Tiberian vocalization

See also: Tiberian Hebrew, Niqqud, and Cantillation

Closeup of Aleppo Codex, Joshua 1:1

The Tiberian vocalization, Tiberian pointing, or Tiberian niqqud (Hebrew: Template:Hebrew Nikkud Tveriyani) is a system of diacritics (niqqud) devised by the Masoretes of Tiberias to add to the consonantal text of the Hebrew Bible to produce the Masoretic Text. This system soon became used to vocalize other Hebrew texts as well.

The Tiberian vocalization marks vowels and stress, makes fine distinctions of consonant quality and length, and serves as punctuation. While the Tiberian system was devised for Tiberian Hebrew, it has become the dominant system for vocalizing all forms of Hebrew, having long since eclipsed the Babylonian and Palestinian vocalization systems.

Consonant diacritics

The sin dot distinguishes between the two values of Template:Hebrew. A dagesh indicates a consonant is geminate or unspirantized, while a raphe indicates spirantization. The mappiq indicates that Template:Hebrew is consonantal rather than silent in syllable-coda position.

Vowel diacritics

The seven vowel qualities of Tiberian Hebrew are indicated straightforwardly by distinct diacritics:

niqqud with א	אַcode: heb promoted to code: he	אֶcode: heb promoted to code: he	אֵcode: heb promoted to code: he	אִcode: heb promoted to code: he	אָcode: heb promoted to code: he	אֹcode: heb promoted to code: he	אֻcode: heb promoted to code: he	אוּcode: heb promoted to code: he
name	patah	segol	tzere	hiriq	qamatz	holam	qubutz	shuruq
value	/a/	/ɛ/	/e/	/i/	/ɔ/	/o/	/u/

The diacritics qubutz and shuruq both represent /u/, but shuruq is used when the text uses full spelling (with waw as a mater lectionis). Each of these vowel phonemes could be allophonically lengthened; occasionally this length is marked with metheg. (In this function metheg also can indirectly indicate when a following shva is vocal.)

The ultrashort vowels are slightly more complicated. There were two graphemes corresponding to the vowel /ă/, attested by alternations in manuscripts like Template:Hebrew.‎. In addition, one of these graphemes could also be silent:

niqqud with א	אְcode: heb promoted to code: he	אֲcode: heb promoted to code: he	אֱcode: heb promoted to code: he	אֳcode: heb promoted to code: he
name	shva	hataf patah	hataf segol	hataf qamatz
value	/ă/, ⌀	/ă/	/ɛ̆/	/ɔ̆/

Figurines holding Tiberian vowel diacritics. Limestone and basalt artwork at the shore in Tiberias.

Shva was used both to indicate lack of a vowel (quiescent šwa, shva nah) and as another symbol to represent the phoneme /ă/ (mobile šwa, shva na), the latter also represented by hataf patah. The phoneme /ă/ had a number of allophones; /ă/ had to be written with shva rather than hataf patah when not pronounced as [ă]. Before a laryngeal-pharyngeal, mobile šwa was pronounced as an ultrashort copy of the following vowel, e.g. Template:Hebrew [uvɔqɔ̆ʕɔ], and as [ĭ] preceding /j/, e.g. Template:Hebrew /θăðammĭjuni/. Use of ḥataf vowels was considered mandatory under gutturals but optional under other letters, and varies considerably among manuscripts. This is referenced specifically by medieval grammarians:

If one argues that the dalet of 'Mordecai' (and other letters in other words) has hatef qames, tell him, 'but this sign is only a device used by some scribes to warn that the consonants should be pronounced fully, and not slurred over'.

— Abu al-Faraj Harun, Hidāyat al-Qāri (Horayat Ha-Qore), quoted in Yeivin (1980:283–284)

The names of the vowel diacritics are iconic and show some variation:

The names of the vowels are mostly taken from the form and action of the mouth in producing the various sounds, as Template:Hebrew opening; Template:Hebrew a wide parting (of the mouth), also Template:Hebrew) breaking, parting (cf. the Arab, kasr); Template:Hebrew (also Template:Hebrew) narrow opening; Template:Hebrew closing, according to others fullness, i.e. of the mouth (also Template:Hebrew fullness of the mouth). Template:Hebrew also denotes a slighter, as Template:Hebrew and Template:Hebrew (also Template:Hebrew) a firmer, compression or contraction of the mouth. Segôl (Template:Hebrew bunch of grapes) takes its name from its form. So Template:Hebrew (three points) is another name for Qibbúṣ. Moreover the names were mostly so formed (but only later), that the sound of each vowel is heard in the first syllable (Template:Hebrew for Template:Hebrew,‎ Template:Hebrew for Template:Hebrew,‎ Template:Hebrew for Template:Hebrew); in order to carry this out consistently some even write Sägôl, Qomeṣ-ḥatûf, Qûbbûṣ.

— Wilhelm Gesenius, Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar, §8d

Cantillation

Cantillation signs mark stress and punctuation: metheg may mark secondary stress; maqqaf conjoins words into one stress unit, which normally takes only one cantillation mark on the final word in the unit.

See also

• Babylonian vocalization
• Palestinian vocalization
• Niqqud
• Cardinal vowels

Bibliography

• Blau, Joshua (2010). Phonology and Morphology of Biblical Hebrew. Winona Lake, Indiana: Eisenbrauns. ISBN 1-57506-129-5. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Sáenz-Badillos, Angel (1993). A History of the Hebrew Language. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-55634-1. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Yeivin, Israel (1980). Introduction to the Tiberian Masorah. Scholars Press. ISBN 0-89130-373-1. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)