Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Matthew R. Miller" <biblicalscribe AT hotmail.com>]

Thanks to all for the wonderful suggestions on pronouncing the ayin. So, I
have summarized below my understanding of aleph and ayin, and would
appreciate any corrections from people who know better than I. Thanks!

1. Aleph: When non-quiescent, it acts as a glottal stop, from which a
vowel is produced, thus acting as a silent, glottal consonant. When
quiescent, it merely lengthens a vowel, much like the German "h" in gehen.
No?

2. Ayin: Never quiescent, nor so much a glottal stop, but a fricative,
glottal, voiced consonant.

Thanks for any help. Matt Miller