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  • From: "Isaac Fried" <if AT math.bu.edu>
  • To: <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Cc: <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Past tense with gutterals
  • Date: Fri, 6 Jun 2008 06:58:42 +0200

I have never heard native Hebrew speakers confound NATA( with NAT(-AH, but I admit that it may depend on the circles one moves in, or otherwise the bus line one takes to work.

Israelis do not pronounce the shwa "na" because there is no such thing in Hebrew. It is an oximoronic invention [aided by a terminological misunderstanding of what the metaphoric NA( means?] for justifying the E-E-E-ing of the language, and it appears to me that it is being purged now, as a phonetic phenomenon, from the school teachings. Unfortunately they do often stammer E-E-E out of place as a result of lack of education for crisp speech.

They make no distinction between patah and qamets since there is no evidence that these signs were introduced for phonetic distinction.
Isaac Fried, Boston University





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