbol Name Transliteration IPA Example
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew (right dot) shin sh Шаблон:IPA shower
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew (left dot) sin s Шаблон:IPA sour

Historically, left-dot-sin corresponds to Proto-Semitic *Шаблон:Transliteration, which in biblical-Judaic-Hebrew corresponded to the voiceless alveolar lateral fricative Шаблон:IPA, as evidenced in the Greek transliteration of Hebrew words such as balsam (Шаблон:Script/Hebrew) (the ls – 'שׂ') as is evident in the Targum Onkelos.Шаблон:Citation needed

Dagesh

Шаблон:Main Historically, the consonants Шаблон:Script/Hebrew bet, Шаблон:Script/Hebrew gimmel, Шаблон:Script/Hebrew daleth, Шаблон:Script/Hebrew kaf, Шаблон:Script/Hebrew pe and Шаблон:Script/Hebrew tav each had two sounds: one hard (plosive), and one soft (fricative), depending on the position of the letter and other factors. When vowel diacritics are used, the hard sounds are indicated by a central dot called dagesh (Шаблон:Script/Hebrew), while the soft sounds lack a dagesh. In modern Hebrew, however, the dagesh only changes the pronunciation of Шаблон:Script/Hebrew bet, Шаблон:Script/Hebrew kaf, and Шаблон:Script/Hebrew pe, and does not affect the name of the letter. The differences are as follows:

Name With dagesh Without dagesh
Symbol Transliteration IPA Example Symbol Transliteration IPA Example
bet/vet Шаблон:Script/Hebrew b /b/ bun Шаблон:Script/Hebrew v, ḇ /v/ van
kaf [19]Шаблон:Script/Hebrew k /k/ kangaroo Шаблон:Script/Hebrew kh, ch, ḵ, x /χ/ loch
pe Шаблон:Script/Hebrew p /p/ pass Шаблон:Script/Hebrew f, p̄, ph /f/ find

In other dialects (mainly liturgical) there are variations from this pattern.

Sounds represented with diacritic geresh

Шаблон:Main

The sounds Шаблон:IPAblink, Шаблон:IPAblink, Шаблон:IPAblink, written ⟨Шаблон:Script/Hebrew⟩, ⟨Шаблон:Script/Hebrew⟩, ⟨Шаблон:Script/Hebrew⟩, and Шаблон:IPAblink, non-standardly sometimes transliterated ⟨Шаблон:Script/Hebrew⟩, are often found in slang and loanwords that are part of the everyday Hebrew colloquial vocabulary. The symbol resembling an apostrophe after the Hebrew letter modifies the pronunciation of the letter and is called a geresh.

Hebrew slang and loanwords
Name Symbol IPA Transliteration Example
Gimel with a geresh Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink ǧ[20] ǧáḥnun Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:Script/Hebrew
Zayin with a geresh Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink ž[20] koláž Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:Script/Hebrew
Tsadi with a geresh Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink č[20] čupár (treat) Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:Script/Hebrew
Vav with a geresh
or double Vav
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew or Шаблон:Script/Hebrew (non standard)Шаблон:Ref label Шаблон:IPAblink w awánta (boastful act) Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:Script/Hebrew

The pronunciation of the following letters can also be modified with the geresh diacritic. The represented sounds are however foreign to Hebrew phonology, i.e., these symbols mainly represent sounds in foreign words or names when transliterated with the Hebrew alphabet, and not loanwords.

Transliteration of non-native sounds
Name Symbol IPA Arabic letter Example Comment
Dalet with a geresh Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink [[Ḏāl|Шаблон:Transliteration]] (Шаблон:Lang)
Voiced th
Шаблон:Transliteration (Шаблон:Lang)‎ Шаблон:Script/Hebrew * Also used for English voiced th
* Often a simple Шаблон:Script/Hebrew is written.
Tav with a geresh Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink [[Ṯāʼ|Шаблон:Transliteration]] (Шаблон:Lang)
Voiceless th
Thurston Шаблон:Script/Hebrew
Chet with a geresh Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink [[Ḫāʾ|Шаблон:Transliteration]] (Шаблон:Script/Hebrew) Sheikh (Шаблон:Lang)‎ Шаблон:Lang * Unlike the other sounds in this table, the sound Шаблон:IPAblink represented by Шаблон:Script/Hebrew is indeed a native sound in Hebrew; the geresh is however used only when transliteration must distinguish between Шаблон:IPAblink and Шаблон:IPAblink, in which case Шаблон:Script/Hebrew transliterates the former and ח the latter, whereas in everyday usage ח without geresh is pronounced Шаблон:IPAblink only dialectically but Шаблон:IPAblink commonly.
Ayin with a geresh
or
Resh with a geresh
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew
or
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew
Шаблон:IPAblink [[Ġayn|Шаблон:Transliteration]] (Шаблон:Lang) Шаблон:Transliteration (Шаблон:Lang);
Шаблон:Transliteration (Шаблон:Lang)
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew
The guidelines specified by the Academy of the Hebrew Language prefer Resh with a geresh (Шаблон:Script/Hebrew); however, this guideline is not universally followed

