Yemenite Hebrew

Pronunciation system for Hebrew traditionally used by Yemenite Jews

Yemenite Jewish elders rehearsing oral lessons (1906–1918)

Yemenite Hebrew (Hebrew: עִבְרִית תֵּימָנִית, romanized: ʿIvrIṯ Tēmoniṯ), also referred to as Temani Hebrew, is the pronunciation system for Hebrew traditionally used by Yemenite Jews. Yemenite Hebrew has been studied by language scholars, many of whom believe it retains older phonetic and grammatical features lost elsewhere.[1] Yemenite speakers of Hebrew have garnered considerable praise from language purists because of their use of grammatical features from classical Hebrew.[2]

Some scholars believe that its phonology was heavily influenced by spoken Yemeni Arabic.[citation needed] Other scholars, including Yosef Qafih and Abraham Isaac Kook, hold the view that Yemenite Arabic did not influence Yemenite Hebrew, as this type of Arabic was also spoken by Yemenite Jews and is distinct from the liturgical and conversational Hebrew of the communities.[3] Among other things, Qafih noted that the Yemenite Jews spoke Arabic with a distinct Jewish flavor, inclusive of pronouncing many Arabic words with vowels foreign to the Arabic language, e.g., the qamatz (Hebrew: קָמַץ) and tzere (Hebrew: צֵירִי).[4] He argues that the pronunciation of Yemenite Hebrew was not only uninfluenced by Arabic, but it influenced the pronunciation of Arabic by those Jews, despite the Jewish presence in Yemen for over a millennium.

## History

[edit]

Yemenite Hebrew may have been derived from, or influenced by, the Hebrew of the Talmudic academies in Babylonia: the oldest Yemenite manuscripts use the Babylonian vocalization, which is believed to antedate the Tiberian vocalization.[5] As late as 937, Jacob Qirqisani wrote: "The biblical readings which are wide-spread in Yemen are in the Babylonian tradition."[6] Indeed, in many respects, such as the assimilation of paṯaḥ and səġūl, the current Yemenite pronunciation fits the Babylonian notation better than the Tiberian (though the Babylonian notation does not reflect the approximation between holam and sere in some Yemenite dialects). This is because in the Babylonian tradition of vocalization there is no distinct symbol for the səġūl.[7] It does not follow, as claimed by some scholars, that the pronunciation of the two communities was identical, any more than the pronunciation of Sephardim and Ashkenazim is the same because both use the Tiberian symbols.

Section of Yemenite Siddur, with Babylonian supralinear punctuation (Pirke Avot)

The following chart shows the seven vowel paradigms found in the Babylonian supralinear punctuation, which are reflected to this day by the Yemenite pronunciation of Biblical lections and liturgies, though they now use the Tiberian symbols. For example, there is no separate symbol for the Tiberian səġūl and the pataḥ and amongst Yemenites they have the same phonetic sound.[8] In this connection, the Babylonian vowel signs remained in use in Yemen long after the Babylonian Biblical tradition had been abandoned, almost until our own time.[9]

Vowels with ב  |  |  |  |  |  |  |

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Tiberian
equivalent  | qamaṣ[10] | paṯaḥ, (səġūl)  | ṣerê[11] | shewā mobile
(šĕwā naʻ)[12][13] | ḥōlam | ḥiraq | šūraq,
qubbūṣ
Tiberian
niqqud  | בָ | בַ, בֶ | בֵ | בְ | בֹ | בִ | בֻ, בוּ
Value  | /ɔː/ | /æ(ː)/ | /eː/ | /æ(ː)/ | /øː/ | /i/ | /u/

## Distinguishing features

[edit]

The following chart shows the phonetic values of the Hebrew letters in the Yemenite Hebrew pronunciation tradition.

Letter  | א | ב | ג | ד | ה | ו | ז | ח | ט | י | כ/ך | ל | מ/ם | נ/ן | ס | ע | פ/ף | צ/ץ | ק | ר | ש | ת

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Value  | [ʔ] | [b]
[v] | [dʒ]
[ɣ] | [d]
[ð] | [h] | [w] | [z] | [ħ] | [tˤ] | [j] | [k]
[x] | [l] | [m] | [n] | [s] | [ʕ] | [p]
[f] | [sˤ] | [g] | [r] | [ʃ]
[s] | [t]
[θ]

Yemenites have preserved the sounds for each of the six double-sounding consonants: bəged-kəfet (בג״ד כפ״ת). The following are examples of their peculiar way of pronunciation of these and other letters:

* gímel/ǧimal (גּ) with the dāḡēš/dageš is pronounced /d͡ʒ/. Thus, the verse וּמִי, גּוֹי גָּדוֹל (Deut. 4:8) is realized as, u'mi, ǧoi ǧaḏol ([u'mi dʒoi dʒaðol]) (as in Sanʽani Arabic ج ǧīm /d͡ʒ/ but unlike Taʽizzi-Adeni Arabic /g/).[14]
* gímel/gimal (ג) without dāḡēš/dageš is pronounced /ɣ/, like Arabic ġayn غ.
* dāleṯ/dal (ד) without dāḡēš/dageš is pronounced /ð/, like Arabic ḏāl ذ. Thus, the word אֶחָדֿ, 'one' in Shema Yisrael is always pronounced aḥoḏ ([æħɔð]).[15]
* The pronunciation of tāv/taw (ת) without dāḡēš/dageš as ث /θ/ (shared by other Mizrahi Hebrew dialects such as Iraqi). Thus, Sabbath day is pronounced in Yemenite Hebrew, Yom ha-Shabboth ([jom haʃ-ʃabɔθ]).[16]
* vāv/waw (ו) is pronounced /w/ (as in Iraqi Hebrew and و in Arabic).
* Emphatic and guttural letters have nearly the same sounds and are produced from deep in the throat, as in Arabic.
* ḥêṯ/ħet (ח) is a voiceless pharyngeal fricative, equivalent to Arabic ح /ħ/.
* ʻáyin/ʕajin (ע) is identical to Arabic ع /ʕ/, and is a voiced pharyngeal fricative. (The Sephardic pronunciation of ע, however, is of a weaker nature.)
* tsadi (צ) is not a voiceless alveolar sibilant affricate "ts" among the Yemenites, but rather a deep-sounding "s" (pharyngealized fricative).
* qof (ק) is pronounced by the Yemenites (other than the Jews from Shar'ab) as a voiced /g/, (as in Sanʽani Arabic ق gāf /g/ but unlike Taʽizzi-Adeni Arabic /q/) and is in keeping with their tradition that a different phonetic sound is given for gímel/gimal (see supra).
* resh (ר) is pronounced as an alveolar trill /r/, rather than the uvular trill [ʀ], and is identical to Arabic ر rāʾ and follows the conventions of old Hebrew.[17]
* The kaf sofit with a dagesh (ךּ) is pronounced as such, ('ka') as in the rare example of the last word in Psalm 30.

### Vowels

[edit]

* Qāmaṣ gāḏôl/Qamac qadol is pronounced /ɔː/, as in Ashkenazi Hebrew and Tiberian Hebrew. The Yemenite pronunciation for Qamats gadol (קמץ גדול) and Qamats qatan (קמץ קטן) is identical (see infra.).
* There is no distinction between the vowels paṯaḥ/pataħ and səḡôl/segol all being pronounced /æ(ː)/, like the Arabic fatḥa (a feature also found in old Babylonian Hebrew, which used a single symbol for all three).[7] A šəwâ nāʻ/šwa naʕ, however, is identical to a חטף פתח and חטף סגול.
* Final hê/hej with mappîq/mefiq has an aspirated sound, generally stronger sounding than the regular hê/hej. Aleph (אַלַף) with a dagesh, a rare occurrence, is pronounced with a glottal stop, e.g., the word וַיָּבִיאּוּ in Genesis 43:26.[18] Conversely, some words in Hebrew which are written with the final hê ending (without the mappîq) are realized by a secondary glottal stop and so are abruptly cut short, as to hold one's breath.[19]
* A semivocalic sound is heard before paṯaḥ gānûḇ/pataħ ganuv (furtive paṯaḥ coming between a long vowel and a final guttural): thus ruaħ (spirit) sounds like rúwwaḥ and siaħ (speech) sounds like síyyaḥ. (That is shared with other Mizrahi pronunciations, such as the Syrian.)

Yemenite pronunciation is not uniform, and Morag has distinguished five sub-dialects, the best known being probably Sana'ani, originally spoken by Jews in and around Sana'a. Roughly, the points of difference are as follows:

* In some dialects, ḥōlem/ħolam (long "o" in modern Hebrew) is pronounced /øː/, but in others, it is pronounced /eː/ like ṣêrệ/cerej. (The last pronunciation is shared with Lithuanian Jews.)
* Some dialects (e.g. Sharab) do not differentiate between bêṯ/bet with dāḡēš/dageš and without it.[citation needed] That occurs most of Mizrahi Hebrew.
* Sana'ani Hebrew primarily places stress on the penultimate syllable,[citation needed] as in Ashkenazi Hebrew.

