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  • From: "Vadim Cherny" <VadimCherny AT mail.ru>
  • To: "Read, James C" <K0434995 AT kingston.ac.uk>
  • Cc: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] consonant vowel order of )EHYEH & YAHWEH
  • Date: Mon, 3 Oct 2005 03:30:15 +0300

JCR: This also seems to be a limitation of my ears as well. Because every time
I listen to a demonstration of someone who claims to be able to do it I always
hear the 'he' as the start of the new syllable.

That relates to the point I was making some time ago about schwa and dagesh.
Stressed syllables pull the adjacent consonants, unless the stop is introduced. That is what the Masoretes did.
Compare ni.zcAr - ni.'car, but the Masoretic niz.car. Or Av.raham vs. A.bram.
Now, when you pronounce waw in YHWH as v, syllable-final guttural hey is no problem (I don't suggest that pronunciation, just following your example) if you distinctly syllabify the word, yh.vh or even yh.(bh)h. When, however, you use soft w-u, such stop is almost lost, and hey disappears.
Since, however, hey does not take schwa, hey was vocalized, and yeh.wa became ye.ho.wa.

Vadim Cherny




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