Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Shoshanna Walker <rosewalk AT concentric.net>]

I am not aware that Aleph is ever phonetically (gutterally) equal to 
an Ayin, even if it is at the end of a word.

Shoshanna



Matt Miller here:
I have induced from my studies that the original difference between the
two Hebrew silent consonants, aleph and ayin, is as follows:
1. They are both lacking a plosive sonal value.
2. Ayin acts only as a glottla stop, while aleph acts either as a glottal
stop or a quiescent consonant. Usually when aleph begins a word it is the
former, and when it ends a word it is the latter. Ayin may never be
quiescent.
3. When both aleph and ayin act as glottal stops, their phonetic value is
identical.

Is this reasonable? Could someone with more experience offer insight?
Thanks. Matt Miller