#### Qamats Gadol and Qamats Qatan

[edit]

Yemenite reading practices continue the orthographic conventions of the early grammarians, such as Abraham ibn Ezra and Aaron Ben-Asher. One basic rule of grammar states that every word with a long vowel sound, that is, one of either five vowel sounds whose mnemonics are "pītūḥe ḥöthom" (i.e. ḥiraq, šūraq, ṣeré, ḥölam and qamaṣ), whenever there is written beside one of these long vowel sounds a meteg (or what is also called a ga’ayah) and is denoted by a small vertical line below the word (e.g. under the ז in זָֽכְרוּ), it indicates that the vowel (in that case, qamaṣ) must be drawn out with a prolonged sound. For example, ōōōōōō, instead of ō, (e.g. zoː— khǝ ru). In the Sephardic tradition, however, the practice is different altogether, and they will also alter the phonetic sound of the short vowel qamaṣ qattön whenever the vowel appears alongside a meteg (a small vertical line), reading it as the long vowel qamaṣ gadöl, giving to it the sound of "a", as in car, instead of "ōōōōō." Thus, for the verse in כָּל עַצְמוֹתַי תֹּאמַרְנָה (Psalm 35:10), the Sephardic Jews will pronounce the word כָּל as "kal" (e.g. kal ʕaṣmotai, etc.), instead of kol ʕaṣmotai as pronounced by both Yemenite and Ashkenazi Jewish communities.[20]

The meteg, or ga’ayah, has actually two functions: (1) It extends the sound of the vowel; (2) It makes any šewa that is written immediately after the vowel a mobile šewa, meaning, the šewa itself becomes ə. For example: אוֹמְרים = ʔö mǝ rim, שׁוֹמְרים = šö mǝ rim, סִיסְרָא = sī sǝ ra, שׁוּבְךָ = šū vǝ kha, and טוּבְךָ = tū vǝ kha. Examples with meteg/ga’ayah: שָֽׁמְרָה = šoː mǝ ro, ּיֵֽרְדו = ye rǝ du.

The Qamats qatan is realized as the non-extended "o"-sound in the first qamats (qamaṣ) in the word, חָכְמָה ⇒ ḥokhma (wisdom).

The Yemenite qamaṣ ⟨ ָ ⟩ is represented in the transliterated texts by the diaphoneme /oː/. The vowel quality is the same, whether for a long or short vowel, but the long vowel sound is always prolonged.

#### Holam and sere

[edit]

A distinct feature of Yemenite Hebrew is that there is some degree of approximation between the ḥōlam and the ṣêrệ. To the untrained ear, they may sound as the same phoneme, but Yemenite grammarians will point out the difference. The feature varies by dialect:

* In the standard, provincial pronunciation that is used by most Yemenite Jews, holam is pronounced as /øː/. For example, the word "shalom" (שָׁלוֹם), is pronounced sholøm.
* In some provincial dialects, in particular that of Aden, holam becomes a long e and is indeed indistinguishable from sere, and some early manuscripts sometimes confuse or interchange the symbols for the two sounds.[21]

Some see the assimilation of the two vowels as a local variant within the wider Babylonian family, which the Yemenites happened to follow.[22]

#### Strict application of Mobile Shewā

[edit]

Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook and Rabbi Jacob Saphir have praised the Yemenites in their correct pronunciation of Hebrew.[23] They still read the biblical lections and liturgies according to what is prescribed for Hebrew grammar and are meticulous to pronounce the mobile šĕwā שוא נע in each of its changing forms. While most other communities also adhere to the rule of mobile šĕwā whenever two šĕwās are written one after the other, as in יִכְתְּבוּ, most have forgotten its other usages.

Mobile shĕwā

Aharon Ben-Asher, in his treatise on the proper usage of Hebrew vowels and trope symbols, writes on the šĕwā: "[It is] the servant of all the letters in the entire Scriptures, whether at the beginning of the word, or in the middle of the word, or at the end of the word; whether what is pronounced by the tongue or not pronounced, for it has many ways… However, if it is joined with one of four [guttural] letters, א ח ה ע, its manner [of pronunciation] will be like the manner of the vowel of the second letter in that word, such as: בְּֽהֹנוֹת ידיהם ורגליהם (Jud. 1:7) = böhonoth; מתי פתים תְּֽאֵהֲבוּ פתי (Prov. 1:22) = te’ehavu; עיניו לְֽחֵלְכָה יצפנו (Ps. 10:8) = leḥeləkhah; שריה רְֽעֵלָיָה מרדכי (Ezra 2:2) = reʻeloyoh."[24]

Mobile shewa (shĕwā-jiʻya)

On the mobile šĕwā and its usage amongst Yemenite Jews, Israeli grammarian Shelomo Morag wrote:[25] "The pronunciation of the šĕwā mobile preceding א, ה, ח, ע, or ר in the Yemenite tradition is realized in accordance with the vowel following the guttural; quantitatively, however, this is an ultra-short vowel. For example, a word such as וְחוּט is pronounced wuḥuṭ. A šĕwā preceding a yōḏ is pronounced as an ultra-short ḥīreq: the word בְּיוֹם is pronounced biyōm. This is the way the šĕwā is known to have been pronounced in the Tiberian tradition."

Other examples of words of the mobile šĕwā in the same word taking the phonetic sound of the vowel assigned to the adjacent guttural letter[26] or of a mobile šĕwā before the letter yod (י) taking the phonetic sound of the yod, can be seen in the following:

* (Gen. 48:21) וְהֵשִׁיב = weheshiv
* (Gen. 49:30) בַּמְּעָרָה  = bamoʻoroh
* (Gen. 50:10) בְּעֵבֶר = beʻevar
* (Exo. 7:27) וְאִם = wi’im
* (Exo. 20:23) מִזְבְּחִי = mizbiḥī
* (Deut. 11:13) וְהָיָה = wohoyoh
* (Psalm 92:1–3)

מִזְמוֹר שִׁיר לְיוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת. טוֹב לְהֹדוֹת לַה' וּלְזַמֵּר לְשִׁמְךָ עֶלְיון. לְהַגִּיד בַּבֹּקֶר חַסְדֶּךָ וֶאֱמוּנָתְךָ בַּלֵּילוֹת

(vs. 1) liyöm – (vs. 2) lohödöth – (vs. 3) lahaǧīd

The above rule applies only to when one of the four guttural letters (אחהע), or a yod (י) or a resh (ר) follows the mobile šĕwā, but it does not apply to the other letters; then, the mobile šĕwā is always read as a short-sounding pataḥ.

## Distinctive pronunciations preserved

[edit]

Geographically isolated for centuries, the Yemenite Jews constituted a peculiar phenomenon within Diaspora Jewry. In their isolation, they preserved specific traditions of both Hebrew and Aramaic. The traditions, transmitted from generation to generation through the teaching and reciting of the Bible, post-biblical Hebrew literature (primarily the Mishnah), the Aramaic Targums of the Bible, and the Babylonian Talmud, are still alive.[27] They are manifest in the traditional manner of reading Hebrew that is practised by most members of the community. The Yemenite reading traditions of the Bible are now based on the Tiberian text and vocalization,[27] as proofread by the masorete, Aaron ben Asher, with the one exception that the vowel sǝġūl is pronounced as a pataḥ, since the sǝġūl did not exist in the Babylonian orthographic tradition to which the Jews of Yemen had previously been accustomed. In what concerns Biblical orthography, with the one exception of the sǝgūl, the Yemenite Jewish community does not differ from any other Jewish community.[27]

Shelomo Morag (standing) recording Yemenite rabbis, Yosef Saleh and Yosef Amar Halevi (sitting)

Although the vast majority of post-Biblical Hebrew and Aramaic words are pronounced the same way or nearly the same way by all of Israel's diverse ethnic groups, including the Jews of Yemen, there are still other words whose phonemic system differs greatly from the way it is used in Modern Hebrew, the sense here being the tradition of vocalization or diction of selective Hebrew words found in the Mishnah and Midrashic literature, or of Aramaic words found in the Talmud, and which tradition has been meticulously preserved by the Jews of Yemen. Two of the more recognized Yemenite pronunciations are for the words רבי and גברא, the first pronounced as Ribbi, instead of Rabbi (as in Rabbi Meir), and the second pronounced guvra, instead of gavra. In the first case, archaeologist Benjamin Mazar was the first to discover its linguistic usage in the funerary epigrams of the 3rd and 4th-century CE, during excavations at the catacombs in Beit She'arim. Nahman Avigad, speaking of the same, wrote: "Of special interest is the title Rabbi and its Greek transliteration (Greek: ΡΑΒΙ). In the inscriptions of Beth She'arim found in the former seasons ריבי and ביריבי are usual, and only once do we find רבי, which has been regarded as a defective form of ריבי, for in Greek we generally find the form (Greek: ΡΙΒΒΙ). The transliteration (Greek: ΡΑΒΙ) found here shows that the title was pronounced in Palestine in different ways, sometimes Rabbi (ΡΑΒΒΙ, ΡΑΒΙ), sometimes Ribbi (ΡΙΒΒΙ, ΡΙΒΙ) and occasionally even Rebbi (ΒΗΡΕΒΙ)."[28][29] In the latter case, the Jerusalem Talmud occasionally brings down the word גברא in plene scriptum, גוברייא (pl. for גברא), showing that its pronunciation was the same as that in use by the Yemenites.[30] Some have raised the proposition that the Yemenite linguistic tradition dates back to the Amoraim.[31]

