Information AboutDagesh |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT DAGESH | |
| hebrew language | |
| diacritics | |
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An identical mark called Mappiq , carrying a different phonetic function, may be applied to different consonants; the same mark is also employed in the vowel Shuruq . Dagesh and Mappiq symbols are often omitted in writing. For instance, בּ is often written as ב. The use or omission of such marks is usually consistent throughout any given context. The two functions of dagesh are distinguished as either ''kal'' (light) or ''hazak'' (strong). DAGESH KAL ''Dagesh Kal'' (דגש קל, or דגש קשיין, sometimes referred to as "dagesh lene") may be placed inside the consonants ''bet'', ''gimel'', ''dalet'', ''kaf'', ''pe'' and ''tav''. Historically, each had two sounds: one hard ( Plosive Consonant ), and one soft ( Fricative Consonant ), depending on the position of the letter and other factors. When vowel diacritics are used, the hard sounds are indicated by a central dot called ''dagesh'', while the soft sounds lack a ''dagesh''. In Modern Hebrew, however, the ''dagesh'' only changes the pronunciation of ''bet'', ''kaf'', and ''pe'' (traditional Ashkenazic pronunciation also varies the pronunciation of ''tav'', and some traditional Middle Eastern pronunciations carry alternate forms for ''dalet'').
DAGESH HAZAK ''Dagesh Hazak'' (דגש חזק, "strong dot" — i.e. ''gemination dagesh'', or דגש כפלן, sometimes referred to as "dagesh forte") may be placed in almost any letter to indicate a doubling of that letter in pronunciation. This phonological variation is not adhered to in Modern Hebrew and is only used by current speakers of Hebrew in situations for careful pronunciation, such as reading of scriptures in a synagogue service, and then only by very precise readers. The following letters, the '' א, '' He '' ה, '' Chet '' ח, '' Ayin '' ע, '' Resh '' ר. (A few instances of ''resh'' with dagesh are Masoretically recorded in the Hebrew Bible , as well as a few cases of ''aleph'' with a dagesh, such as in Leviticus 23:17.) The presence of a dagesh hazak or consonant-doubling in a word may be entirely morphological, or, as is often the case, is a lengthening to compensate for a deleted consonant. MEANING OF DAGESH Israeli linguist Vadim Cherny argues that both dagesh kal and hazak represent the same phenomenon, namely a stop. In his theory, dagesh hazak is post-tonic stop that produces gemination of trailing consonants, and dagesh kal prevents consonantal clustering and thus blurring. Cherny asserts that dagesh kal is only pronounceable in cantillation, and the Masoretes intended it as cantillation mark. PRONUNCIATION OF MODERN ISRAELI HEBREW Below is a complete list of Hebrew letters which may take a dagesh, and their pronunciation as consonants in modern Israeli Hebrew: Dagesh and Mappiq symbols, the dots in otherwise identical letters, are often omitted in writing. For instance, בּ is often written as ב. The use or omission of such marks is usually consistent throughout any given context. Matres lectionis The letters ''alef'', ''he'', ''vav'' and ''yod'' are consonants that can sometimes have the value of vowels. ''Vav'' and ''yod'' in particular are more often vowels than they are consonants. Loanwords The sounds /tʃ, dʒ, ʒ/, written 'ז' , ג' , צ, are found in many loanwords that are part of the everyday Hebrew colloquial vocabulary, even among people who don't know the source languages. In addition, there are ways of writing some sounds in words that are truly foreign, not part of Israeli Hebrew: Same pronunciation In Israel 's general population, many consonants have merged to the same pronunciation. They are: UNICODE ENCODINGS In computer typography there are two ways to use a dagesh with Hebrew text. Here are Unicode examples:
Some fonts, Character Set s, Encoding s, and Operating System s may support neither, one, or both methods. SOURCES RELATED STUDIES
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