Proper Pronunciation of the Hebrew Alphabet: Beginning with Consonants (Qoph through Taw)

Interview with Machon Shilo's Rabbi David Bar-Hayim
Visit us at www.MachonShilo.org

[@MidEastAmerican]

The rabbi gladdened my heart. Barukh HaShem that there are still giborim (valiant individuals) among our teachers, who desire honesty and truth more than acceptance and kavod. לכן, מגיע לו כבוד :)

[@jamesworley7033]

indeed

[@chielgutwein3524]

According to halacha every pronunciation that is accepted by different countries and different groups are correct.A Gadol was asked what is the difference in pronunciation between ש,ס,ת he repliedוכסילים מתי תשכילו.

[@flatrodangerfield5246]

@@chielgutwein3524 English speaking some7 years schooling as well as 60+ outside youth schooling The trial to gain ability now I write with Hebrew,but used Glph/SINI phono to learn some of how we got to the present babelish of tongues some to understand fully as possible the words of our Creator...so many changes, even stoppage at large in the fractured Jew cultures diasporia to 2022 Seems to me today if I may be liberal -the lignau franc ie Phoenician as well as Masorites and others have seen such collective unification today however www & whatever you may add- it is I agree enunciated words matter most to God who would judge us as to our/or if man eish or enosh have guarded use of Tannach and life in general as moral souls< no man has total truth today of any individual group,nor as a specific group somehow holding total truth = therefore it is good I say that your group mentioned does seem to know the world is filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord AHVH etc. As for Judah 200o year sago romans coined that term.With so many sects and so ungatherd a so named people so GOYISH only the term cult is OK by me as to any group thing to beieve they are GODS only popel of the truth of how God chooses any indivdiual for eternal habitation.CULTS are typical and the Kingdom Of Heaven is not to be ever again a basar flesh jizz or material place this earth dead like fish and flies of Egypt,Much of it stench is zionism earth idea haerez ysrael...never will israel be filled again tha little place no one in billions of eons will ever fit or fill it up with again.READ Joshua.BRYT is he fall of man this earth is carnal cooked crap. & must and will be burned out of existence...not of nukes.

[@jamesworley9888]

@@chielgutwein3524 That isn't true because the language has to have a proper historically accurate pronunciation otherwise it isn't Biblical Hebrew.

[@Terneyah]

Tiberian Hebrew in all its beauty.. thanks for the videos!

[@tFighterPilot]

The distinction between Sin and Samekh was lost during the time of the second temple. That's why all these Sin-Samekh replacements only occur in post exile books. The hypothesis is that Sin sounded like the ll sound in Welsh, which also exists in south Semitic languages.

[@oleksijm]

russian does not have a 'german' or 'french' r sound. its r is, in fact rolled, like in spanish or italian, or sephardi hebrew.

[@verysmoky3605]

I came here to make the same comment. Russian, along with all other Slavic languages (and as far as I know all other Eastern European languages) uses an alveolar trill like in Spanish. The uvular fricative entered Hebrew from Yiddish which originally got it from Western/Central Europe (that R sound probably originated in Parisian French and spread to nearby Germanic languages). Here's an interesting article about it. forward.com/articles/5461/the-three-e2-80-98r-e2-80-99s/

[@manuelalonso1029]

Would a video on the composition of the hebrew letters and vowels (example: alef = yod, yod, vav) be possible or considered? I find these videos really interesting and enlightening.

[@BlastinRope]

thank you rabbi

[@mokkorista]

Thank you.

[@RudydeGroot]

Can the roav explain the difference between the sjin and the sámech? (In sound and when to write the one or the other.)

[@MeredithWaters]

Thank you so much! I have to do a reading that involves pronouncing qoph, and I know that in Arabic the q is "swallowed", as in the Arabic pronunciation of the city, Al Qahirah (Cairo). I thought the difference between kaph and qoph rested with that. But other tutorials give qoph as "cuff" with an Anglicized "k" and with an "uh" vowel. Two mistakes there. I really appreciate the confirmation that neither is the case.