R. Yehudai Gaon, in his Halakhot Pesukot (Hil. Berakhot), uses yod as the mater lectionis to show the vowel hiriq, after the qoph (ק) in Qiryat Shema (Hebrew: קִירְיַת שְׁמַע).[32] The editor of the critical edition, A. Israel, who places its composition in Babylonia, notes that "linguists would take an interest" in Yehudai Gaon's variant spellings of words, where especially the matres lectionis is used in place of vowels, "represented either by a plene alef (א), waw (ו), and yod (י)."[33] The use of the matres lectionis in place of the vowel hiriq in the construct case of the words קִרְיַת שְׁמַע ("recital of Shemaʻ" = קירית שמע) reflects apparently the Babylonian tradition of pronunciation, and, today, the same tradition is mirrored in the Yemenite pronunciation of Qiryat shemaʻ.[34]

The following diagrams show a few of the more conspicuous differences in the Yemenite tradition of vocalization and which Israeli linguist, Shelomo Morag, believes reflects an ancient form of vocalizing the texts and was once known and used by all Hebrew-speakers.[35]

| Yemenite Hebrew | Trans-
literation | Modern Hebrew | Trans-
literation

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אַוֵּיר[36] | ʾawwēr | אַוִּיר | ʾavvīr
אֵי אִפְשָׁר[37] | ʾēy ʾīfšor | אִי אֶפְשָׁר | ʾīy ʾefšār
אֵינוּ[38] | ʾēnū | אֵינוֹ | ʾēnō
אֶסְתְּנַס[39] | estənas | אִסְתְּנִיס | ʾistənīs
אִתְאֲמַר[40] | ʾīṯʾămar | אִיתְּמַר[41] | ʾītəmar
בֵּיעוּר חָמֵץ[42] | bēyʿūr ḥomēṣ | בִּיעוּר חָמֵץ | bīyʿūr ḥāmēṣ
תֻּרְדְּיוֹן[43] | Turḏĭyōn | תְּרַדְיוֹן | Təraḏyōn
בָּצֵל[44] | boṣēl | בָּצָל | bāṣāl
בִּרְיָה[45] | bīryo | בְּרִיָּה | bərīyyā
בָּתֵּי כְּנָסִיּוֹת[46] | botē kŏnosīyyōṯ | בָּתֵּי כְּנֵסִיּוֹת | bātē kənēsīyyōṯ
| Yemenite Hebrew | Trans-
literation | Modern Hebrew | Trans-
literation

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גֻּבְרָא[47] | ǧuḇroʾ | גַּבְרָא | gaḇrāʾ
גַּט[48] | ǧaṭ | גֵּט | gēṭ
גְּייָס[49] | ǧĭyyos | גַּייִס | gayyīs
גִּיעְגּוּעִין[50] | ǧīʿǧūʿīn | גַּעְגּוּעִים | gaʿgūʿīm
גְּנָאי[51] | ǧŏnoʾy | גְּנַאי | gǝnaʾy
דְּבֵּילָה[52] | dĕbēlo | דְּבֵילָה | dǝḇēlā
דְּבָק[53] | dŏḇog | דֶּבֶק | deḇeq
הַפַּלָּגָה[54] | happalloġo | הַפְּלָגָה | happǝlāgā
דְּכַתִיב[55] | dăḵaṯīḇ | דִּכְתִיב | dīḵǝṯīḇ
הַאיְדַּנָא[56] | haʾydanoʾ | הַאִידְּנָא | haʾīydǝnāʾ
הוּרְדּוּס[57] | Hūrŭdūs | הוֹרְדוֹס | Hōrǝdōs
| Yemenite Hebrew | Trans-
literation | Modern Hebrew | Trans-
literation

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הִלְכּוֹת[58] | hīlkōṯ | הִלְכוֹת | hīlḵōṯ
הִעְמִיד | hīʿĭmīḏ | הֶעֱמִיד | heʿĕmīḏ
וִהְוִי[59] | wīhĭwīy | וֶהֱוֵי | vehĕvēy
וְכַתִיב[60] | wăḵaṯīḇ | וּכְתִיב | ūḵǝṯīḇ
זְכוֹכִית[46][61] | zŏḵōḵīṯ | זְכוּכִית | zəḵūḵīṯ
זָכִיּוֹת[62] | zoḵīyyōṯ | זָכֻיּוֹת | zāḵuyyōṯ
זְפָק[63] | zŏfog | זֶפֶק | zefeq
חוֹמַשׁ[64] | ḥōmaš | חוּמַּשׁ | ḥūmmaš
חֲלָזוֹן[46] | ḥălozōn | חִלָּזוֹן | ḥīllāzōn
חַשְׁמוּנַּאי[57] | ḥašmūnnaʾy | חַשְׁמוֹנָאי | ḥašmōnāʾy

Notes on transliteration: In the Yemenite Jewish tradition, the vowel qamaṣ ⟨ ָ ⟩, represents /oː/. The Hebrew character Tau (Hebrew: ת), without a dot of accentuation, represents /θ/. The Hebrew character Gimal (Hebrew: גּ), with a dot of accentuation, represents /dʒ/. The Hebrew word גנאי (in the above middle column, and meaning 'a thing detestable'), is written in Yemenite Jewish tradition with a vowel qamaṣ beneath the Hebrew: נ, but since it is followed by the letters אי it represents /ɔɪ/.[65] The vowel ḥolam in the Yemenite dialect is transcribed here with ⟨o⟩, and represents a front rounded vowel. Another peculiarity with the Yemenite dialect is that the vast majority of Yemenite Jews (excluding the Jews of Sharab in Yemen) will replace /q/, used here in transliteration of texts, with the phonetic sound of [ɡ].

| Yemenite Hebrew | Trans-
literation | Modern Hebrew | Trans-
literation

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חֲתִיכָּה[66] | ḥăṯīko | חֲתִיכָה | ḥăṯīḵā
טְלִית[67] | ṭĭlīṯ | טַלִּית | ṭallīṯ
מַדְרֵס[68] | maḏrēs | מִדְרָס | mīḏrās
יְהֶא[69] | yĕheʾ | יְהֵא | yǝhēʾ
יְכוּלִים[70] | yŭḵūlīm | יְכוֹלִים | yǝḵōlīm
יְרוּשְׁלְמִי[71] | yŭrūšlĭmī | יְרוּשַׁלְמִי | yǝrūšalmī
יָרָק[72] | yorog | יֶרֶק | yereq
כּוּמָר[73] | kūmor | כּוֹמֶר | kōmer
כּוֹתָל[74] | kōṯol | כּוֹתֶל | kōṯel
כִּי הַאיֵ גְּוַנָא[75] | kī haʾyē ǧăwanoʾ | כִּי הַאי גַּוְנָא | kī haʾy gavnāʾ
יֵיתֵי וִיפַסַּח[76] | yēyṯēy wīyfassaḥ | יֵיתֵי וְיִפְסַח | yēyṯēy vǝyīfǝsaḥ
| Yemenite Hebrew | Trans-
literation | Modern Hebrew | Trans-
literation

|
|
|

כָּרֵיתוֹת[77] | korēṯoṯ | כְּרִיתוּת | kǝrīṯūṯ
כִּשְׁהוּא / כִּשְׁהֶן[78] | kīšhūʾ / kīšhan | כְּשֶׁהוּא / כְּשֶׁהֶן | kǝšehūʾ / kǝšehen
לְאַפַּוְקֵי[79] | lăʾapawgēy | לְאַפּוּקֵי | lǝʾapūqēy
לְבַטַּל[80] | lăḇaṭṭal | לְבַטֵּל | lǝḇattēl
לִגְמַרֵי[81] | līġmarēy | לִגַמְרֵי | līgamǝrēy
לִידָה[82] | līḏo | לֵידָה | lēḏā
לוֹלָב[83] | lōloḇ | לוּלָב | lūlāḇ
לֵישַׁב[84] | lēšaḇ | לֵישֵׁב | lēšēḇ
לִמּוֹל[85] | līmmōl | לָמוּל | lāmūl
לְמַחוֹת[86] | lămaḥōṯ | לִמְחוֹת | līməḥōṯ
לְמַעַט | lămaʿaṭ | לְמַעֵט | ləmaʿēṭ
לְפִיכָּךְ[87] | lĭfīkoḵ | לְפִיכָךְ | ləfīḵāḵ
| Yemenite Hebrew | Trans-
literation | Modern Hebrew | Trans-
literation

