• Hissing, Gnashing, Piercing, Cracking: Naming Vowels in Medieval Hebrew

    Author(s):
    Nick Posegay (see profile)
    Date:
    2021
    Group(s):
    Early Medieval, Hebrew Bible / Old Testament
    Subject(s):
    Hebrew language, Hebrew language--Study and teaching, Judeo-Arabic literature, Judeo-Arabic language, Semitic languages, Comparative linguistics, Linguistics
    Item Type:
    Book chapter
    Tag(s):
    Biblical Hebrew, Semitic languages, Hebrew bible, Hebrew studies, Judeo-Arabic, Comparative semitic linguistics, Hebrew
    Permanent URL:
    http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/n568-eg98
    Abstract:
    The modern names for the Hebrew vowels (qameṣ, pataḥ, segol, ṣere, ḥiriq/ḥireq, ḥolem, shuruq/shureq, qibbuṣ/qubbuṣ) are derived from a variety of medieval sources. The pair of qameṣ and pataḥ are the oldest, both having evolved in the earliest stages of Masoretic analysis of vocalisation. The remaining names are products of three different conventions. Ṣere, ḥiriq, ḥolem, and shuruq descend from four Aramaic technical terms that described the physical articulation of vowel phonemes during the ninth century. Additionally, segol describes the shape of its three-dot vowel sign in the Tiberian pointing tradition, while qibbuṣ is a Hebrew calque of an Arabic grammatical term. This article traces the evolution of these terms during the early medieval period alongside other vowel names that have not survived to the modern day. This article is part of New Perspectives in Biblical and Rabbinic Hebrew (eds. Aaron D. Hornkohl and Geoffrey Khan). The entire book can be downloaded for free here: https://www.openbookpublishers.com/product/1392
    Metadata:
    xml
    Published as:
    Book chapter     Show details
    Pub. DOI:
    doi.org/10.11647/obp.0250.02
    Publisher:
    University of Cambridge and Open Book Publishers
    Pub. Date:
    2021
    Book Title:
    New Perspectives in Biblical and Rabbinic Hebrew
    Author/Editor:
    Aaron D. Hornkohl and Geoffrey Khan
    Chapter:
    2
    Page Range:
    29 - 55
    ISBN:
    9781800641662
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    2 years ago
    License:
    All-Rights-Granted
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