[@declinatiohonesta7695]

I agree regarding Qoph, Resh, Shin and Taw, but I was disappointed by the opinion given on Sin. Linguists have in fact discovered the sound they believe to be the original pronunciation of Sin, it's between a "Sh" and an "S". This sound has been preserved by Southern Semitic languages in Yemen and Oman (not Arabic) along with the regular S and regular Sh sounds. Thus originally, the Samekh was a regular S, the Shin was a regular Sh, and the Sin was actually this special "in between" sound, namely a Voiceless Alveolar Lateral Fricative. Hebrew had probably lost this sound by about 500 BC, or perhaps much earlier. In any case, this explains why no living Jewish tradition has preserved it. While this sound became a regular S in Hebrew, in Arabic it instead became a regular Sh. This explains why Hebrew Shin usually corresponds to Arabic Sin (eg. Shalom vs. Salaam) while Hebrew Sin usually corresponds to Arabic Shin (eg. Satan vs. Shaytan). It's a little complicated, so I suggest researching this yourself online if you're interested. This is the sound: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiceless_dental_and_alveolar_lateral_fricatives

[@declinatiohonesta7695]

Oh and I want to clarify that I love your shiurim and I highly respect your mission to restore correct Hebrew pronunciation. I just disagree about Sin.

[@elidrissii]

Great comment. I had no idea about this, so it is extremely informative. This also means that there indeed is no duplicate sounds in the Hebrew alphabet, as Samekh+Sin were the only two candidates.

[@TheGrmany69]

As I can observe the sound of ש (sin) is like the "xi" in chinese piyin, far forward in between or just before the teeth, very interesting I thought it was something like the European Spanish "s" but that is far backward. Thank you for your explanation.

[@suriyanikkaran]

Declinatio Honesta We must ask the Samaritans!

[@tFighterPilot]

damn, I wrote the same thing. Should've read the comments first.

[@theburningelement.6447]

Question was vav originally a w sound

[@zackmano]

Interesting point about the Israeli street signs shown towards the end of this video: The English transliterations are very accurate, as the rav states, but interestingly the Arabic transliterations above them are actually incorrect and instead represent the modern Hebrew pronunciation. The תי"ו/thau is represented by the letter ت which is identical to a תי"ו with a דגש, and the וי"ו/waw is represented by a modified ف/fa with three dots above it, which represents the "V" sound of modern Hebrew which does not exist naturally in Arabic pronunciation.

[@optimystic5839]

My own reconstruction of Hebrew pronunciation in a Psalm verse: אדני שפתי תפתח ופי יגיד תהלתך Adonoi, shipothi tiptoḥ, upei yogeed tihilothko "My Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise"

[@RudydeGroot]

According to what the rabbi teaches that will become: "Adonaoi s'fatai thifthach ufi jazjid thehilatècha"

[@professortruthseeker8281]

Great video on a very important topic. One small question though. It seems strange to me that ר with and without a דָּגֵשׁ seems to have an inverse relationship with the pattern we see for all the other BeGeD KaPoReT letters. All the other letters have a plosive sound (that can't be lengthened) when there IS a דָּגֵשׁ, and have a fricative version WITHOUT a דָּגֵשׁ. Based on this 'trend' I would expect the ר with a דָּגֵשׁ to be an alveolar tap (flap) and the ר without a דָּגֵשׁ to be an alveolar trill. Does anyone have insight on this?

[@YehoshuaOBresler]

Our Tanakh doesn't have a Resh with a Daghesh Qal. Every dotted Resh is a Daghesh Hazaq. Dagesh Hazaq BGDKFT aren't fricative.

