Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Isaac Fried <if AT math.bu.edu>]

Yitzhak,

We need to distinguish between the abstract notion of schwa "NA",  
being defined now in the present day grammar books as a schwa  
"originating" in a vowel, as a mere grammatical device, and the E, or  
what not, override. If you prefer to E-E-E the Hebrew language you  
have apparently the right to do so.

Isaac Fried, Boston University

On Feb 26, 2009, at 4:57 AM, Yitzhak Sapir wrote:

> On Tue, Feb 24, 2009 at 3:18 PM, Isaac Fried wrote:
> > Rivka,
> >
> > I don't care what "others" say. I think I have encountered this
> > opinion somewhere but I can not recall now exactly where. Possibly in
> > some treatise of rabbinical provenance. You may try the carefully
> > written DIKDUKEI SHAY by Shmuel Yonatan Mandelbaum or DIKDUKEI
> > ELIYAHU by Xayim Hillel Krzepicqi, expounding on the grammar notes of
> > the GAON of Vilna.
> > Here are the names in Hebrew:
> >
> > דקדוקי שי, שמואל יונתן מנדלבאום
> > דקדוקי אליהו, חיים הלל קרזעפיצקי
>
> Luckily, Dikduk Eliyahu (one of two books that comprise Dikdukei  
> Eliyahu,
> the other being Dikduk Torah)  is available online:
>
> http://hebrewbooks.org/20568
>
> Although edited by R' Haim Hillel Kerzepitzki, it is attributed to
> the Gaon of Vilna.  In this book, the words of R' Eliyahu (the Gaon
> of Vilna) are on the top, and R' Haim's commentary is on the bottom
> where it says "Lashon Haim".  Now, if you look on p. 23 in the pdf
> (page יג) of the book, you will see that it says:
> "There are two kinds of schewa, a mobile schewa and a quiescent
> schewa..."
> p. 35 of the pdf begins the "Chapter of the Schewa" and lists the
> conditions for determining a mobile schewa from a quiescent schewa.
> p. 38 begins with the pronunciation rules of the schewa.
> Now, back on p. 23 it does say that a mobile schewa is connected
> with the following vowel and a quiescent schewa to the previous
> vowel, and this is really the way the Masoretes viewed it, but this
> doesn't mean a mobile schewa isn't pronounced or that there is no
> difference between the two!  If that's what you get from the Gaon's
> words, you're misinterpreting him against what he intended.
> In the Gaon's introduction he quotes various authorities, including
> the Rambam: "The preciseness of the letters is to to be careful of
> what is pronounced while reading so that he should not make
> mobile a quiescent (schewa) letter and not make quiescent a
> mobile (schewa) letter."  (p.8-9 of the pdf)
>
> The Gaon in his grammar follows the European tradition of the Kimhis
> in trying to overlay the Tiberian tradition with the European  
> tradition.
> Now, very early books (12th century or so) might allow us to get some
> window at the independent Ashkenazic tradition.  However, by the time
> of the Gaon of Vilna this was now systemized, and what we have is an
> artificial guide to pronunciation that approximates the original
> Ashkenazic tradition using the Tiberian vocalization.
>
> Yitzhak Sapir
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