From: Rasmus Underbjerg Pinnerup <pinnerup AT privat.dk>
To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: [b-hebrew] Are peh, taw and kaf aspirated in Biblical Hebrew?
Date: Sat, 31 May 2003 20:52:25 +0200
Dear B-Hebrew-members,
I apologize in advance if my question is trivial, but I have not been able
to find the answer for myself in any of the grammars at my disposition.
The grammars mention, of course, the twofold pronunciation of the
begadkefath-letters, but as to the plosive pronunciation of peh, taw and
kaf, they only mention that they are unvoiced plosives - they do not
mention whether they are aspirated or not. Occasionally I have found texts
that mention aspiration and the lack of same in these letters, but it has
always been clear from the context that by "aspiration" they really meant
"friction" - that is they use "aspirated" to signify that a
begadkefath-letter is to be pronounced raphe (as a fricative), not to say
whether it is actually aspirated (that is, as English "t" in "tome") or
unaspirated (as English "t" in "stop").
I would be very pleased if any of you could help me settle this matter.
Also - when did the spiratization that led to the twofold pronuncation of
the begadkefath-letters set in? And in this process, did they go through a
stage of aspiration before becoming fricative?
Sincerely,
Rasmus Underbjerg Pinnerup
--
"[...] Den enkelte Moabit er ikke et Udsnit af en Masse moabitiske
Individer, men en Aabenbarelse af »Moabithed«, ligesom den enkelte Ko
er en fuldgyldig Fremtrædelsesform for »Kohed«."
- Johannes Pedersens "Israel" (bind I, side nogen og firs)
[b-hebrew] Are peh, taw and kaf aspirated in Biblical Hebrew?,
Rasmus Underbjerg Pinnerup, 05/31/2003