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b-hebrew - RE: Pronunciation and Genesis 2:7

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  • From: "Trevor & Julie Peterson" <06peterson AT cua.edu>
  • To: "Biblical Hebrew" <b-hebrew AT franklin.metalab.unc.edu>
  • Subject: RE: Pronunciation and Genesis 2:7
  • Date: Sun, 25 Aug 2002 17:10:36 -0400


Fernando wrote:

> 1)Why does the word B)PYW is pronounced as "beapav" without the
> Yod sound? For me, it should be "beapayv".

I'm not positive on the answer to this, but I think it's that the qamets is
read as the only Masoretic vowel sound in the syllable, with the vav closing
the syllable and the yod as a plural marker. Unless I'm mistaken,
a-class-yod combinations are not treated the same as e-class- or i-class-yod
combinations. Whereas the latter are treated as a single vowel written with
a Masoretic point and a mater, the former are really a vowel plus a
consonant either closing the syllable or starting a new one. Since no shva
is written under the yod in this situation, it is an extra consonant
unaccounted for and left unpronounced as an orthographic marker of
plurality.

> 2)The right pronunciation of WYHY is "vayehy" or "vayhy"? I know
> a shewa is pronounced after a closed syllable and it's not
> pronounced after an open syllable, so this pronunciation should
> be "vayhy".

Since you're using v for vav, I presume you're following Israeli
pronounciation, which doesn't really vocalize open-syallable shvas anyway.
(There are places where the shva is vocalized, but I think it's always
strictly phonetic.) I seem to remember there being some debate about the
pronunciation of this particular form. You would expect the yod to be
doubled, but with a lost dagesh because of the shva. But as I say, it's
generally a moot issue for Israeli pronunciation.

Trevor Peterson
CUA/Semitics





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