Geresh is also used to denote an abbreviation consisting of a single Hebrew letter, while gershayim (a doubled geresh) are used to denote acronyms pronounced as a string of letters; geresh and gershayim are also used to denote Hebrew numerals consisting of a single Hebrew letter or of multiple Hebrew letters, respectively. Geresh is also the name of a cantillation mark used for Torah recitation, though its visual appearance and function are different in that context.

Identical pronunciation

In much of Israel's general population, especially where Ashkenazic pronunciation is prevalent, many letters have the same pronunciation. They are as follows:

Letters Transliteration Pronunciation (IPA)
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew
Alef*
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew
Ayin*
not
transliterated
Usually when in medial word position:
Шаблон:IPAslink
(separation of vowels in a hiatus)
When in initial or final word position, sometimes also in medial word position:
silent
alternatingly
ʼ Шаблон:IPAslink
(glottal plosive)
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew
Bet (without dagesh) Vet
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew
Vav
v Шаблон:IPAslink
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew
Chet*
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew
Kaf (without dagesh)
Khaf*
kh/ch/h Шаблон:IPAslink
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew
Tet
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew
Tav
t Шаблон:IPAslink
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew
Kaf (with dagesh)
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew
Qof
k Шаблон:IPAslink
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew
Samekh
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew
Sin (with left dot)
s Шаблон:IPAslink
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew
Tsadi*
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew
Tav-Samekh*
and Шаблон:Script/Hebrew
Tav-Sin*
ts/tz Шаблон:IPAslink
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew
Tsadi (with geresh)
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew
Tet-Shin*
and Шаблон:Script/Hebrew
Tav-Shin*
ch/tsh (chair) Шаблон:IPAslink

* Varyingly

Ancient Hebrew pronunciation

Some of the variations in sound mentioned above are due to a systematic feature of Ancient Hebrew. The six consonants Шаблон:IPA were pronounced differently depending on their position. These letters were also called BeGeD KeFeT letters Шаблон:IPAc-en. The full details are very complex; this summary omits some points. They were pronounced as plosives Шаблон:IPA at the beginning of a syllable, or when doubled. They were pronounced as fricatives Шаблон:IPA when preceded by a vowel (commonly indicated with a macron, ḇ ḡ ḏ ḵ p̄ ṯ). The plosive and double pronunciations were indicated by the dagesh. In Modern Hebrew the sounds ḏ and ḡ have reverted to Шаблон:IPA and Шаблон:IPA, respectively, and ṯ has become Шаблон:IPA, so only the remaining three consonants Шаблон:IPA show variation. Шаблон:Script/Hebrew resh may have also been a "doubled" letter, making the list BeGeD KePoReT. (Sefer Yetzirah, 4:1)

Regional and historical variation

The following table contains the pronunciation of the Hebrew letters in reconstructed historical forms and dialects using the International Phonetic Alphabet. The apostrophe-looking symbol after some letters is not a yud but a geresh. It is used for loanwords with non-native Hebrew sounds. The dot in the middle of some of the letters, called a "dagesh kal", also modifies the sounds of the letters ב, כ and פ in modern Hebrew (in some forms of Hebrew it modifies also the sounds of the letters ג, ד and/or ת; the "dagesh chazak" – orthographically indistinguishable from the "dagesh kal" – designates gemination, which today is realized only rarely – e.g. in biblical recitations or when using Arabic loanwords).

Symbol Pronunciation
Israeli Ashkenazi Sephardi Yemenite Reconstructed Arabic equivalent
Tiberian Mishnaic Biblical
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPA [ – ] Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:Script/Arabic / Шаблон:Script/Arabic
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:Script/Arabic
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:Script/Arabic
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:Script/Arabic
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:Script/Arabic
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:Script/Arabic
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:Script/Arabic
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:Script/Arabic
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:Script/Arabic
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA ? ? ? Шаблон:Script/Arabic
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA ? ? ? Шаблон:Script/Arabic
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:Script/Arabic
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:Script/Arabic
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA (1) Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA (2) Шаблон:IPA (3) Шаблон:Script/Arabic
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:Script/Arabic
ִШаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink ? ? ? Шаблон:Script/Arabic
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:Script/Arabic
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:Script/Arabic
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:Script/Arabic
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:Script/Arabic
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:Script/Arabic
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:Script/Arabic / Шаблон:Script/ArabicШаблон:Efn
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew [ʕ, - ] [ – ] Шаблон:IPA - ] Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:Script/Arabic
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:Script/Arabic
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:Script/Arabic
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPA (1) Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA (2) Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:Script/Arabic
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink, Шаблон:IPAblink, Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:Script/Arabic
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPAblink~Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink~Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink~Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:Script/Arabic
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:Script/Arabic
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:Script/Arabic
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:Script/Arabic
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:IPAblink Шаблон:Script/Arabic
  1. velarized or pharyngealized
  2. pharyngealized
  3. sometimes said to be ejective but more likely glottalized.

