Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Trevor Peterson" <06peterson AT cua.edu>]

I keep coming back to the issue of transliteration, mostly because I'm not 
happy with any system I've come across so far. Some of the things that bother 
me are

1) the problem of representing matres lectionis in a responsible manner
2) how to represent the vowels (according to a seven-vowel system)
3) balancing representation of the written signs with readability

I like the MCW system for its precision in representing the written text and 
its utility in a plain-text environment. On the other hand, it's ugly to 
read. I like what the SBL manual calls the "general purpose" 
system--basically what's popular in Jewish writing--for its simplicity and 
readability; but it sacrifices precision.

Anyway, I'm interested in feedback on what I've come up with so far:

1) For the consonants, I basically follow the system used in JBL, CBQ, etc. 
One quirk is that I prefer dotted-k to q for qof, simply because it's a more 
consistent representation of the emphatics.
2) For the vowels, I do not represent length. I use seven distinct signs and 
three subscripted vowels for the half-vowels. For the full vowels, I use e 
for tsere, o for holem, u for kubbutz, i for hireq, and a for patah. I use 
the combined ae symbol for segol and a with a circle overtop for qametz 
(regardless of whether it comes from original a or u). This is basically the 
system used in Saenz-Badillos. I represent half-vowels with subscripted a, e, 
and o. (It might be more precise to use ae and circle-a, but that seems 
needlessly complicated.) I don't represent shva at all, regardless of whether 
it's so-called vocal shva or silent.
3) I represent doubling by writing the consonant doubled. Where necessary, I 
represent spirantization of bgdkft letters with a horizontal stroke over or 
under the letter. This is standard practice.
4) I represent matres lectionis by writing the vowel according to the 
equivalences given in #2 and following it with a superscript of the mater 
consonant. This shows the reader both the consonantal writing and the 
Masoretic vocalization while still facilitating readability. It has the 
advantage over the SBL and CBQ system that it distinguishes between, for 
instance, tsere-yod, tsere-he, and segol-he.
5) I'm not sure what to do with quiescent alef and furtive patah. Right now, 
my inclination is simply to write them as ' and a, respectively. Anyone who 
knows Hebrew should be able to recognize where alef is quiescent without 
needing it pointed out; since consonants are always written, the only way to 
have a after another vowel is if the vowel is a furtive patah. I don't want 
to write quiescent alef as a superscript, because it is actually the opposite 
of a mater. I don't want to put either one in parenthesis, because I think 
that looks ugly and is probably unnecessary.

I think that's the gist of the system. Obviously, it doesn't work very well 
in a plain-text environment, although it can all be represented in a 
plain-text source file for LaTeX. And that's fine for now. I've just about 
given up on finding a system that I like for both plain-text e-mail and 
typeset media.

Trevor Peterson
CUA/Semitics