[@professortruthseeker8281]

Yehoshua O. Bresler So then ר wouldn't really belong in the BGD KPT group? The author of the ספר יצירה seemed to think it was a double letter. A bit of searching yields that most would agree with you, but there may be some hints of 2 pronunciations for ר. You may wish to take a look at page 160 of R. Kaplan's ספר יצירה (available in the free preview on google books) Which indicated there was a Mazya community in Tiberias which had 2 pronunciations for it. Maybe this is what is mentioned on the wikipedia page of "Akhiyahu Hakohen"?

[@YehoshuaOBresler]

Our Tanakh definitely doesn't reflect the existence of 2 Reshes. If there is an argument or a mistake in either our Tanakh or in the tradition of 2 Reshes I don't know. I offer the possibility that the 7 doubly pronounced letters are בגדכפשת representing the ideas that 7 represents with 6 of the group being the same & 1 of the 7 different. That that 1 is ש makes it all the nicer. Like in Shabbath & Shmetah

[@davidroberts3262]

@@professortruthseeker8281 I originally had the same thought as you. I believe the intended meaning is that normal דגש חזק are fairly easy to say. E.g. מ נ saying a double m or n is very simple, but that super long r is quite the effort that it comes under the category of a double pronunciation even though it's not of the same kind as בגדכפת.

[@altonlg24]

For the ש why is the other pronunciation "s" instead of "ch"? Doesn't ch keep with the sh?

[@yakigesher-zion7289]

10:22 linguists believe that the seen pronunciation would be a ɬ sound like in the welsh word “Llwynogod”

[@davidroberts3262]

@yaki, do you have any sources for that claim. Not saying you're wrong. Just would like to read further into it.

[@qswaefrdthzg]

@@davidroberts3262 Take a look at the phonology section of the Biblical Hebrew Wikipedia page and the sources cited therein :)

[@johnleake5657]

The distinction between ס and שׂ surely existed in early days. The fact that roots with etymological שׂ fairly consistantly map onto Arabic ش (like עשׂר = عَشَر and שׂבע = شَبِعَ) while words with ס and שׁ map onto Arabic س (as סרח = سرَرَحَ and שֶׁבַע = سَبْع) is surely proof that שׂ was distinct, and these roots indeed map onto the three sibillants of the ancient Semitic languages of Yemen and the living languages of Oman (Mehri etc. in which the equivalent of שׂ and ش is like the ll in Welsh Llanfair). However, there are no living traditions, so it's hard to know when שׂ and ס fell together in pronunciation, but by Mishnaic Hebrew the two sounds had fallen together, and likely by late Biblical Hebrew, so it aeems to me the single /s/ is probably the best representation.

[@johnleake5657]

Thanks for a very interesting series of videos. I'm afraid my post sounds a bit abrupt, but the pronunciation is very well defined. Thanks again.

[@meriounrio1011]

From the front of the mouth, great!

[@YehoshuaOBresler]

No 2 Hebrew letters have the same pronunciation. The Sin is sharper than the Samekh. The tongue is placed a bit higher and a bit forward poking out slightly between the teeth. See Radaq Judges 12:6 at the end he's commenting on how people are confusing a Sin (not a Samekh) with a Thaw.

[@YehoshuaOBresler]

Thank you, Zvi!

[@YehoshuaOBresler]

Guess that means you never heard of the pamphlet Saphah Verurah. It came out in 1982. In the Iberian peninsula 2 Ss exist. Those that are careful use the sharper for a Sin and the flatter for a Samekh.

[@Terneyah]

When I read the about the Shiboleth-Incident, I knew that it's not about Shin and Samekh but had to be something different. Its ridiculous to think that any Semite back in time couldnt pronounce Shin. It was about Sin and Samekh and you just confirmed it very well. Thank you- from a ger toshav

[@YehoshuaOBresler]

You're welcome!

[@YehoshuaOBresler]

The Ephraimites clearly said Shin as Samekh. I'm pointing out Radaq's comment about the Frenchmen of his day. That their Sin was like a Thaw.

[@suriyanikkaran]

I think the ש with s sound is more like the Malayalam ശ this is between s and sh, more like a thinner sh. This is similar to what I think the Samaritans say too.

