From: Shoshanna Walker <rosewalk AT concentric.net>
To: b-hebrew <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] "Salt" Statue: Lot's Wife
Date: Tue, 23 Oct 2007 18:33:45 -0400
The examples you give are of similar letters interchangeable BETWEEN
languages, not interchangeable IN Hebrew.
Shoshanna
What I mean by "interchangable" is that we find the a very similar
word with the same or a very similar meaning either in Hebrew itself
or at least in cognate languages. In many cases this can be
understood as an indication that the letters used in both were
pronounced the same, in others it has to do with the sound that was
used in the "original" (usually reconstructed) form, which was
expressed with different letters in different but related languages.
Hebrew (&R (Ayin-Sin-Resh) and Aramaic and Arabic Ayin-Samekh-Resh
both mean "ten". This is because Samekh and Sin are "interchangable"
when transferring between the languages. The same is true of Hebrew
Zayin in "Zahav" and Aramaic "Dh" in "Dahab" and so on. I know of no
case in which Xet becomes Khaph (which is just a "soft" Kaph anyway).
I know that this contradicts your own personal theory, but so does
all the rest of what most linguists think.
Yigal Levin
----- Original Message -----
From: Isaac Fried
To: Yigal Levin
Cc: b-hebrew
Sent: Tuesday, October 23, 2007 5:19 AM
Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] "Salt" Statue: Lot's Wife
Yigal,
You write:
"Although the sounds of Het (X in the trasliteration used on this
list) and Khaph seem similar to most western ears, and are in fact
pronounced the same by many Israelis as
well, historically they are not, and the two letters are NEVER
interchangeable".
Could you tell us, please, what does it mean that letters are
"interchangeable", and how you decide which letters are
"interchangeable" and which are not?
Isaac Fried, Boston University
On Oct 20, 2007, at 4:17 PM, Yigal Levin wrote:
2. However in this case - your suggestion does not work. Although
the sounds
of Het (X in the trasliteration used on this list) and Khaph seem
similar to
most western ears, and are in fact pronounced the same by many Israelis as
well, historically they are not, and the two letters are NEVER
interchangable. So there is no way in which anyone would use Melax (salt)
and Melekh (king). As far as Mal)akh (messenger/angel), the Aleph
is part of
the root (Lamed-Aleph-Kaph), and not just a "vowel-like letter" that can
be
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