Vowels

Matres lectionis

Шаблон:Main

Шаблон:Script/Hebrew alef, Шаблон:Script/Hebrew ayin, Шаблон:Script/Hebrew waw/vav and Шаблон:Script/Hebrew yod are letters that can sometimes indicate a vowel instead of a consonant (which would be, respectively, Шаблон:IPA). When they do, Шаблон:Script/Hebrew and Шаблон:Script/Hebrew are considered to constitute part of the vowel designation in combination with a niqqud symbol – a vowel diacritic (whether or not the diacritic is marked), whereas Шаблон:Script/Hebrew and Шаблон:Script/Hebrew are considered to be mute, their role being purely indicative of the non-marked vowel.

Letter Name
of letter
Consonant
indicated
when letter
consonantal
Vowel
designation
Name of
vowel designation
Indicated
Vowel
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew alef Шаблон:IPA ê, ệ, ậ, â, ô
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew ayin Шаблон:IPA or Шаблон:IPA ê, ệ, ậ, â, ô
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew waw/vav Шаблон:IPA or Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:Script/Hebrew ḥolám malé ô
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew shurúq û
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew yud Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:Script/Hebrew ḥiríq malé î
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew tseré malé ê, ệ

Vowel points

Niqqud is the system of dots that help determine vowels and consonants. In Hebrew, all forms of niqqud are often omitted in writing, except for children's books, prayer books, poetry, foreign words, and words which would be ambiguous to pronounce. Israeli Hebrew has five vowel phonemes, Шаблон:IPA, but many more written symbols for them:

Name Symbol Written Position Israeli Hebrew
IPA Transliteration English
example
Hiriq Файл:Hebrew Hiriq.svg vowel written below consonant Шаблон:IPAblink i meet
Tsere Файл:Hebrew Zeire.svg vowel written below consonant Шаблон:IPAblink, (Шаблон:IPA with
succeeding yod)
eh (precise pronunciation); ei (imprecise due to modern pronunciation, even if with succeeding yod – see Note 2) bed, penguin
Segol Файл:Hebrew Segol.svg vowel written below consonant Шаблон:IPAblink e men
Patach Файл:Hebrew Patah.svg vowel written below consonant Шаблон:IPAblink a father
Kamatz Файл:Hebrew Qamaz.svg vowel written below consonant Шаблон:IPAblink, (or Шаблон:IPAblink) ah, (or oh) father, loɡin
Holam Haser Файл:Hebrew Holam.svg vowel written above consonant Шаблон:IPAblink o home
Holam Male Шаблон:Script/Hebrew isolated vowel written on its own
Shuruk Шаблон:Script/Hebrew isolated vowel written on its own Шаблон:IPAblink u food
Kubutz Файл:Hebrew Backslash Qubuz.svg vowel written below consonant

Note 1: The circle represents whatever Hebrew letter is used.
Note 2: The pronunciation of tsere and sometimes segol – with or without the letter yod – is sometimes ei in Modern Hebrew. This is not correct in the normative pronunciation and not consistent in the spoken language.[21]
Note 3: The dagesh, mappiq, and shuruk have different functions, even though they look the same.
Note 4: The letter ו (waw/vav) is used since it can only be represented by that letter.

Meteg

Шаблон:Main

By adding a vertical line (called Meteg) underneath the letter and to the left of the vowel point, the vowel is made long. The meteg is only used in Biblical Hebrew, not Modern Hebrew.

Sh'va

Шаблон:Main

By adding two vertical dots (called Sh'va) underneath the letter, the vowel is made very short. When sh'va is placed on the first letter of the word, mostly it is "è" (but in some instances, it makes the first letter silent without a vowel (vowel-less): e.g. וְ to "w")

