Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

b-hebrew - Matres Lectionis

b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Biblical Hebrew Forum

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: peter_kirk AT SIL.ORG
  • To: b-hebrew AT franklin.oit.unc.edu
  • Subject: Matres Lectionis
  • Date: Fri, 30 Apr 1999 14:33:57 -0400


Greg wrote:

"BTW Matres Lectionis are letters waw, he and yodh placed into the
Hebrew text to act as "semi-vowels" or at least as markers to help in
the reading of the consonatal text. It's latin for Mothers of
Reading."

Well, it makes a big difference whether these are "semi-vowels" or
simply markers. As I understand it these Matres Lectionis are not to
be pronounced as any sort of consonant, semi-vowel, diphthong,
off-glide or whatever one might call it; they merely help to indicate
the presence of a vowel.

Thus tsere-yod is pronounced exactly like tsere, full holem exactly
like holem, and word final qamets-he exactly like qamets. None of the
forms with matres lectionis is pronounced as a diphthong. Qamets-waw
and qamets-yod might be considered diphthongs, for the waw and yod are
pronounced as semi-vowels, but these are not then matres lectionis.

With I and U sounds the presence of the mater is also tied up with the
length issue. As I understand it, in the Masoretic Text hireq-yod is
always long, but hireq alone is more commonly short, also waw-tsureq
is almost always long, but qibbuts is usually short. (Compare Arabic
which uses a vowel letter analogous to a mater lectionis for long
vowels but not for short vowels). However, unpointed texts regularly
use yod and waw for short I and U vowels respectively.

Is there any disagreement with what I have written?

Peter Kirk




  • Matres Lectionis, peter_kirk, 04/30/1999

Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page