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|
|

לְקָרַב / לְרַחַק[88] | lŏgoraḇ / lăraḥag | לְקָרֵב / לְרַחֵק | ləqārēḇ / ləraḥēq
לִשְׁאַל[89] | līšʾal | לִשְׁאֹל | līšʾōl
לְשַׁקַּר[90] | lăšaggar | לְשַׁקֵּר | ləšaqqēr
לְתַכֶּן | lăṯakan | לְתַקֵּן | ləṯaqēn
מְבוּקְשׁוֹ[91] | mŭḇūgŏšō | מְבוּקָּשׁוֹ | məḇūqqāšō
אִכְּפַת[92] | ’īkfaṯ | אִכְפַּת | ’īḵpaṯ
מִיָּמִים[93] | mīyyomīm | מִיּוֹמַיִם | mīyyōmayīm
מְזָמְנִין[94] | mŏzomĭnīn | מְזַמְּנִין | məzammənīn
מִחֲזִי[95] | mīḥăzīy | מִיחְזֵי | mīyḥəzēy
מְחָנְפִים[96] | mŏḥonĭfīm | מַחֲנִיפִים | maḥănīfīm
מִיּוֹשֵׁב[97] | mīyyōšēḇ | מְיוּשָּׁב | məyūššāḇ

In the Yemenite tradition, the plural endings on the words זָכִיּוֹת (merits), מַלְכִיּוֹת (kingdoms), גָּלִיּוֹת (exiles), טעִיּוֹת (errors), טרפִיּוֹת (defective animals) and עֵדִיּוֹת (testimonies), all differ from the way they are vocalized in Modern Hebrew. In Modern Hebrew, these words are marked with a shuraq, as follows: זָכֻיּוֹת – מַלְכֻיּוֹת – גָּלֻיּוֹת – טעֻיּוֹת – טרפֻיּוֹת – עֵדֻיּוֹת. Although the word Hebrew: מַלְכֻיוֹת (kingdoms) in Daniel 8:22 is vocalized malkhuyoth, as it is in Modern Hebrew, Shelomo Morag thinks that the Yemenite tradition reflects a phonological phenomenon known as dissimilation, whereby similar consonants or vowels in a word become less similar.[98] Others explain the discrepancy as being in accordance with a general rule of practice, prevalent in the 2nd century CE, where the Hebrew in rabbinic literature was distinguished from that of Biblical Hebrew, and put into an entire class and category of its own, with its own rules of vocalization (see infra).

The Hebrew noun חֲתִיכָּה (ḥăṯīkkah), in the upper left column, is a word meaning "slice/piece" (in the absolute state), or חֲתִיכַּת בשר ("piece of meat") in the construct state. The noun is of the same metre as קְלִיפָּה (qǝlipah), a word meaning "peel," or the "rind" of a fruit. Both the kaph and pe in these nouns are with a dagesh. However, the same roots applied to different meters, serving as gerunds, as in "slicing/cutting" [meat] and "peeling" [an apple], the words would respectively be חֲתִיכָה (ḥăṯīḫah) and קליפָה (qǝlīfah), without a dagesh in the Hebrew characters Kaph and Pe (i.e. rafe letters), such as when the verb is used with the preposition "after": e.g. "after peeling the apple" = אחרי קליפת התפוח, or "after cutting the meat" = אחרי חתיכת הבשר.

| Yemenite Hebrew | Trans-
literation | Modern Hebrew | Trans-
literation

|
|
|

פוּשָׁרין[99] | fūšorīn | פּוֹשְׁרִין | pōšǝrīn
מֵיעוּט[100] | mēyʿūṭ | מִיעוּט | mīyʿūṭ
וְאִילַּךְ[101] | wĭʾīllaḵ | וְאֵילַךְ | vǝʾēlaḵ
מְכִילְּתָא | mĭḵīllŏṯoʾ | מְכִילְתָּא | mǝḵīlǝtāʾ
מִלְוָה[102] | mīlwo | מִלְוֶה | mīlve
מְלָחֵם בַּרְזֶל[103] | mŏloḥēm barzal | מַלְחֵם בַּרְזֶל | malḥēm barzel
הָרִשְׁעָה | horīšʿo | הָרְשָׁעָה | hārǝšāʿā
מְנוּדָּה[104] | mŭnūdo | מְנוּדֶה | mǝnūde
מֵעוֹמֵד[105] | mēʿōmēḏ | מְעוּמָּד | mǝʿūmmāḏ
מַעְרָבִית[106] | maʿroḇīṯ | מַעֲרָבִית | maʿărāḇīṯ
מַעְשַׂר[107] | maʿsar | מַעֲשֵׂר | maʿăsēr
מִקְוָה[108] | mīgwo | מִקְוֶה | mīqve
| Yemenite Hebrew | Trans-
literation | Modern Hebrew | Trans-
literation

|
|
|

מַקְפִיד[109] | magfīḏ | מַקְפִּיד | maqpīḏ
מְקַרֶּא[110] | măgarraʾ | מַקְרִיא | maqrīyʾ
מְרוֹסָס[111] | mŏrōsos | מְרֻסָּס | mǝrussās
מַרְחֵץ[112] | marḥēṣ | מֶרְחָץ | merḥāṣ
מְרַחְשְׁוָן[113] | măraḥšŏwon | מַרְחֶשְׁוָן | marḥešvān
מִשּׁוֹם[114] | mīššom | מִשּׁוּם | mīššūm
מִשְׁכּוֹן | mīškōn | מַשְׁכּוֹן | maškōn
מְשַׁכַּחַת[115] | măšakaḥaṯ | מַשְׁכַּחַת | maškaḥaṯ
מְתַלְּעִין[116] | măṯallĭʿīn | מַתְלִיעִים | maṯlīʿīm
מִתְּקָן[117] | mittŏgon | מְתוּקָּן | mǝṯūqqān
נֶאֱמָר | naʾămor | נֶאֱמַר | neʾĕmar
נִהְנָה, נִהְנִין[118] | nīhŏno, nīhĭnīn | נֶהֱנָה, נֶהֱנִין | nehĕnā, nehĕnīyn
| Yemenite Hebrew | Trans-
literation | Modern Hebrew | Trans-
literation

|
|
|

נוֹיִ[119] | nōyī | נוֹי | nōy
נוּלָּד[120] | nūlloḏ | נוֹלַד | nōlad
נוּצָּר[121] | nūṣṣor | נוֹצַר | nōṣar
נִכְנָס[122] | nīḵnos | נִכְנַס | nīḵnas
נָמוֹךְ | nomōḵ | נָמוּךְ | nāmūḵ
נִמּוֹס | nīmmōs | נִימוּס | nīmmūs
נְפָט[123] | nŏfoṭ | נֵפְט | nēfǝṭ
נִצְטַעַר[124] | nīṣăṭaʿar | נִצְטַעֵר | nīṣṭaʿēr
נִקְרַאַת[125] | nīgraʾaṯ | נִקְרֵאת | nīqrēṯ
נִתְגַּיַיר[126] | nīṯǧayayr | נִתְגַּיֵּיר | nīṯgayyēyr
סְבַרָא | săvaroʾ | סְבָרָא | sǝvārāʾ
סַגֵי[127] | saġēy | סַגִי | sagīy
סוֹמֶא[128] | sōmaʾ | סוּמָא | sūmāʾ
סוּרַג[129] | sūraġ | סוֹרֶג | sōreg
סְעוֹדָה[130] | sŏʿoḏo | סְעוּדָה | sǝʿūdā
סְקֵילָה[131] | sĕgēlo | סְקִילָה | sǝqīlā

In the Talmud (Ḥullin 137b; Avodah Zarah 58b), the Sages of Israel had a practice to read words derived from the Scriptures in their own given way, while the same words derived from the Talmud or in other exegetical literature (known as the Midrash) in a different way: "When Isse the son of Hinei went up [there], he found Rabbi Yoḥanan teaching [a certain Mishnah] to the creations, saying, raḥelim (i.e. רחלים = the Hebrew word for "ewes"), etc. He said to him, 'Teach it [by its Mishnaic name = רחלות], raḥeloth!' He replied, '[What I say is] as it is written [in the Scriptures]: Ewes (raḥelim), two-hundred.' (Gen. 32:15) He answered him, 'The language of the Torah is by itself, and the language employed by the Sages is by itself!'" (לשון תורה לעצמה, לשון חכמים לעצמן).[132]