Name Symbol Israeli Hebrew
IPA Transliteration English
example
Shva Файл:Tilde Schwa.svg Шаблон:IPAblink or Шаблон:IPA link apostrophe, e,
or silent
met or silent
Reduced Segol Файл:Hataf Segol.svg Шаблон:IPAblink e met
Reduced Patach Файл:Hataf Patah.svg Шаблон:IPAblink a cat
Reduced Kamatz Файл:Hataf Qamaz.svg Шаблон:IPAblink o on
Comparison table
Vowel comparison table [22]
Vowel length
(phonetically not manifested in Israeli Hebrew)
IPA Transliteration English
example
Long Short Very Short
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink a fall
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink e men
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink o joke
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink u duty
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:Script/Hebrew Шаблон:IPAblink i media
Note I: By adding two vertical dots (sh'va) Шаблон:Script/Hebrew
the vowel is made very short.
Note II: The short o and long a have the same niqqud.
Note III: The short o is usually promoted to a long o
in Israeli writing for the sake of disambiguation
Note IV: The short u is usually promoted to a long u
in Israeli writing for the sake of disambiguation

Gershayim

Шаблон:Main The symbol Шаблон:Script/Hebrew is called a gershayim and is a punctuation mark used in the Hebrew language to denote acronyms. It is written before the last letter in the acronym, e.g. Шаблон:Script/Hebrew. Gershayim is also the name of a cantillation mark in the reading of the Torah, printed above the accented letter, e.g. Шаблон:Script/Hebrew.

Stylistic variants

Шаблон:Further

The following table displays typographic and chirographic variants of each letter. For the five letters that have a different final form used at the end of words, the final forms are displayed beneath the regular form.

The block (square, or "print" type) and cursive ("handwritten" type) are the only variants in widespread contemporary use. Rashi is also used, for historical reasons, in a handful of standard texts.

Letter
name
(Unicode)
Variants
Contemporary Early modern Ancestral
Block serif Block sans-serif Cursive Rashi Phoenician Paleo-Hebrew Aramaic
Alef א א Файл:Hebrew letter Alef handwriting.svg Файл:Alef (Rashi-script - Hebrew letter).svg 𐤀 Alef Файл:Aleph.svg
Bet ב ב Файл:Hebrew letter Bet handwriting.svg Файл:Bet (Rashi-script - Hebrew letter).svg 𐤁 Bet Файл:Beth.svg
Gimel ג ג Файл:Hebrew letter Gimel handwriting.svg Файл:Gimel (Rashi-script - Hebrew letter).svg 𐤂 Gimel Файл:Igimel.png
Dalet ד ד Файл:Hebrew letter Daled handwriting.svg Файл:Daled (Rashi-script - Hebrew letter).svg 𐤃 Daled Файл:Daleth.svg
He ה ה Файл:Hebrew letter He handwriting.svg Файл:He (Rashi-script - Hebrew letter).svg 𐤄 Heh Файл:He0.svg
Vav (Unicode)[15] / Waw ו ו Файл:Hebrew letter Vav handwriting.svg Файл:Vav (Rashi-script - Hebrew letter).svg 𐤅 Vav Файл:Waw.svg
Zayin ז ז Файл:Hebrew letter Zayin handwriting.svg Файл:Zayin (Rashi-script - Hebrew letter).svg 𐤆 Zayin Файл:Zayin.svg
Chet ח ח Файл:Hebrew letter Het handwriting.svg Файл:Het (Rashi-script - Hebrew letter).svg 𐤇 Khet Файл:Heth.svg
Tet ט ט Файл:Hebrew letter Tet handwriting.svg Файл:Tet (Rashi-script - Hebrew letter).svg 𐤈 Tet Файл:Teth.svg
Yod י י Файл:Hebrew letter Yud handwriting.svg Файл:Yud (Rashi-script - Hebrew letter).svg 𐤉 Yud Файл:Yod.svg
Kaf כ כ Файл:Hebrew letter Kaf handwriting.svg Файл:Kaf-nonfinal (Rashi-script - Hebrew letter).svg 𐤊 Khof Файл:Kaph.svg
Final Kaf ך ך Файл:Hebrew letter Kaf-final handwriting.svg Файл:Kaf-final (Rashi-script - Hebrew letter).svg
Lamed ל ל Файл:Hebrew letter Lamed handwriting.svg Файл:Lamed (Rashi-script - Hebrew letter).svg 𐤋 Lamed Файл:Lamed.svg
Mem מ מ Файл:Hebrew letter Mem handwriting.svg Файл:Mem-nonfinal (Rashi-script - Hebrew letter).svg 𐤌 Mem Файл:Mem.svg
Final Mem ם ם Файл:Hebrew letter Mem-final handwriting.svg Файл:Mem-final (Rashi-script - Hebrew letter).svg
Nun נ נ Файл:Hebrew letter Nun handwriting.svg Файл:Nun-nonfinal (Rashi-script - Hebrew letter).svg 𐤍 Nun Файл:Nun.svg
Final Nun ן ן Файл:Hebrew letter Nun-final handwriting.svg Файл:Nun-final (Rashi-script - Hebrew letter).svg
Samekh ס ס Файл:Hebrew letter Samekh handwriting.svg Файл:Samekh (Rashi-script - Hebrew letter).svg 𐤎 Samekh Файл:Samekh.svg
Ayin ע ע Файл:Hebrew letter Ayin handwriting.svg Файл:Ayin (Rashi-script - Hebrew letter).svg 𐤏 Ayin Файл:Ayin.svg
Pe פ פ Файл:Hebrew letter Pe handwriting.svg Файл:Pe-nonfinal (Rashi-script - Hebrew letter).svg 𐤐 Pey Файл:Pe0.svg
Final Pe ף ף Файл:Hebrew letter Pe-final handwriting.svg Файл:Pe-final (Rashi-script - Hebrew letter).svg
Tsadi צ צ Файл:Hebrew letter Tsadik handwriting.svg Файл:Tsadik-nonfinal (Rashi-script - Hebrew letter).svg 𐤑 Tzadi Файл:Sade 1.svg, Файл:Sade 2.svg
Final Tsadi ץ ץ Файл:Hebrew letter Tsadik-final handwriting.svg Файл:Tsadik-final (Rashi-script - Hebrew letter).svg
Qof ק ק Файл:Hebrew letter Kuf handwriting.svg Файл:Kuf (Rashi-script - Hebrew letter).svg 𐤒 Quf Файл:Qoph.svg
Resh ר ר Файл:Hebrew letter Resh handwriting.svg Файл:Resh (Rashi-script - Hebrew letter).svg 𐤓 Resh Файл:Resh.svg
Shin ש ש Файл:Hebrew letter Shin handwriting.svg Файл:Shin (Rashi-script - Hebrew letter).svg 𐤔 Shin Файл:Shin.svg
Tav ת ת Файл:Hebrew letter Taf handwriting.svg Файл:Taf (Rashi-script - Hebrew letter).svg 𐤕 Tof Файл:Taw.svg

