Pe (Semitic letter): Difference between revisions
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==Origins of Pe== |
==Origins of Pe== |
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{{Semitic alphabet}} |
{{Semitic alphabet}} |
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Pe is usually assumed to come from a pictogram of a mouth (in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] ''pe''; in Arabic, ''fam''). |
Pe is usually assumed to come from a pictogram of a mouth (in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] ''pe''; in Arabic, ''fam'') however, there is also and obvious connection to the Meso-American [[Speech_scroll]]. |
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==Hebrew Pei== |
==Hebrew Pei== |
Revision as of 14:31, 16 July 2008
Pe | |
---|---|
Phoenician | ![]() |
Hebrew | פ,ף |
Aramaic | ![]() |
Syriac | ܦ |
Arabic | ﻓ,ﻑ |
Phonemic representation | p, f (was ɸ), w |
Position in alphabet | 17 |
Numerical value | 80 |
Alphabetic derivatives of the Phoenician |
Pe is the seventeenth letter in many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew Pei Template:Ivrit, Persian alphabet Pe [پ] Error: {{Lang}}: unrecognized language code: pr (help) and Arabic alphabet Template:ArabDIN ﻑ (in abjadi order).
The original sound value is a voiceless bilabial plosive: /p/; it retains this value in most Semitic languages except for Arabic, which having lost /p/ now uses it to render a voiceless labiodental fricative /f/.
The Phoenician letter gave rise to the Greek Pi (Π), Latin P, and Cyrillic Pe.
Origins of Pe
Pe is usually assumed to come from a pictogram of a mouth (in Hebrew pe; in Arabic, fam) however, there is also and obvious connection to the Meso-American Speech_scroll.
Hebrew Pei
Orthographic variants | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
position in word |
Various Print Fonts | Cursive Hebrew |
Rashi Script | ||
Serif | Sans-serif | Monospaced | |||
non final | פ | פ | פ | ![]() |
![]() |
final | ף | ף | ף | ![]() |
![]() |
Variations on written form/pronunciation:
The letter Pei is one of the six letters which can receive a Dagesh Kal. The six are Bet, Gimel, Daleth, Kaph, Pei, and Tav (see Hebrew Alphabet for more about these letters).
There are two orthographic variants of this letter which indicate a different pronunciation:
Name | Symbol | IPA | Transliteration | Example |
---|---|---|---|---|
Pei | Template:Hebrew | /p/ | p | pan |
Fei | Template:Hebrew | /f/ | f | fan |
Pei with the dagesh
When the Pei has a "dot" in its center, known as a dagesh, it represents a voiceless bilabial plosive, /p/}. There are various rules in Hebrew grammar that stipulate when and why a dagesh is used.
Pei without the dagesh (Fei)
When this letter appears as פ without the dagesh ("dot") in its center then it usually represents a voiceless labiodental fricative /f/.
Final form of Pei/Fei
At the end of words the letter's written form changes to a Pei/Fei Sophit (Final Pei/Fei):
- ף This does not alter the pronunciation (see above).
However, when a word in modern Hebrew borrowed from another language ends in /p/, normally a pe with a dagesh at the end of the word is used instead of the final form.
Significance of Pei:
In gematria, Pei represents the number 80. Its final form represents 800 but this is rarely used, Tav written twice (400+400) being used instead.
Arabic fāʼ
The letter is named fāʼ, and is written is several ways depending in its position in the word:
Position in word | Isolated | Final | Medial | Initial |
---|---|---|---|---|
Glyph form: (Help) |
ف | ـف | ـفـ | فـ |
In the process of developing from Proto-Semitic, Proto-Semitic /p/ became Arabic /f/, and this is reflected in the use of the letter representing /p/ in other Semitic languages for /f/ in Arabic.
Fayʼ-fatḥa (فَـ /fa/) is a multi-function prefix most commonly equivalent to "so" or "so that." For example: نكتب naktub ("we write") → فنكتب fanaktub ("so we write").
The Maghribi style of writing fa' is different. It is written with a dot underneath like this ڢ . Once the pervailant style, it is now only used in Maghribi countries for writing Qur'an with the exception of Libya which adopted the Mashriqi form.[1]. See also qaf for the Maghribi style of writing that letter.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b2/Maghribi_Fa.png/500px-Maghribi_Fa.png)
References
- ^ Muhammad Ghoniem, M S M Saifullah, cAbd ar-Rahmân Robert Squires & cAbdus Samad, Are There Scribal Errors In The Qur'ân?, Retrieved 2008-March-20