This passage from the Talmud is often quoted by grammarians of Yemenite origin to explain certain "discrepancies" found in vocalization of words where a comparable source can be found in the Hebrew Bible, such as the Yemenite tradition in rabbinic literature to say Hebrew: מַעְבִּיר (maʻbīr),[133] rather than Hebrew: מַעֲבִיר (maʻăvīr) – although the latter rendering appears in Scripture (Deuteronomy 18:10), or to say Hebrew: זִיעָה (zīʻah), with ḥīraq,[134] rather than, Hebrew: זֵיעָה (zeʻah), with ṣerê, although it too appears in Scripture (Genesis 3:19), or to say Hebrew: ברכת המזון (birkhath ha-mazon) (= kaph rafe), rather than as the word "blessing" in the construct state which appears in the Scriptures (Genesis 28:4, et al.), e.g. birkath Avraham (ברכת אברהם), with kaph dagesh. Others, however, say that these anomalies reflect a tradition that antedates the Tiberian Masoretic texts.[135][136]

Along these same lines, the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible renders the words (Hebrew: יַבְנֶה), in II Chronicles 26:6, and (Hebrew: לוֹד), in Nehemiah 7:37; 11:35, as yävnɛ and lōð, respectively. However, in their demotic-forms, the Yemenites will pronounce these words as (Hebrew: יָבְנֵה) and (Hebrew: לוּדּ) = yovnei and lūd, respectively. The use of the phoneme "ṣerê", represented by the two dots "◌ֵ", instead of "pataḥ-səġūl" ( ֶ ) for the word "Yavneh" may have been influenced by the Palestinian dialect spoken in the Land of Israel in the 1st-century CE.

| Yemenite Hebrew | Trans-
literation | Modern Hebrew | Trans-
literation

|
|
|

עוּנְשִׁין[137] | ʿūnšīn | עוֹנָשִׁים | ʿōnašīm
עֲזֶרֶת[138] | ʿăzaraṯ | עֶזְרַת | ʿezraṯ
עַל שׁוֹם[69] | ʿal šōm | עַל שׁוּם | ʿal šūm
עִנְוְתָנוּתוֹ[139] | ʿīnwŏṯonūṯo | עַנְוְתָנוּתוֹ | ʿanvǝṯanūṯō
עֲקִידַת[140] | ʿăgīḏaṯ | עֲקֵידַת | ʿăqēḏaṯ
עַרָּבִים[141] | ʿarrovīm | עֲרֵבִים | ʿărēvīm
עַרְבִּית[142] | ʿarbīṯ | עַרְבִית | ʿarvīṯ
פַזְמוּן[143] | fazmūn | פִּזְמוֹן | pīzmōn
פָּחוּת[144] | poḥūṯ | פָּחוֹת | pāḥōṯ
פַּטְרָיוֹת | paṭroyōṯ | פִּטְרִיּוֹת | pīṭrīyyōṯ
פָסוּק | fosūg | פָּסוּק | pāsūq
| Yemenite Hebrew | Trans-
literation | Modern Hebrew | Trans-
literation

|
|
|

פִּרְיָה וְרִבְיָה[145] | pīryo wĭrīvyo | פְּרִיָּה וּרְבִיָּה | pǝrīyyā urǝvīyyā
פִּרְצוּף[146] | pīrṣūf | פַּרְצוּף | parṣūf
פֵּרַק | pērag | פֶּרֶק | pereq
פָרָשָׁה[147] | forošo | פָּרָשָׁה | pārāšā
פִּתְקִין[148] | pīṯgīn | פְּתָקִים | pǝtaqīm
צְבָע[149] | ṣŏvoʿ | צֶבַע | ṣevaʿ
צַדּוּקִים[150] | ṣadūgīm | צְדוֹקִים | ṣǝdōqīm
צִפּוֹרַיִם[151] | ṣīpōrayīm | צִפּוֹרִים | ṣīpōrīm
קְבָע[152] | gŏvoʿ | קֶבַע | qevaʿ
קוּנְטְרִס | gūnṭĭrīs | קוּנְטְרֵס | qūnṭǝrēs
קָטְנִית, קָטְנָיוֹת[153] | goṭnīṯ / goṭnoyōṯ | קִטְנִית, קִטְנִיּוֹת | qīṭnīṯ / qīṭnīyyōt
קִיבַּל[154] | gībal | קִיבֵּל | qībēl
קֵיסַם[155] | gēsam | קִיסָם | qīsam
קֶלֶף[156] | galaf | קְלָף | qǝlaf
| Yemenite Hebrew | Trans-
literation | Modern Hebrew | Trans-
literation

|
|
|

קְפִידָה[157] | gĭfīḏo | קְפֵידָה | qǝfēda
קֻרְדּוֹם | gurdōm | קַרְדּוֹם | qardōm
קִרְיַת שְׁמַע[158] | gīryaṯ šămaʿ | קְרִיַּת שמע | qǝrīyyat šǝmaʿ
קָרְקֳבָּן[159] | gorgŏbon | קוּרְקְבָן | qūrqǝḇān
קַרְקָע[160] | gergoʿ | קַרְקַע | qarqaʿ
חַלְפְּתָא[161] | Ḥalpŏṯoʾ | חֲלַפְתָּא | Ḥălaftāʾ
רִבִּי[162] | Rībīy | רַבִּי | Rabī
שָׁטוּת[163] | shoṭūṯ | שְׁטוּת | shǝṭūṯ
רוֹמֵי[164] | Rōmēy | רוֹמִי | Rōmīy
רְמָז[165] | rŏmoz | רֶמֶז | remez
שְׁאֵין[166] | šĕʾēyn | שֶׁאֵין | šeʾēyn

In Yemenite tradition, many words in both Biblical and Mishnaic Hebrew which are written with the final hê ending (without the mappîq) are realized by a secondary glottal stop, meaning, they are abruptly cut short, as when one holds his breath. Shelomo Morag who treats upon this peculiarity in the Yemenite tradition of vocalization brings down two examples from the Book of Isaiah, although by no means exclusive, where he shows the transliteration for the words תִּפָּדֶה in Isaiah 1:27 and וְנֵלְכָה in Isaiah 2:5, and both of which represent /ʔ/, as in tippoːdä(ʔ) and wǝnelăχoː(ʔ) respectively.[167] The word פָרָשָׁה (Bible Codex[168]) in the upper-middle column is pronounced in the same way, e.g. foːroːʃoːʔ.

| Yemenite Hebrew | Trans-
literation | Modern Hebrew | Trans-
literation

|
|
|

שְׁאִם[134] | šĭʾīm | שֶׁאִם | šeʾīm
שְׁבוֹת[169] | šŏvoṯ | שְׁבוּת | šǝvūt
שְׁבָח[170] | šŏvoḥ | שֶׁבַח | ševaḥ
שַׁחְרִית[142] | šaḥrīṯ | שַׁחֲרִית | šaḥărīt
שַׁיֵיךְ[171] | šayēḵ | שַׁיָּךְ | šayyaḵ
שִׁינָה[172] | šīyno | שֵׁינָה | šēna
שֵׁיעוּר[100] | šēʿūr | שִׁיעוּר | šīʿūr
שֶׁיַּעְרִיב[173] | šayyaʿrīv | שֶׁיַּעֲרִיב | šeyaʿărīv
שְׁיַרֵי[174] | šăyarēy | שִׁירֵי | šīrēy
| Yemenite Hebrew | Trans-
literation | Modern Hebrew | Trans-
literation

|
|
|

שָׁעַת[175] | šoʿeṯ | שְׁעַת | šǝʿat
שְׁפוּד[176] | šŭfūḏ | שִׁפּוּד | šipūd
שְׂרַגָּא[177] | săraǧoʾ | שְׁרָגָא | šǝragaʾ
שִׁרְטוּט[178] | šīrṭūṭ | שִׂרְטוּט | sīrṭūṭ
שְׁתָיָה (אבן שתיה)[179] | šŏṯoyo | שְׁתִיָּה (אבן שתיה) | šǝtīyya
תְּחָיַת[180][181] | tŏḥoyeṯ | תְּחִיַת | tǝḥīyaṯ
תְּלָאי[182] | tŏloʾy | תְּלַאי | tǝlaʾy
תִּלְמוֹד לוֹמַר[183] | tīlmōḏ lōmar | תַּלְמוּד לוֹמַר | talmūd lōmar
תְּנוֹ רַבָּנַן[184] | tŏnō rabonan | תָּנוּ רַבָּנָן | tanū rabanan
תֻּרְנְגוֹל[185] | turnŏġōl | תַּרְנְגוֹל | tarnǝgōl
תֻּשְׁבְּחוֹת[186] | tušbŏḥōṯ | תִּשְׁבְּחוֹת | tišbǝḥōt
תִּשְׁרִי[187] | tīšrīy | תִּשְׁרֵי | tīšrēy