Yiddish symbols

Symbol Explanation
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew These are intended for Yiddish. They are not used in Hebrew, aside from in loan wordsШаблон:Ref label. They are possible to visually recreate using a sequence of letters, Шаблон:Script/Hebrew, except when a diacritic is inserted underneath that would not appear in the middle.
Шаблон:Script/Hebrew The rafe (Шаблон:Script/Hebrew) diacritic is no longer regularly used in Hebrew. In Masoretic Texts and some other older texts, lenited consonants and sometimes matres lectionis are indicated by a small line on top of the letter. Its use has been largely discontinued in modern printed texts. It is still used to mark fricative consonants in the YIVO orthography of Yiddish.

Numeric values of letters

Шаблон:Main

Following the adoption of Greek Hellenistic alphabetic numeration practice, Hebrew letters started being used to denote numbers in the late 2nd century BC,[23] and performed this arithmetic function for about a thousand years. Nowadays alphanumeric notation is used only in specific contexts, e.g. denoting dates in the Hebrew calendar, denoting grades of school in Israel, other listings (e.g. שלב א׳, שלב ב׳ – "phase a, phase b"), commonly in Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) in a practice known as gematria, and often in religious contexts.

Файл:Hohe Synagoge Prag 1.jpg
The lower clock on the Jewish Town Hall building in Prague, with Hebrew numerals in counterclockwise order.
letter numeric value letter numeric value letter numeric value
א 1 י 10 ק 100
ב 2 כ 20 ר 200
ג 3 ל 30 ש 300
ד 4 מ 40 ת 400
ה 5 נ 50
ו 6 ס 60
ז 7 ע 70
ח 8 פ 80
ט 9 צ 90

The numbers 500, 600, 700, 800 and 900 are commonly represented by the juxtapositions ק״ת, ר״ת, ש״ת, ת״ת, and ק״תת respectively. Adding a geresh ("׳") to a letter multiplies its value by one thousand, for example, the year 5778 is portrayed as ה׳תשע״ח, where ה׳ represents 5000, and תשע״ח represents 778.

Transliterations and transcriptions

Шаблон:Main

The following table lists transliterations and transcriptions of Hebrew letters used in Modern Hebrew.

Clarifications:

  • For some letters, the Academy of the Hebrew Language offers a precise transliteration that differs from the regular standard it has set. When omitted, no such precise alternative exists and the regular standard applies.
  • The IPA phonemic transcription is specified whenever it uses a different symbol from the one used for the regular standard Israeli transliteration.
  • The IPA phonetic transcription is specified whenever it differs from IPA phonemic transcription.

Note: SBL's transliteration system, recommended in its Handbook of Style,[24] differs slightly from the 2006 precise transliteration system of the Academy of the Hebrew Language; for "צ" SBL uses "ṣ" (≠ AHL "ẓ"), and for בג״ד כפ״ת with no dagesh, SBL uses the same symbols as for with dagesh (i.e. "b", "g", "d", "k", "f", "t").

