Isaac Fried, Boston University
1. If it is "lengthening" and not merely "doubling", then why not
DALLLLIYM for the very DAL?
because the word we are talking about is דלים
with a phonemically lengthened ל.
Regardless of how much longer the lamed is held, the various extra
lengths clock as 'length', 'one length feature',
Just like in other languages around the world where length is a phonemic
feature of the language.
Length is relative to the surrounding sounds and
the rate of speech. Foreigners in a language may not even perceive the
lengthened sounds at first until their 'ears' adjust to the new sound system
over months and even longer.
This is a common experience for people learning Arabic.
You can hear it, though, in Abraham Shmueloff's readings of BH on the net.
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