Excursus: The preposition (Hebrew: שֶׁלְּ... שֶׁלַּ... שֶׁלִּ... שֶׁלָּ ..., lit. 'of') is unique in the Yemenite Jewish tradition. The Hebrew preposition is always written with the noun, joined as one word, and the lamed is always accentuated with a dagesh. For example, if the noun Hebrew: מלך, lit. 'king', would normally have been written with the definite article Hebrew: ה־, lit. 'the', as in Hebrew: הַמֶּלֶךְ, lit. 'the king', and the noun was to show possession, as in the sentence: "the palace of the king," the definite article "the" (Hebrew: ה) is dropped, but the same vowel pataḥ of the definite article is carried over to the lamed, as in שֶׁלַּמֶּלֶךְ, instead of של המלך. The vowel on the lamed will sometimes differ, depending on what noun comes after the preposition. For example, the definite article "the" in Hebrew nouns which begin with aleph or resh and sometimes ayin, such as in הָאָדָם and in הָרִאשׁוֹן, or in הָעוֹלָם, is written with the vowel qamaṣ – in which case, the vowel qamaṣ is carried over to the lamed, as in שֶׁלָּאָדָם and in שֶׁלָּרִאשׁוֹן and in שֶׁלָּעוֹלָם. Another general rule is that whenever a possessive noun is written without the definite article "the", as in the words, "a king's sceptre," or "the sceptre of a king" (Heb. מלך), the lamed in the preposition is written with the vowel shǝwa (i.e. mobile shǝwa), as in שרביט שֶׁלְּמֶּלֶךְ, and as in, "if it belongs to Israel" ⇒ אם הוא שֶׁלְּיִשְׂרַאֵל. Whenever the noun begins with a shǝwa, as in the proper noun Solomon (Heb. שְׁלֹמֹה) and one wanted to show possession, the lamed in the preposition is written with a ḥiraq, as in (Song of Solomon 3:7): מטתו שֶׁלִּשְׁלֹמֹה ⇒ "Solomon's bed", or as in עונשם שֶׁלִּרְשָׁעִים ⇒ "the punishment of the wicked", or in חבילה שֶׁלִּתְרוּמָה ⇒ "a bundle of heave-offering."[188]

Another rule of practice in Hebrew grammar is that two shǝwas חְ are never written one after the other at the beginning of any word; neither can two ḥaṭaf pataḥs חֲ or two ḥaṭaf sǝġūls חֱ be written at the beginning of a word one after the other. The practical implication arising from this rule is that when there is a noun beginning with a ḥaṭaf pataḥ, as in the word, חֲבִרְתָּהּ ⇒ "her companion", and one wishes to add thereto the preposition "to" – as in, "to her companion" ⇒ לַחֲבִרְתָּהּ, the lamed is written with the vowel pataḥ, instead of a shǝwa (i.e. a mobile shǝwa), seeing that the shǝwa at the beginning of a word and the ḥaṭaf pataḥ, as well as the ḥaṭaf sǝġūl, are all actually one and the same vowel (in the Babylonian tradition), and it is as though he had written two shǝwas one after the other. Likewise, in the possessive case, "belonging to her companion" ⇒ שֶׁלַּחֲבִרְתָּהּ, the lamed in the preposition של is written with the vowel pataḥ.

## Hebrew vernacular

[edit]

The Leiden MS. of the Jerusalem Talmud is important in that it preserves some earlier variants to textual readings of that Talmud, such as in Tractate Pesaḥim 10:3 (70a), which brings down the old Palestinian-Hebrew word for charoseth (the sweet relish eaten at Passover), viz. dūkeh (Hebrew: דוכה), instead of rūbeh/rabah (Hebrew: רובה), saying with a play on words: "The members of Isse's household would say in the name of Isse: Why is it called dūkeh? It is because she pounds [the spiced ingredients] with him." The Hebrew word for "pound" is dakh (Hebrew: דך), which rules out the spelling of " rabah " (Hebrew: רבה), as found in the printed editions. Today, the Jews of Yemen, in their vernacular of Hebrew, still call the charoseth by the name dūkeh.[189]

Other quintessential Hebrew words which have been preserved by the Jews of Yemen is their manner of calling a receipt of purchase by the name, roʔoːyoː (Hebrew: רְאָיָה), rather than the word "qabbalah" that is now used in Modern Hebrew.[190] The weekly biblical lection read on Sabbath days is called by the name seder (Hebrew: סדר), since the word parashah (Hebrew: פרשה) has a completely different meaning, denoting a Bible Codex containing the first Five Books of Moses (plural: codices = פרשיות).[191]

Charity; alms (Hebrew: מִצְוָה, miṣwoː), so-called in Yemenite Jewish parlance,[192] was usually in the form of bread, collected in baskets each Friday before the Sabbath by those appointed over this task for distribution among the needy, without them being brought to shame. The same word is often used throughout the Jerusalem Talmud, as well as in Midrashic literature, to signify what is given out to the poor and needy.[193] Today, in Modern Hebrew, the word is seldom used to imply charity, replaced now by the word, ts’dakah (Heb. צְדָקָה). In contrast, the word צדקה amongst Jews in Sana’a was a tax levied upon Jewish householders, particularly those whose professions were butchers, and which tax consisted of hides and suet from butchered animals, and which things were sold on a daily basis by the Treasurer, and the money accruing from the sale committed to the public fund for the Jewish poor of the city, which money was distributed to the city's poor twice a year; once on Passover, and once on Sukkot.[194] The fund itself was known by the name toːḏer (Hebrew: תָּדֵיר), lit. "the constant [revenues]."[195]

Although Jews in Yemen widely made-use of the South-Arabic word mukhwāṭ (Arabic: المُخْوَاط) for the "metal pointer" (stylus) used in pointing at the letters of sacred writ, they also knew the old Hebrew word for the same, which they called makhtev (Hebrew: מַכְתֵּב).[196] The following story is related about this instrument in Midrash Rabba: "Rabban [Shimon] Gamliel says: ‘Five-hundred schools were in Beter, while the smallest of them wasn’t less than three-hundred children. They used to say, ‘If the enemy should ever come upon us, with these metal pointers (Hebrew: מַכְתֵּבִין) we’ll go out against them and stab them!’..."[197]

In other peculiar words of interest, they made use of the word, shilṭön (Hebrew: שִׁלְטוֹן), for "governor" or "king," instead of "government," the latter word now being the more common usage in Modern Hebrew;[198] kothev (Hebrew: כּוֹתֵב), for "scrivener", or copyist of religious texts, instead of the word "sofer" (scribe);[199] ṣibbūr (Hebrew: צִבּוּר), for "a quorum of at least ten adult males," a word used in Yemen instead of the Modern Hebrew word, minyan;[200] ḥefeṣ (Hebrew: חֵפֶץ), a noun meaning "desirable thing," was used by them to describe any "book" (especially one of a prophylactic nature), although now in Modern Hebrew it means "object";[201] fiqfūq (Hebrew: פִקְפוּק) had the connotation of "shock," "violent agitation," or "shaking-up," although today, in Modern Hebrew, it has the meaning of "doubt" or "skepticism";[202] the word, harpathqe (Hebrew: הַרְפַּתְקֵי), was used to describe "great hardships," although in Modern Hebrew the word has come to mean "adventures."[203] The word fazmūn (Hebrew: פַזְמוּן), any happy liturgical poem, such as those sung on Simhat Torah, differs from today's Modern Hebrew word, pizmon (Hebrew: פִּזְמוֹן), meaning, a "chorus" to a song.[204] Another peculiar aspect of Yemenite Hebrew is what concerns denominative verbs. One of the nouns used for bread (made of wheat) is himmuṣ (Hebrew: הִמּוּץ), derived from the blessing that is said whenever breaking bread, המוציא [לחם מן הארץ] = He that brings forth [bread from the earth].[205] Whenever they wanted to say its imperative form, "break bread!", they made use of the denominative verb hammeṣ! (Hebrew: הַמֵּץ). Similarly, the noun for the Third Sabbath meal was qiyyūm (Hebrew: קְיּוּם), literally meaning "observance," in which they made use of the denominative verb, tǝqayyem (Hebrew: תְּקַיֵּם מענא) = Will you eat with us (the Third Sabbath meal)?, or, נְקַיֵּם = Let us eat (the Third Sabbath meal),[206] or, qiyam (Hebrew: קִיַּם) = He ate (the Third Sabbath meal).[207]

## See also

[edit]

