Ch. 3: Syllabification and Pronunciation Flashcards
What is the first rule of syllabification?
Every syllable must begin with one consonant and have only one vowel
What is the second rule of syllabification?
There are only two types of syllables: open and closed
What is an open syllable?
A syllable that ends with a vowel
What is a closed syllable?
A syllable that ends with a consonant
Where are Hebrew words usually accented?
Hebrew words are usually accented on the last syllable
What indicates that a word is not stressed on the last syllable?
The use of an accent mark over the stressed syllable
How are syllables classified in Hebrew?
Syllables are classified by their proximity to the accent
What is the name for the accented syllable?
The Tonic syllable
(or tone syllable)
What is the name for the syllable before the accented syllable?
The Pretonic syllable
What is the name for the syllable before the pretonic syllable?
The Propretonic syllable
What is the name for the last syllable of a word (regardless of accent)?
The ultima
What is the name for the next-to-last syllable of a word (regardless of accent)?
The penultima
What is the name for the syllable before the penultima?
The antepenultima
What does the Daghesh Forte do to a consonant?
It doubles the value of a consonant (but not the vowel)
What is the first rule for identifying whether a begadkephat is a Daghesh Forte or Lene? (the main rule for determining if a Forte)
- The Dahesh in a begadkephat is a Forte if preceded by a vowel
(for example the ה of אַתָּה is a Forte because it is preceded by a vowel under א)
What is the second rule for identifying whether a begadkephat is a Daghesh Forte or Lene? (how to identify if it is a Lene)
- The Dahesh in a begadkephat is a Lene if preceded by a consonant
What is the third rule for identifying whether a begadkephat is a Daghesh Forte or Lene? (Determining if a Daghesh is in the first consonant of a word)
- A begadkephat letter at the beginning of a word takes a Daghesh Lene unless the previous word ends in a vowel
Can gutturals and ר take Daghesh Lene or Forte?
Gutturals and ר can take neither Lene or Forte
What is the main rule for determining if a Shewa is silent or vocal?
A Shewa is silent if the previous vowel is short. In most other circumstances, it is vocal.
What type of syllable will a Vocal Shewa always occur in?
Open syllable
A Silent Shewa will always come at the end of what type of syllable?
Closed syllable (that is, after a short vowel)
When is a Shewa Silent?
- if the previous vowel is short
- if it is the first of two contiguous Shewas
- if it is at the end of a word (for example, כָּתַבְתְּ both Shewas are silent, since the second comes at the end of the word)
* (In most other circumstances it is vocal)*
What is the main rule for determining when a Shewa is vocal?
The Shewa is vocal if it is not immediately preceded by a short vowel
What are two other applications for determining if the Shewa is vocal?
- if it is after any unaccented long vowel
- the second of two contiguous Shewas
Will an Initial Shewa (first vowel of a word) be vocal or silent?
Initial Shewa is always vocal
Is a Shewa under a consonant with Daghesh Forte vocal or silent?
A Shewa under any consonant with Daghesh Forte is vocal
What kind of Shewa can a guttural take?
A guttural can only take a Silent Shewa (but ר can take a Vocal Shewa)
When does the Qamets Hatuf occur?
The Qamets Hatuf occurs only in a closed and unaccented syllable (חָכְ/מַה) (The first Qamets is a Hatuf because it is closed and unaccented; the second is a Qamats because it is accented and closed)
Which word occurs most frequently with a Qamets Hatuf?
- kol*
- all of, each of, every*
When does Qamets occur?
Qamets prefers an open, pretonic syllable or a closed, accented syllable (Ex: דָּבָר; Both are Qamets: the first is an open, pretonic syllable; the second is closed, accented)
What symbol is used to distinguish between Qamets and Qamets Hatuf?
The Metheg
A small vertical line to the left of a Qamets
What does a Metheg signify?
The presence of a Qamets, and not a Qamets Hatuf
What is a Furtive Pathach?
When a word ends in Het or Ayin a Pathach may appear beneath this consonant and must be pronounced before the guttural (e.g. rûah)
How does the Furitive Pathach effect syllabification?
It is not considered a full vowel, nor is it counted in syllabification (it goes along with the previous consonant/vowel combo; for example רַ/קִיעַ)
What is a Quiescent Alef?
When Alef occurs without a vowel, it is quiescent – it is not considered a consonant within the rules of syllabification (for example: חַטְ/טָאת)
What sometimes happens for the quiesced Aleph
Lengthen the preceding short vowel
What is the most common Hebrew diphthong?
The AY diphthong (these syllables are considered closed, because they end with a consonant)
What is the second most common Hebrew Diphthong?
וֶ ָ֫
AW Diphthong (these syllables are considered closed, because they end with a consonant)
(Advanced)
What are the two factors that primarily influence a vowels preference for a particular type of syllable?
- type of syllable (closed / open)
- promity of the syllable to the accent
What syllables do short vowels prefer?
- closed, unaccented (עֶ֫בֶד [בֶד])
or
- open, accented (עֶ֫בֶד [עֶ֫])
What syllables do long vowels prefer?
(changeable or unchangeable)
- closed, accented (דָּבָר [בָר])
- open, pretonic (דָּבָר [ָדָּ])
What syllables do vocal Shewa and reduced vowels prefer?
- open, propretonic (דְּבָרִים [דְּ)
Reduced vowels will appear in what position with what consonant?
The reduced vowels appear with guttural consonants in the open, propretonic position (אֱ/לֹ/הִים)
What kind of syllable do the reduced vowels only appear in?
Only in open syllables (they are never silent)
What are three important considerations for gutturals (two of which have already been addressed in previous cards)?
- The gutturals (including ר) cannot take Daghesh Forte.
- The gutturals (excluding ר) cannot take Vocal Shewa but prefer Hateph (reduced) vowels.
- The gutturals prefer to appear with a-class vowels.
Gutturals prefer what vowel before them?
Pathach
When a BGDKPFT letter follows a vowel what can it not have?
A Lene (I am not sure if this way of wording it will be helpful in the future)
Is a syllable at the end of a word that ends with a He vowel letter open or closed?
It is open, because the vowel letter does not count as a consonant
For testing purposes, is the Shewa under a Forte vocal or silent?
It is vocal (I should not consider it both silent and closed as the video indicated for testing purposes)
