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b-hebrew - Re: [b-hebrew] YHWH pronunciation

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  • From: Peter Kirk <peterkirk AT qaya.org>
  • To: Vadim Cherny <VadimCherny AT mail.ru>
  • Cc: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] YHWH pronunciation
  • Date: Tue, 02 Aug 2005 14:36:22 +0100

On 02/08/2005 14:20, Vadim Cherny wrote:

...

I don't understand this. The yod MUST be a consonant because ALL Hebrew
words start with a consonant.


If it looks like a duck, and flies like a duck, then before the law it is a
duck. Iod is pronounced as a vowel in 3ms FT, and there is no evidence
whatsoever that it ever was pronounced as consonant, at least as 3ms FT
prefix.
If you are inclined to dwell into this issue, it is my belief that iod in
3ms FT is mater lections derived from he in 3ms nouns. A similar process
made iod 2fs FT suffix where we could expect he.


No Hebrew word, that is ZERO!, starts with a mater lectionis. (I take the u- copula as simplified from an original wu-.) Yod can be either a consonant or a mater lectionis. At the start of the word it cannot be a mater lectionis. Therefore it is a consonant. (If it looks like a duck, and flies like a duck, then before the law it is a duck.)

A suffix is a suffix and cannot be separated off as part of a word. If the final -iy suffix were to be written separately, it would need to be prefixed with alef, as in the word 'iy = "island, coastland".

...

On the other hand, there is evidence which I posted
earlier today for a final -e vowel sound.


The problem is, no other hypothesis explains the pronunciation Iao. If YHW
is not a compound of matres lectionis, but a regular word, he must have been
pronounced.


In the Greek or Latin spelling Iao, the initial I is not a vowel but a consonant, according to the regular rules of Greek and Latin spelling. Therefore Iao would be pronounced Ya-o, two syllables starting with a consonant, and with a zero divider which may replace an original "h" sound.

--
Peter Kirk
peter AT qaya.org (personal)
peterkirk AT qaya.org (work)
http://www.qaya.org/





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