* Jewish customs of etiquette
* Yemenite Jewish poetry

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Judaeo-Yemenite Studies – Proceedings of the Second International Congress, Ephraim Isaac & Yosef Tobi (ed.), Introducftion, Princeton University 1999, p. 15
2. ^ Responsa Yitzhak Yeranen, part iv, Bnei Barak 1991, page 80, by Rabbi Hayim Yitzhak Barda, who quotes R. Meir Mazuz, saying: "The Yemenites are very stringent and well-versed, and are punctilious in their [usage of the] language, and they support the enunciation of the Ashkenazim" (translated from the Hebrew).
3. ^ Rav Kook's Orah Mishpat question regarding Kiryat Sh'ma "וביחוד למי שמשנה ממבטא התימני המוחזק אצלם מדורות הראשונים שהוא המדויק שבמבטאים כמפורסם שבודאי אסור לעשות כן".
4. ^ Hebrew: "מסורות הגייה ושליטת העברית בקרב יהודי תימן" in Yosef Qafih's Collected Papers, volume 2, pages 943–946 (Hebrew). Following is a relevant portion thereof: Hebrew: טענה זו אמנם אפשרית באופן תיאורי ואפשר להשליכה לא רק כאן אלא גם בכל מקום אחר, אלא שהיא מצד מהותה טענה מאוד תלוּשה וזקוּקה היא לבסיס כל שהוּא שתחול עליו, אחרת, הרי היא נשארת מרחפת ללא תנוחה ודינה להתנדף ולהעלם, כי כל ממש אין בה. כל שכן כאשר אנו מוצאים כדמות ראיה לאידך גיסא, כלומר, במצאנו בניב העברית של יהוּדי תימן דבר שאינו בשפת הסביבה, יש בכך משוּם הוכחה שמסורת זו שמרה על כלילוּתה וסגוּלותיה הייחוּדית. ננסה להדגים בשני מישורים, במישור הסימניות, כלומר, האותות, ובמישור התנוּעות. האות פ הדגוּשה, הברה זו אינה מצוּיה בשפה הערבית ואין דוברי הערבית מסכּינים לבטאה, וכאשר מזדמנת להם אות זו במלים משפה זרה, מחליפים אותה באות ב. ואילוּ היהוּדים מבטאים אותה בקלוּת ומבחינים היטב בינה לבין כל הברה אחרת הדומה לה, כדרך שהם מבחינים היטב בשאר כל אותות בגד כפת הדגוּשות והרפוּיות. שניה לה האות ב הרפוּיה. גם הברה זו אינה מצוּיה בשפה הערבית ויהוּדי תימן מבטאים אותה בקלוּת וּללא כל מאמץ, ואילוּ הערבים כאשר מזוּמנת להם הברה זו בציטוט משפה זרה מבטאים אותה כאות פ הרפוּיה המצוּיה בלשונם — כי לא הסכּינוּ לה. שתי אלה ודומיהם שׂמים לאַל לדעתי את הטענה, כי הבחנת יהוּדי תימן בין ג רפוּיה ודגוּשה באה להם מן הערבית, למרות שבעלי טענה זו אין להם תחליף ייחוּדי להברות אלה, כי אילוּ היה ממש בטענת ההשפּעה הערבית, איכה נשתמרוּ להם ליהודי תימן הברות עבריות יחוּדיות אלה, אמור מעתה מציאוּתם של הברות בלעדיות כגון אלה מקשים ומכבידים על תחוּלתה של טענת ההשפּעה הזרה.
5. ^ The Targum of Isaiah – with supralinear punctuation (ed. J.F. Stenning), Oxford 1949, Introduction (pp. ix–x)
6. ^ Shivtiel Book – Studies in the Hebrew Language and in the Linguistic Traditions of the Jewish Communities (ed. Isaac Gluska & Tsemaḥ Kessar), Tel-Aviv 1992, p. 239 (in article by Yehuda Ratzaby who quotes from Kitāb al-Ānwār, ed. Leon Nemoy (edition 30), New York 1939, p. 135).
7. ^ a b Siddur Tefillat Kol Pe, vol. 1 (foreword written by Shalom Yitzhak Halevi), Jerusalem 1960, p. 11 (Hebrew)
8. ^ Shelomo Morag, Ha-Ivrit she-be-fi Yehude Teman (Hebrew as pronounced by Yemenite Jews), Academy of the Hebrew Language: Jerusalem 1963, pp. 92–99; 119–120 (Hebrew)
9. ^ Shelomo Morag, The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen, in article: Notes on the Vowel System of Babylonian Aramaic as Preserved in the Yemenite Tradition, Tel-Aviv 2001, p. 197 (end of note 1) ISBN 965-7247-00-4
10. ^ The Yemenite pronunciation of this vowel is like the Ashkenazic pronunciation thereof or like the ḥolam in the Sefardic pronunciation (Yosef Qafih, Collected Papers volume 2, page 931). According to an ancient Judeo-Arabic work on Hebrew grammar, Maḥberet Ha-Tīǧān, the sound of the qamaṣ is made by "clinching the mouth and holding it." See: Maḥberet Kitrei Ha-Torah (ed. Yoav Pinhas Halevi), chapter 5, Benei Barak 1990, p. 19 (Hebrew). In the Babylonian supralinear punctuation there is no separate symbol for the shĕwā qamaṣ; rather, the one symbol as shown here is used for both the qamaṣ and the shĕwā qamaṣ (ḥataf qamaṣ).
11. ^ The Yemenite pronunciation of this vowel is like the Sephardic pronunciation thereof (Yosef Qafih, Collected Papers volume 2, page 931 "צֵירִי, כבמבטא הספרדי").
12. ^ This symbol is used strictly as a mobile Shewā (Heb. שוא נע), unlike the Shewā quiescens (Heb. שוא נח) which has no symbol in the Babylonian supralinear punctuation. The mobile Shewā as a symbol is used to differentiate in eight major grammatical entities in Hebrew prescriptive linguistics. For example, whenever a Shewā appears at the beginning of a word, it renders the vowel a mobile vowel, as in the Hebrew word "floating" (meraḥef / מְרַחֵף), or as in לְפָנָי (lefanai) or שְׁמַע (shema) (Deut. 6:4); or whenever a diacritical vertical line known as a Ji'ya / גִּעְיָא (lit. "bleating" or "bellowing") would normally appear next to a Shewā. For example, in the words הַֽמְקַנֵּ֥א אַתָּ֖ה לִ֑י, (Num. 11:29), the Shewā beneath the Hebrew character mim becomes a mobile Shewā because of the Ga'ya (meteg, or small vertical line) beneath the Hebrew character he. In all these cases the Shewā gives an audible sound to the letter, as in a short "a" or short "e", and is not mute. Likewise, whenever a Shewā appears in the middle of a word and the letter has a diacritical point within it (i.e., dagesh), as in the pe of מִפְּנֵיכֶם (Lev. 18:24), it too will become a mobile Shewā (na / נָע) – with some exceptions, e.g., the word אֶתּרוֹג according to the Yemenite tradition – as will a word that has two Shewā's written one after the other, as in the word רַעְמְסֵס (Exo. 12:37), or in the word ּוַיִּשְׁמְעו (Gen. 3:8), etc. the first Shewā is resting (mute), while the second Shewā is a mobile Shewā. Another instance of where the Shewā becomes mobile is when it comes directly after a long vowel sound, such as the long vowel of either yod or ḥiraq, as in יְחִֽידְֿךָ (Gen. 22:2), giving it the sound of yeḥīdhəkha, etc., or as in the long vowel of waw or ḥolam, as in the words הוֹלְכִֿים, יוֹדְֿעִים, מוֹכְֿרִים, נוֹפְֿלִים, לוֹמְדִֿים, and יֹאכְֿלוּ, etc. (hōləkhīm, yōdəʻīm, mōkhərīm, nōfelīm, lōmedhīm and yōkhelū), or as in the verse שֹׁפְטִים וְשֹׁטְרִים תִּתֶּן לְךָ (Deut. 16:18), "shōfəṭīm wa-shōṭərīm titen ləkha." The symbol is also used in the Babylonian supralinear punctuation to denote a Shewā and Pataḥ that are written together in the Tiberian vowel system, or a Shewā and Segūl that are written together in the Tiberian vowel system, as in the words אֲנִי and אֱמֶת. See: Maḥberet Kitrei Ha-Torah (ed. Yoav Pinhas Halevi), chapter 5, Benei Barak 1990, pp. 20, 22–23, 31 (Hebrew). See also נקוד, טעמים ומסורת בתימן by Rabbi Yosef Qafih in Collected Papers, volume 2, page 931.
