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b-hebrew - Re: [b-hebrew] CV syllables, was music in Hebrew

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  • From: "Karl Randolph" <kwrandolph AT email.com>
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] CV syllables, was music in Hebrew
  • Date: Thu, 26 Jan 2006 17:01:39 -0500

Herman:

For me, it was when I started reading Tanakh without
points, that I started questioning the BGDKPT consonants,
whether or not they have "hard" and "soft" sounds. But if
they have only hard sounds, then there are many words
that would be impossible to pronounce without an
intervening vowel. Other evidences include letters like
eyin and alep, in order to be recognizable, would have
had to end with a vowel sound.

As for what was the original pronunciation, we are just
guessing. But taking certain presuppositions, such that
word stress falls on the penultimate syllable, we get
results that suggest that, for example, the original
pronunciation of the name "Rivka" could have been
"Rebeqahe" with the final "e" being an unaccented shewa
that was early swallowed, sort of like the short "u" in many
modern Japanese words. The same happened with
masculine words, such as "meleke" changing to "melekh"
in modern pronunciation.

In no way do I claim that the matter is settled, and if you or
others disagree with me, it is no skin off my teeth. I'm not
100% convinced of it myself. But at this time it seems to
make better sense of how to read the consonantal text
than the complex system passed down through the
Masoretes.

Karl W. Randolph.

> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Herman Meester" <crazymulgogi AT gmail.com>
>
> I've been following this discussion, not always fully understanding it.
> When the idea is discussed that Hebrew had, originally, only CV
> syllables, what exactly does one mean by that?
> Take segolates such as שמש shemesh, usually assumed to have a
> *shamsh(u) original, or מלך melekh, usually said to "derive of" /have
> an original pronunciation *malk(u), how do words like these fit in the
> CV-only picture?
> Thanks,
> Herman
>


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