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
[...]
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.
[...]
Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.