[b-hebrew] Interchangeable letters
Isaac Fried
if at math.bu.edu
Tue Oct 23 00:42:43 EDT 2007
Yigal,
How about $LX, 'send away' and $LK, 'fling away', are they not
"similar words with the same or a very similar meaning" to warrant
the consideration of X and K as "interchangeable"?
Isaac Fried, Boston University
On Oct 23, 2007, at 12:09 AM, Yigal Levin wrote:
> What I mean by "interchangable" is that we find the a very similar
> word with the same or a very similar meaning either in Hebrew
> itself or at least in cognate languages. In many cases this can be
> understood as an indication that the letters used in both were
> pronounced the same, in others it has to do with the sound that was
> used in the "original" (usually reconstructed) form, which was
> expressed with different letters in different but related
> languages. Hebrew (&R (Ayin-Sin-Resh) and Aramaic and Arabic Ayin-
> Samekh-Resh both mean "ten". This is because Samekh and Sin are
> "interchangable" when transferring between the languages. The same
> is true of Hebrew Zayin in "Zahav" and Aramaic "Dh" in "Dahab" and
> so on. I know of no case in which Xet becomes Khaph (which is just
> a "soft" Kaph anyway).
>
> I know that this contradicts your own personal theory, but so does
> all the rest of what most linguists think.
>
> Yigal Levin
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Isaac Fried
> To: Yigal Levin
> Cc: b-hebrew
> Sent: Tuesday, October 23, 2007 5:19 AM
> Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] "Salt" Statue: Lot's Wife
>
>
> Yigal,
>
>
> You write:
>
>
> "Although the sounds of Het (X in the trasliteration used on this
> list) and Khaph seem similar to most western ears, and are in fact
> pronounced the same by many Israelis as
> well, historically they are not, and the two letters are NEVER
> interchangeable".
>
>
> Could you tell us, please, what does it mean that letters are
> "interchangeable", and how you decide which letters are
> "interchangeable" and which are not?
>
>
> Isaac Fried, Boston University
>
>
> On Oct 20, 2007, at 4:17 PM, Yigal Levin wrote:
>
>
> 2. However in this case - your suggestion does not work.
> Although the sounds
>
> of Het (X in the trasliteration used on this list) and Khaph
> seem similar to
>
> most western ears, and are in fact pronounced the same by many
> Israelis as
>
> well, historically they are not, and the two letters are NEVER
>
> interchangable. So there is no way in which anyone would use
> Melax (salt)
>
> and Melekh (king). As far as Mal)akh (messenger/angel), the
> Aleph is part of
>
> the root (Lamed-Aleph-Kaph), and not just a "vowel-like letter"
> that can be
>
> ignored, although a pun here might work.
>
>
>
>
>
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