Hebrew letter Standard
Israeli
transliteration
regular
[25]
standard
Israeli
transliteration
precise
[25]
IPA phonemic
transcription
IPA phonetic
transcription
א
consonantal, in
initial word
positions
noneШаблон:Ref label Шаблон:IPAblink
א
consonantal, in
non initial word
positions
' ʾ Шаблон:IPAslink
א
silent
noneШаблон:Ref label
בּ b
ב v
גּ g g
ג
ג׳ ǧШаблон:Ref label[20] Шаблон:IPAslink
דּ d d
ד
ה
consonantal
h
ה
silent
noneШаблон:Ref label
ו
consonantal
v w
וּ u
וֹ o Шаблон:IPAblink or Шаблон:IPAblink
ז z
ז׳ žШаблон:Ref label[20] Шаблон:IPAslink
ח Шаблон:Ref label Шаблон:IPAslink or Шаблон:IPAslink Шаблон:IPAblink
dialectical
Шаблон:IPAblink
ט t
י
consonantal
y Шаблон:IPAslink
י
part of hirik male
(/i/ vowel)
i
י
part of tsere male
(/e/ vowel or
/ei/ diphthong)
e é Шаблон:IPAslink or Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPAblink or Шаблон:IPA
כּ, ךּ[19] k
כ, ך khШаблон:Ref label Шаблон:IPAslink or Шаблон:IPAslink Шаблон:IPAblink
ל l
מ, ם m
נ, ן n
ס s
ע
in initial or final
word positions
noneШаблон:Ref label ʿ only in initial
word position
Шаблон:IPAblink
dialectical
Шаблон:IPAslink
ע
in medial
word positions
' ʿ Шаблон:IPAslink
dialectical
Шаблон:IPAslink
פּШаблон:Ref label p
פ, ף f
צ, ץ ts Шаблон:IPAslink
צ׳, ץ׳ čШаблон:Ref label[20] Шаблон:IPAslink
ק k q
ר r Шаблон:IPAblink or Шаблон:IPAblink
dialectical
Шаблон:IPAblink or Шаблон:IPAblink
שׁ sh š Шаблон:IPAslink
שׂ s ś
תּ t t
ת
Notes

Шаблон:Note labelШаблон:Note labelШаблон:Note labelШаблон:Note labelA1Шаблон:Note2Шаблон:Note3Шаблон:Note4Шаблон:NoteIn transliterations of modern Israeli Hebrew, initial and final ע (in regular transliteration), silent or initial א, and silent ה are not transliterated. To the eye of readers orientating themselves on Latin (or similar) alphabets, these letters might seem to be transliterated as vowel letters; however, these are in fact transliterations of the vowel diacritics – niqqud (or are representations of the spoken vowels). E.g., in אִם ("if", Шаблон:IPA), אֵם ("mother", Шаблон:IPA) and אֹם ("nut", Шаблон:IPA), the letter א always represents the same consonant: Шаблон:IPAblink (glottal stop), whereas the vowels /i/, /e/ and /o/ respectively represent the spoken vowel, whether it is orthographically denoted by diacritics or not. Since the Academy of the Hebrew Language ascertains that א in initial position is not transliterated, the symbol for the glottal stop  ʾ  is omitted from the transliteration, and only the subsequent vowels are transliterated (whether or not their corresponding vowel diacritics appeared in the text being transliterated), resulting in "im", "em" and "om", respectively.

Шаблон:Note labelШаблон:Note labelШаблон:Note labelB1Шаблон:Note2Шаблон:Note3Шаблон:NoteThe diacritic geresh – "׳" – is used with some other letters as well (ד׳, ח׳, ט׳, ע׳, ר׳, ת׳), but only to transliterate from other languages to Hebrew – never to spell Hebrew words; therefore they were not included in this table (correctly translating a Hebrew text with these letters would require using the spelling in the language from which the transliteration to Hebrew was originally made). The non-standard "ו׳" and "וו" Шаблон:Ref label are sometimes used to represent Шаблон:IPAslink, which like Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslink and Шаблон:IPAslink appears in Hebrew slang and loanwords.

Шаблон:Note labelШаблон:Note labelC1Шаблон:Note2Шаблон:NoteThe Sound Шаблон:IPAslink (as "ch" in loch) is often transcribed "ch", inconsistently with the guidelines specified by the Academy of the Hebrew Language: חם Шаблон:IPA → "cham"; סכך Шаблон:IPA → "schach".

Шаблон:Note labelDШаблон:NoteAlthough the Bible does include a single occurrence of a final pe with a dagesh (Book of Proverbs 30, 6: "Шаблон:Script/Hebrew"), in modern Hebrew Шаблон:IPAslink is always represented by pe in its regular, not final, form "פ", even when in final word position, which occurs with loanwords (e.g. שׁוֹפּ Шаблон:IPA "shop"), foreign names (e.g. פִילִיפּ Шаблон:IPA "Philip") and some slang (e.g. חָרַפּ Шаблон:IPA "slept deeply").

