Wikipedia:IPA for Hebrew

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search

"Hebrew" may refer either to Modern Israeli Hebrew, classical languages such as Biblical or Mishnaic Hebrew, or to various pronunciation traditions used in liturgical settings.

[edit] Modern Hebrew

The charts below show the way in which the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) represents Modern/Israeli Hebrew language pronunciations in Wikipedia articles. Since Modern Hebrew has both non-Oriental and Oriental pronunciation, certain letters may be transcribed differently depending on the background of the speaker. See Hebrew phonology for a more thorough look at the sounds of Hebrew.

Note: An image of the chart is also available.

[edit] IPA: Hebrew Consonants
IPA Letter(s) English approximate Romanization
b בּ (Bet) but, web b
d ד (Dalet) dark, odd d
dʒ[1] ג׳ (Gimel with geresh) gin, joy, edge ǧ or j
f פ ף (Fei) fool, enough, leaf f or p̄
ɡ ג (Gimel) go, get, beg g
h ה (Hei) hen h
ħ[2] ח (Chet) as in Arabic Hussein, pronounced by Oriental Hebrew speakers ḥ or ch
j י (Yud) yes y
k כּ (Kaph) skin, skip k
l ל (Lamed) left l
m מ ם (Mem) man, tam m
n נ ן (Nun) no, tin n
p פּ (Pei) speak, spin p
q[2] ק (Qoph) as qāḍī in Literary Arabic, but in Modern Hebrew, normally pronounced as skin q or k
ʁ[3] ר (Resh) (guttural R) (Rhotic
consonant) ex. run		 r
s ס (Samech)
שׂ (Sin)		 see, city, pass s
ʃ שׁ (Shin) she, sure, emotion, leash š or sh
t ט (Tet)
ת (Tav)		 sting, stick, start t
ts[1] צ ץ (Tsadi) tsunami, pizza, cats ts (or tz)
tʃ[1] צ׳ (Tsadi with geresh) chair, nature, teach č or ch
v ב (Vet)
ו (Vav)
וו (double Vav)		 voice, have v or ḇ/w
w[4] וו (double Vav)
ו (Vav)		 we w
χ ח (Chet)[2]
כ ך (Chaph)		 Similar to Scottish loch ḥ/ḵ or ch/kh
z ז (Zayin) zoo, rose z
ʒ ז׳ (Zayin with geresh) pleasure, beige ž
ʔ א (Aleph)
ע (Ayin)[2]		 uh-(ʔ)oh ʼ or '
ʕ[2] ע (Ayin) as in Arabic ʿAbdallah, pronounced by Oriental Hebrew speakers ʻ or '

[edit] IPA: Hebrew Vowels
IPA Letter(s) English approximate Romanization
a ָ (Kamatz), Hebrew Patah.svg (Patach) father a
e Hebrew Zeire.svg (Zeire), Hebrew Segol.svg (Segol), Tilde Schwa.svg (Shva) bed, head, said e
i יHebrew Hiriq.svg(Hiriq-Yud), Hebrew Hiriq.svg(Hiriq) city, see, ski, leaf i
o ֹ  (Holam alone), וֹ (with any mater lectionis) story o
u וּ (Vav with shuruk), Hebrew Backslash Qubuz.svg (Kubutz) soon, through u

[edit] IPA: Hebrew Diphthongs
IPA Letter(s) English approximate Romanization
ei יHebrew Segol.svg (Segol-Yud), Hebrew Zeire.svg (Zeire) day, pain, table ei
ai יHebrew Patah.svg (Patach-Yud), ָי (Kamatz-Yud) fine, why ai
oi וֹי (Vav with holam male-Yud) loin, boy oi
ui וּי (Vav with shuruq-Yud) (boot+yes) ui
ao (rare) או (Alef-Vav) town, mouse ao
ju (rare) יוּ (Yud-Vav with shuruk) cute, beauty, circular yu
ij (rare) יְHebrew Hiriq.svg(Hiriq-Yud with Shva Nach)
i.e. "נִיְלֵן" [nijˈlen]		 (bee+yes) iy

[edit] IPA: Marginal Sounds
IPA Letter(s) English approximate Romanization
ð ד׳ (Dalet with geresh) this, breathe, father th
ŋ נג (Nun-Gimel), ringer, sing, drink ng
θ ת׳ (Tav with geresh) thing, teeth th

[edit] IPA: Other symbols used in transcription of Hebrew pronunciation
IPA Explanation
ˈ Primary stress (placed before the stressed syllable), e.g. אֹכֶל food /ˈʔoχel/, אוֹכֵל‏ eating (participle) /ʔoˈχel/
ˌ Secondary stress, e.g. הֲאֻמְנָם? oh really? /ˌhaʔumˈnam/
ː Long vowels (in Tiberian Hebrew) can be transcribed using the IPA gemination sign ː, e.g. the word hand would be יָד /jaːd/ in absolute state and יַד־ /jad/ in construct state.[5] Indicating normative consonant gemination is done with a double consonant, e.g. גַּנָּב a thief /ɡanˈnav/ not /ɡaˈnːav/

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b c /dʒ, ts, tʃ/ are officially written with a tie-bar in the IPA /d͡ʒ, t͡s, t͡ʃ/, respectively. The tie-bar is omitted for simplification.
  2. ^ a b c d e In Modern Israeli Hebrew, /ħ, ʕ, q/ merged with /χ, ʔ, k/, respectively, while /ħ, ʕ/ are still distinguished by Oriental Hebrew speakers.
  3. ^ /ʁ/ is uvular for most speakers, though some speakers, mostly Orientals, retain an alveolar pronunciation: [r]~[ɾ].
  4. ^ In Modern Israeli Hebrew, /w/ appears in a few words, mostly loanwords. Example: וואו (wow) /waw/. Sometimes, in words which originally have /w/, it is approximated to [v].
  5. ^ Vowel length and quality in Tiberian Hebrew is a matter of debate; this is just one possible example

[edit] See also

[edit] External links
Overviews
Eras
Dialects
Reading traditions
Ashkenazi · Sephardi · Italian · Mizrahi (Syrian) · Yemenite · Samaritan · Tiberian (extinct) · Palestinian (extinct) · Babylonian (extinct)
Orthography
Eras
Scripts
Alef · Bet · Gimel · Dalet · Hei · Vav · Zayin · Het · Tet · Yud · Kaf · Lamed · Mem · Nun · Samech · Ayin · Pei · Tsadi · Kuf · Reish · Shin · Tav
Tiberian · Babylonian · Palestinian · Samaritan
Shva · Hiriq · Zeire · Segol · Patach · Kamatz · Holam · Shuruk · Kubutz · Dagesh · Mappiq · Rafe · Sin/Shin Dot
Phonology
Grammar
Academic
Wikipedia policy
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:IPA_for_Hebrew&oldid=468156925"
Personal tools
Namespaces
Variants
Actions
Navigation
Interaction
Toolbox
Print/export