Biblical Hebrew Forum

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

HIZMIYNU, 'they invited, they ordered', is written in "full", plene,  
with a yod following the mem, and consequently there is no dagesh in  
the letter N. The dagesh is, in my opinion, a very ancient cue for  
the xirik, and is superfluous in the presence of a vowel.
The dagesh in HIZMANU, 'we invited, we ordered', follows a patax, and  
is there as expected. I think that what you mean by "hearing" the  
dagesh is the faint natural doubling of any consonant, here N,  
situated between two vowels, here A and U. One hears it in AB-BIY,  
'my father', AX-XIY, 'my brother', etc. Those who say they don't hear  
it need to pay closer attention.

Isaac Fried, Boston University

On Apr 13, 2011, at 8:29 AM, Uri Hurwitz wrote:

>     Just say in Heb. "we invited" and, for comparison, "they invited".
>  You'll hear the dagesh allright in the first.
>
>     Uri  
> Hurwitz                                                      Great  
> Neck, NY
>
>
>
> --- On Wed, 4/13/11, Isaac Fried <if AT math.bu.edu> wrote:
>
> Really, how can a dagesh be "pronounced"?
>
> Isaac Fried, Boston University
>
> On Apr 13, 2011, at 7:42 AM, Uri Hurwitz wrote:
>
> > the Dagesh in the sceond consonant is not pronounced