Religious use

The letters of the Hebrew alphabet have played varied roles in Jewish religious literature over the centuries, primarily in mystical texts. Some sources in classical rabbinical literature seem to acknowledge the historical provenance of the currently used Hebrew alphabet and deal with them as a mundane subject (the Jerusalem Talmud, for example, records that "the Israelites took for themselves square calligraphy", and that the letters "came with the Israelites from Ashur [Assyria]");[26] others attribute mystical significance to the letters, connecting them with the process of creation or the redemption. In mystical conceptions, the alphabet is considered eternal, pre-existent to the Earth, and the letters themselves are seen as having holiness and power, sometimes to such an extent that several stories from the Talmud illustrate the idea that they cannot be destroyed.[27]

The idea of the letters' creative power finds its greatest vehicle in the Sefer Yezirah, or Book of Creation, a mystical text of uncertain origin which describes a story of creation highly divergent from that in the Book of Genesis, largely through exposition on the powers of the letters of the alphabet. The supposed creative powers of the letters are also referenced in the Talmud and Zohar.[28][29]

Файл:Tefillin.JPG
The four-pronged Shin

Another book, the 13th-century Kabbalistic text Sefer HaTemunah, holds that a single letter of unknown pronunciation, held by some to be the four-pronged shin on one side of the teffilin box, is missing from the current alphabet. The world's flaws, the book teaches, are related to the absence of this letter, the eventual revelation of which will repair the universe.[30] Another example of messianic significance attached to the letters is the teaching of Rabbi Eliezer that the five letters of the alphabet with final forms hold the "secret of redemption".[30]

In addition, the letters occasionally feature in aggadic portions of non-mystical rabbinic literature. In such aggada the letters are often given anthropomorphic qualities and depicted as speaking to God. Commonly their shapes are used in parables to illustrate points of ethics or theology. An example from the Babylonian Talmud (a parable intended to discourage speculation about the universe before creation):

Шаблон:Quote box

Extensive instructions about the proper methods of forming the letters are found in Mishnat Soferim, within Mishna Berura of Yisrael Meir Kagan.

Mathematical use

In set theory, <math>\aleph_0</math>, pronounced aleph-naught or aleph-zero, is used to mark the cardinal number of an infinite countable set, such as <math>\mathbb Z</math>, the set of all integers. More generally, the <math>\aleph_\alpha</math> aleph number notation marks the ordered sequence of all distinct infinite cardinal numbers.

Less frequently used, the <math>\beth_\alpha</math> beth number notation is used for the iterated power sets of <math>\aleph_0</math>. The second element <math>\beth_1</math> is the cardinality of the continuum. Very occasionally, a gimel function is used in cardinal notation.

Unicode and HTML

Шаблон:Main

Файл:Hebrew keyboard layout.svg
An example of a Hebrew keyboard.

The Unicode Hebrew block extends from U+0590 to U+05FF and from U+FB1D to U+FB4F. It includes letters, ligatures, combining diacritical marks (Niqqud and cantillation marks) and punctuation.[15] The Numeric Character References is included for HTML. These can be used in many markup languages, and they are often used in Wiki to create the Hebrew glyphs compatible with the majority of web browsers.

Standard Hebrew keyboards have a 101-key layout. Like the standard QWERTY layout, the Hebrew layout was derived from the order of letters on Hebrew typewriters.

See also

Notes

aШаблон:Note"Alef-bet" is commonly written in Israeli Hebrew without the Шаблон:Transliteration (Шаблон:Lang, "[Hebrew] hyphen"), Шаблон:Lang, as opposed to with the hyphen, Шаблон:Lang.

bШаблон:NoteThe Arabic letters generally (as six of the primary letters can have only two variants) have four forms, according to their place in the word. The same goes with the Mandaic ones, except for three of the 22 letters, which have only one form.

cШаблон:NoteIn forms of Hebrew older than Modern Hebrew, כ״ף, בי״ת and פ״א can only be read b, k and p, respectively, at the beginning of a word, while they will have the sole value of v, kh and f in a sofit (final) position, with few exceptions.[19] In medial positions, both pronunciations are possible. In Modern Hebrew this restriction is not absolute, e.g. פִיזִיקַאי Шаблон:IPA and never Шаблон:IPA (= "physicist"), סְנוֹבּ Шаблон:IPA and never Шаблон:IPA (= "snob"). A dagesh may be inserted to unambiguously denote the plosive variant: בּ = Шаблон:IPA, כּ = Шаблон:IPA, פּ =Шаблон:IPA; similarly (though today very rare in Hebrew and common only in Yiddish) a rafé placed above the letter unambiguously denotes the fricative variant: בֿ = Шаблон:IPA, כֿ = Шаблон:IPA and פֿ = Шаблон:IPA. In Modern Hebrew orthography, the sound Шаблон:IPAblink at the end of a word is denoted by the regular form "פ", as opposed to the final form "ף", which always denotes Шаблон:IPAblink (see table of transliterations and transcriptions, commentШаблон:Ref label).