[@yakigesher-zion7289]

That same letter is also present in Polish, adyghe, and russian; it's called a Voiceless alveolo-palatal sibilant but, to me at least, they are pronounced extremely similar to the regular 'sh' or welsh 'll' sound.

[@suriyanikkaran]

@@yakigesher-zion7289 the Malayalam ശ is more different than that! But the Syriac alphabet is the exact same as Hebrew. Shimun is different from Shalom /Shlama......Don't know how to explain!

[@justinbalint3768]

So this man is saying there is a W in original Hebrew pronunciation TiqWa

[@flatrodangerfield5246]

S o samach et al jizz = "S" and 'W' Sin sounds were added by Masorites because both of differing places in time and or by babel touched minds over centuries of god-touched speaking people and tongues are actualy helpful with now giant term package of Ancient EBRA men & Hebrew to mabballed Jew-ish culture? Any takers ?

[@hcn6708]

Samek and Left-Shin were originally distinct, samek coming from the proto-Semitic consonant which (along with sh) became the Arabic sin sound, pretty much always been a s sound, while left-shin came from a consonant which in Arabic became shin and was pronounced as a lateral fricative in older Biblical Hebrew

[@everythingtorah]

No. According to Rabbi Hayim Ovadia on KZbin in the name of Professor Moshe Bernstein from Yeshivah University, and many other experts, the original pronunciation for sin was/should be the IPA ɬ and samekh as a regular s. Shin as sh

[@hcn6708]

@@everythingtorah (for the left shin ofc)@@everythingtorah and Arabic ش are homologous, if that’s the correct word

[@everythingtorah]

@@hcn6708 Just to clarify its just a possible theory. It's not entirely confirmed ɬ was the original pronunciation

[@suriyanikkaran]

"I sink" 🤣

[@DavidRojasElbirt]

quechua, the inca lenguaje, has the same sound as ק

[@TheGrmany69]

South American languages tend to have that same sound, Wayunaiki and Pemon which are not too related have it, it's characteristic I think.

[@tzadiko]

Also Bethlehem represents correctly the ת

[@aarontheocelot2]

Quf is a derivative of the dotted Guf, which is a gulping g sound, not a guttural k (q) sound. An undotted Guf is g. Resh is a double letter, it is a rolled r without a dot and it is rh, a sound preserved in Arabic and somewhat similar to the American or Irish "r". Sin is sharper than samekh. Samekh is a lazier s sound.

[@YehoshuaOBresler]

+Aaron Michael The proper pronunciation of a Quph has been preserved by many of the Sephardic communities. It's a sort of "k" pronounced from further back of the palate.

[@YehoshuaOBresler]

+Aaron Michael all dots in a Quph are Dagesh Hazaq. That means the letter is pronounced double. Perhaps you mean an undotted Gimmel. That's pronounced similarly to how the Israelis pronounce a Resh. The Resh is properly pronounced the way the Russians do. Many Jewish communities have it that way in their tradition.

[@aarontheocelot2]

An undotted gkimal is ghimal. Dotted, it's gk, a hard clicking g. Guf is g and when dotted as gulping g, which I signify with q, but not a dry guttural k that David BarHhayim says. Resh is rolled except when it is dotted and times when it's not dotted it's rh, as in the secondary Arabic r as well. I know all of this from a Yemenite sage who lived till 108, who walked from Yemen to Israel. He had photographic memory and knew all sorts of things inside and out. He knew when to pronounce resh as r and when to pronounce it as rh. I'm not making all of this up.

[@YehoshuaOBresler]

+Aaron Michael . Poor you! Our Tanakh doesn't have 2 types of Resh. The old Yemenite is making things up. Every letter that is supposed to have 2 pronunciations is so marked in the vowelized editions of Tanakh. Nothing is skipped even though many people don't know how to pronounce all 29 consonant sounds. Seems that the Yeminite you found has been influenced by Arabic. Many have. I can't see the sound you say for a Quph. However many Sepharadim pronounce it properly. (Not common among the Yemenites.) If you use that same Sephardic sound, you have it correct. Otherwise you don't.

