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Aleph

The document discusses the Hebrew letter Aleph and how its pronunciation changes depending on the vowel points or nikkud used in combination with it. It explains that Aleph is a silent letter on its own but takes on vowel sounds when joined with nikkud, such as producing an 'a' sound with Qamats, an 'e' sound with Tsere, and an 'o' sound with Cholam. It emphasizes that understanding how consonants represent vowels is crucial for learning to read Hebrew as nikkud are not always written.

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284 views

Aleph

The document discusses the Hebrew letter Aleph and how its pronunciation changes depending on the vowel points or nikkud used in combination with it. It explains that Aleph is a silent letter on its own but takes on vowel sounds when joined with nikkud, such as producing an 'a' sound with Qamats, an 'e' sound with Tsere, and an 'o' sound with Cholam. It emphasizes that understanding how consonants represent vowels is crucial for learning to read Hebrew as nikkud are not always written.

Uploaded by

yoseff basserool hashomert
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Learn to Read Hebrew http://hebrewreadingcourse.com/aleph.

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As Aleph is a silent letter, you will sometimes see it suggested that Aleph is the easiest letter of the Hebrew
alphabet to use! In order for the Aleph to have any sound, it needs to have 'nikkud' added with different
variations creating a different vowel sound. For example, when the Aleph is used in conjunction with
Qamats beneath it as seen in the following screenshot:

This creates a combination between the consonant and vowel point that is pronounced as 'a' as it would be
used in 'father'. In an identical way, an Aleph used with Patach would also give you an 'a' that sounds as it
would in 'father':

When it is combined with the single 'dot' of a Hhirech underneath it, Aleph creates an 'I' that would sound
the way it does in 'machine':

A combination of an Aleph and a Tsere produces an 'e' that sounds as it would in 'grey':

Next, when you combine an Aleph with Sh'va, you actually produce a silent vowel which is most commonly
used as a syllable break:

Using an Aleph in combination with the three dots of a Segol gives you an 'e' as it would be used as the
first syllable in 'elephant':

When you see a combination of the Aleph, plus both the Sh'va and Segol vowels, it is pronounced as the
second 'eh' sounds as in 'elephant', but it is pronounced very softly:

When you combine Aleph and a Cholam (the small dot is placed to the top left of the main character), you
have an 'o' as it would be used in 'open':

Next, you may see a combination of the Sh'va and Patach. Remembering that the Aleph and Sh'va between
them creates a silent vowel, this combination produces a vowel that is pronounced the same as it would be
if there was only a Patach (i.e. 'father'):

This however is only effective when placed under the first consonant of the word, and exactly the same
happens with a combination of Sh'va and Qamats too:

When it is the Qubbuts being used in combination with an Aleph, you have a vowel sounds like the 'u' in
'tune':

1 de 2 08/01/2011 01:22 a.m.


Learn to Read Hebrew http://hebrewreadingcourse.com/aleph.asp

From all of these different combinations, it should be clear that learning how the vowel points convert
consonants into vowels is extremely important. This is doubly true when you remember that nikkud are not
always written, so you need to learn to recognize which consonants are being used as vowels and which
are not.

2 de 2 08/01/2011 01:22 a.m.

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