On 2013-07-15 16:25, Will Parsons wrote:
> Minor quibble:
> when used in diphthongs,
> they were essentially being used for their consonantal value,
> rather than as matres lectionis.
> (But I think monophthongization of diphthongs
> could contribute to the use of waw and yodh as matres lectionis.)
It may be a minor quibble, but your quibble is an important quibble.
This is more-or-less what my mind was thinking when I wrote, but I
totally failed to express it when I wrote.