[@deakhanani]

@@YehoshuaOBresler There is a LIGHT way and a HEAVY way to pronounce resh. That is true. In example, Torah. Torah, the resh would not be trilled, and would be considered a light way of pronouncing resh, as the heaviness and lightness of resh is dependent upon the preceding letter. In the case of Torah, the heavy sound would be made by the Taw.

[@cootmaster]

i pronounce as SHABBOT so does everyone else i known

[@DCFunBud]

The English-language transliterations of Hebrew are often wrong and confusing. I don't know why this should be so. Just a beginner's experience.

[@Scripture-Man]

Couldn't agree more. Most of the names written in the English Bible are absolutely nothing like the original Hebrew names. It's insane.

[@raquelc7517]

Modá ani lefánekhá, melekh chay we-qayám, shehechezartá bi nishmáthi b-chemlá, rabbá emunáthekhá. :)

[@idontfitin.3296]

B.H

[@YehoshuaOBresler]

Dots in Resh in Tanakh are Daghesh Hazaq . Meaning it's to be pronounced double. Not a change in sound.

[@MidEastAmerican]

That's exactly what he explained in the video.

[@YehoshuaOBresler]

No, David said it's a different pronunciation. A Daghesh Hazaq that means that a letter is pronounced 2x occurs in 18 of the 22 letters, not just 7.

[@aarontheocelot2]

+Yehoshua O. Bresler You're both wrong, resh degusha is "rh", which is preserved in Arabic. It is how r connects with l because rh is said where l is said, behind the teeth, and sounds similar.

[@YehoshuaOBresler]

It doesn't exist in our Tanakh anywhere. Everyone in our scriptures is a Daghesh Hazaq. That there exists in the world a 'rh' is fact. It's just not in any version of the Jewish scriptures that I'm aware of. & I'm pretty sure David doesn't know of it either.

[@aarontheocelot2]

That's because the Tanakh does not record when to differentiate between all of the soft and hard reshes, nor at all between the soft and hard `ayins (3ayin and 3'ain/ghayin, the latter which is different than ghimel). For example, רעה can either be a friend or an enemy, depending on whether an `ayin or ghain is meant.

[@tareq5911]

Now, I'm not an expert, but i'm still going to embarrass myself and disagree with you on the Samekh pronunciation. First, it doesn't make sense for 2 letters to have the same pronunciation. Second, if you look at the old Arabic alphabet (أبجد هوز حطي كلمن سعفص قرشت ثخذ ضظغ ) you'll find that it's IDENTICAL to the Hebrew alphabet. What's the letter corresponding to the Hebrew Samekh in the old Arabic alphabet? the "Sad letter", which is basically a thick "S" sound as opposed to a thin "Sin."

[@cootmaster]

its TAV there is NO W

[@cootmaster]

@Badir al-Otaibi THERE IS NO W In hebrew NOW there was maybee BEFORE but W WAW is arabic VAV is hebrew Vav and vet , a bet with out a dagesh . there are also a double vav sometimes for w like penguin פינגווין

[@cootmaster]

@Badir al-Otaibi www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-hebrew-alphabet-aleph-bet alphebet its T TAV and V Vav

[@cootmaster]

@Badir al-Otaibi kzbin.info/www/bejne/i6vCnmRnbb6bm8k alphebet explained im not sure where your learning your aleph bet ?

[@cootmaster]

@Badir al-Otaibi well thats great, i said what is NOW -- so ya go tell the rabbis and all hebrew school teachers , and Israel who uses Sephardi pronunciations.. this what i read and most ppl NOW

[@akivatalansky]

The letter vav is really a w sound. Rabbi Bar Hayyim explained this in a previous video. Many people pronounce the letter incorrectly. The Yemenite Jews pronounce it correctly as a w.