dШаблон:NoteHowever, וו (two separate vavs), used in Ktiv male, is to be distinguished from the Yiddish ligature װ (also two vavs but together as one character).

e1Шаблон:Notee2Шаблон:Notee3Шаблон:Notee4Шаблон:Notee5Шаблон:NoteThe Academy of the Hebrew Language states that both Шаблон:IPAblink and Шаблон:IPAblink be indistinguishably represented in Hebrew using the letter Vav.[25] Sometimes the Vav is indeed doubled, however not to denote Шаблон:IPA as opposed to Шаблон:IPA but rather, when spelling without niqqud, to denote the phoneme /v/ at a non-initial and non-final position in the word, whereas a single Vav at a non-initial and non-final position in the word in spelling without niqqud denotes one of the phonemes /u/ or /o/. To pronounce foreign words and loanwords containing the sound Шаблон:IPAblink, Hebrew readers must therefore rely on former knowledge and context.

Explanatory footnotes Шаблон:Notelist

References

Шаблон:Reflist

Bibliography

External links

Шаблон:Commons

General

Keyboards

Шаблон:Hebrew language Шаблон:List of writing systems Шаблон:Northwest Semitic abjad

Шаблон:Authority control

  1. Шаблон:Cite journal
  2. Gaash, Amir. "Colloquial Arabic written in Hebrew characters on Israeli websites by Druzes (and other non-Jews)." Jerusalem studies in Arabic and Islam 43 (2016): 15.
  3. Shachmon, Ori, and Merav Mack. "Speaking Arabic, Writing Hebrew. Linguistic Transitions in Christian Arab Communities in Israel". Wiener Zeitschrift Für Die Kunde Des Morgenlandes, vol. 106, 2016, pp. 223–239. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/26449346. Accessed 15 July 2021.
  4. Babylonian Talmud (Sanhedrin 21b–22a); Jerusalem Talmud (Megillah 10a). Cf. Mishnah (Megillah 1:8): "The Books [of Scripture] differ from phylacteries and Mezuzahs only in that the Books may be written in any language, while phylacteries and Mezuzahs may be written in the Assyrian writing only." See: The Mishnah (ed. Herbert Danby), Oxford University Press: London 1977, p. 202.
  5. Шаблон:Citation.
  6. Шаблон:Cite book
  7. The Calendar Tablet from Gezer, Adam L Bean, Emmanual School of Religion Шаблон:Webarchive
  8. "Is it "Tenable"?", Hershel Shanks, Biblical Archaeology Review Шаблон:Webarchive
  9. Spelling in the Hebrew Bible: Dahood memorial lecture, By Francis I. Andersen, A. Dean Forbes, p56
  10. Шаблон:Cite journal
  11. Шаблон:Cite book
  12. Шаблон:Cite book
  13. Шаблон:Cite book
  14. Шаблон:Cite book
  15. 15,0 15,1 15,2 15,3 Шаблон:Cite web
  16. 16,0 16,1 Unicode names of Hebrew characters at fileformat.info.
  17. Kaplan, Aryeh. Sefer Yetzirah: The Book of Creation. pp. 8, 22.
  18. Шаблон:Cite web
  19. 19,0 19,1 19,2 19,3 "ךּ" is rare but exists, e.g. last word in Deuteronomy 7 1 (דברים פרק ז׳ פסוק א׳) in the word "Шаблон:Script/Hebrew" – see תנ״ך מנוקד, דברים פרק ז׳. There is a single occurrence of "ףּ", see this commentШаблон:Ref label.
  20. 20,0 20,1 20,2 20,3 20,4 20,5 20,6 20,7 20,8 Transliteration guidelines preceding 2006-update Шаблон:Webarchive, p. 3 Academy of the Hebrew Language
  21. Шаблон:Cite book
  22. Шаблон:Cite web
  23. Sirat, Colette (1976), Ecriture et civilisations, Paris: Editions du CNRS.
  24. Шаблон:Cite web
  25. 25,0 25,1 25,2 25,3 25,4 Шаблон:Cite web
  26. Jerusalem Talmud, Tractate Sanhedrin 21b
  27. Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Pesach 87b, Avodah Zarah 18a.
  28. Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Berachot 55c
  29. Zohar 1:3; 2:152
  30. 30,0 30,1 The Book of Letters. Woodstock, Vermont: Jewish Lights Publishing, Woodstock. 1990