13. ^ Israeli grammarian, Shelomo Morag, has written more extensively about the mobile Shewā, saying: "[In the Babylonian tradition], the sign of the šĕwā is used only as an indication of the mobile šĕwā (Heb. שוא נע), whereas the šĕwā quiescens (Heb. שוא נח) is not indicated at all. This method is the most common in Yemenite manuscripts which are punctuated in the Babylonian system, and it goes without saying that there is an advantage in it, since it invariably acquaints the reader with the šĕwā’s innate nature, whether it is a šĕwā quiescens or a mobile šĕwā. Thus, for example, we see that the šĕwā is mobile in the letter mim (מ) of the intensive (middle) form of the [active] verb construction, piʻel (Heb. פִּעֵל), in a word such as 'הַמְּכַבֶּה' [= ‘he that extinguishes’] (Mishnah Shabbat 7:2)." Meaning, one sign distinguishes it from the šĕwā quiescens. See: Mishnah – Seder Mo'ed – with a commentary by Maimonides in Arabic, Yemenite MS., edited by Yehuda Levi Nahum, Holon 1975, p. 19 (Hebrew); The 'šĕwā' in the Traditional Yemenite Pronunciation of Hebrew, Jerusalem 1957 (Hebrew). Note that the spelling "הַמְּכַבַּה" (with the דגש) is in accordance with the vowelization of Rabbi Yosef 'Amar, in his edition of the Babylonian Talmud vocalized in the Yemenite pronunciation, s.v., Shabbat 29b and 73a; תלמוד בבלי בניקוד תימני, מסכת שבת, דף כט ב ודף עג א. However, "הַמְכַבֶּה אֶת הַנֵּר" (Shabbath 2:5) appears (without the דגש in המכבה) in שיח ירושלם חלק ראשון (fourth edition 5761, p. קכ) and תכלאל שיבת ציון (part 1, 5712, p. קו) alike.
14. ^ Rabbi Saadia Gaon in his commentary on Sefer Yetzirah (2:2) strongly rejected to that manner of pronunciation for the gímel with dageš and thinks it is a mere corruption and that it should be pronounced /ɡ/. Rabbi Saadia Gaon's opinion, however, follows the tradition of the Jews and Arabs in his native Egypt, while the Yemenite pronunciation of the gímel with dageš follows a custom more closely related to the dialect of Arabic spoken in the land of Israel whenever pronouncing "jeem" (ج‍,ج), the Arabic equivalent of gímel. See: Yosef Qafih's edition of Sefer Yetzirah, Jerusalem 1972, p. 75.
15. ^ The rules of enunciation when reciting the Shema is to extend the phonetic sound of the phoneme "daleth" in the word eḥaḏ, which cannot be done unless the phoneme was a continuant. Cf. Babylonian Talmud, Berakhot 13b: "Symmachus said: 'Anyone who extends his enunciation of eḥaḏ [אֶחָדֿ] [in the recital of the Qiryath Shema], the days and years of his life shall also be extended.' Rav Aha the son of Yaaqov interjected, 'He referred there to the [letter] daleth..."; See Maimonides, Mishne Torah (Hil. Qiryath Shema 2:9).
16. ^ The "tāv" raphe in Ashkenazi traditions is realized as "s", as in Shabbos.
17. ^ Based on Rabbi Saadia Gaon's Judeo-Arabic commentary on "Sefer Hayetzirah" (chapter 4, paragraph 3), wherein he describes the phonetic sounds of the 22 characters of the Hebrew alphabet and classifies them in groups based on their individual sounds: "Aleph ( א), hé (ה), ḥet (ח), ‘ayin (ע) are [guttural sounds] produced from the depth of the tongue with the opening of the throat, but bet (ב), waw (ו), mim (מ), pé (פ) are [labial sounds] made by the release of the lips and the end of the tongue; whereas gimal (ג), yōd (י), kaf (כ), qōf (ק) are [palatals] separated by the width of the tongue [against the palate] with the [emission of] sound. However, daleth (ד), ṭet (ט), lamad (ל), nūn (נ), tau (ת) are [linguals] separated by the mid-section of the tongue with the [emission of] sound; whereas zayin (ז), samakh (ס), ṣadi (צ), resh (ר), shin (ש) are [dental sounds] produced between the teeth by a tongue that is at rest."
18. ^ As is heard in the recording of Aharon Amram's cantillation (mms://media.jvod.info/Nosach/Aharon_Amram/PARACHA/1_10_7_miketz.mp3 [which begins with verse 24]).
19. ^ Shelomo Morag, The Hebrew of the Jews of Yemen ( העברית שבפי יהודי תימן), Academy of the Hebrew Language: Jerusalem 1963, pp. 4–5 (Hebrew). In two of the examples noted by Shelomo Morag, he shows where the readings for תִּפָּדֶה in Isaiah 1:27 and וְנֵלְכָה in Isaiah 2:5, are both with an abrupt ending, as in tippoːdä (ʔ) and wǝnelăxoː(ʔ) respectively.
20. ^ Meir Mazuz, in article: Clarification Regarding the Accent of Letters and Dots, whether as the Sephardic or Ashkenazi Jews (בירור בענין מבטא האותיות והנקודות, אם כמו הספרדים או כמו האשכנזים), published in Responsa Yitzhak Yeranen, part iv, section 9, Bnei Barak 1991, page 73, by Rabbi Hayim Yitzhak Barda.
21. ^ Abraham Z. Idelsohn (1882–1938) wrote in his momentous work, Phonographierte Gesänge und Aussprachsproben des Hebräischen der jemenitischen, persischen und syrischen Juden, Vienna 1917, concerning the differences in pronunciation between the Jews of Ṣanʻā’ and the Jews of the provinces in Yemen: "The difference subsists in the vowel [ḥolam] וֹ, [which] in Ṣanʻā’ is äu [i.e. /oʏ/], [and] in the Provinces is ä [i.e. /ɛ/]. Furthermore, the consonant [‘ayin] ע [in] Ṣanʻā’ = ‘, [but in the] Provinces is י [yod]; also א and ע they pronounce the same way. (Analogies can also be found in the Yemenite Arabic.) Moreover, the [dotted] גּ in Ṣanʻā’ is dj [/ʒ/], [but] in the provinces it is like g [/ɡ/]." (p. 12)
22. ^ On the interchange of Ḥolem and Ṣere, Geoffrey Khan of the University of Cambridge wrote in his article, Vocalization, Babylonian (p. 956): “The Karaite al-Qirqisānī, writing in the 10th century C.E., states that some Jews of Iraq said קָדֵישׁ qåḏēš instead of קָדוֹשׁ qåḏōš ‘holy’ due to influence from the language of the ‘Nabaṭ’ (i.e., the Aramaic speaking population of Iraq). Compare: al-Qirqisānī, Kitāb al-’Anwār w-al-Marāqib, ed. Nemoy 1939:II 140.” Rabbi Yosef Qafih in Collected Papers (vol. 2, pp. 944–945) argues that the old pronunciation of ḥolem in Ereẓ Israel was like the Yemenite pronunciation of today, based on Mishnah Eduyot 1:3 and on Maimonides' explanation there, where Abtalion and Shemaiah, two foreigners who converted to Judaism, could not pronounce the ḥolem of מלוא הין (melō hin) in Mishnah Eduyot 1:3 but would say what sounded like mela hin. Rabbi Qafih thus thought that the anomaly could not have been possible unless the original pronunciation of ḥolem was used by the Yemenite Jews in their pronunciation.
23. ^ Preface to Siddur Tefillat Kol Pe (ed. Rabbi Avraham al-Nadaf), Tel-Aviv 1960, pp. 7–8 (Hebrew); Jacob Saphir, Iben Safir (vol. 1), Lyck 1866, pp. 53b-54a (in PDF pp. 121–122) (Hebrew)
24. ^ Aharon Ben-Asher, Sefer midiqduqe ha-ṭaʻamim, p. 12 (p. 53 in PDF). In the original Hebrew: סדר שוא, המשרתת לכל האותיות בכל המקרא בראש התיבה ובאמצע התיבה ובסוף התיבה ואשר תצא בלשון ואשר לא תצא. כי הרבה דרכים יש לה[...] אבל אם תצטרף עם אחד מן ארבעה אותיות אחה"ע יהיה דרכה על דרך נִקּוד האות השני שבתיבה, כמו בְּֽהֹנות ידיהם ורגליהם (שופטים א', ז,) עד מתי פתים תְּֽאֵהבו פתי (משלי א', כ"ב) עיניו לְֽחֵלכה יצפנו (תהלים י', ח') שריה רִֽעֵליה מרדכי (עזרא ב', ב,).
25. ^ Shelomo Morag, The Samaritan and Yemenite Tradition of Hebrew (published in The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen – ed. Yosef Tobi), Tel-Aviv 2001, pp. 220–221
26. ^ The four guttural letters, according to Rabbi Saadia Gaon (882–942 CE) in his Judeo-Arabic commentary on Sefer Hayeṣirah (chapter 4, paragraph 3), and Yonah ibn Ǧanāḥ (c. 990 – c. 1050) in his Sefer HaRiqmah, are aleph (א), hé (ה), ḥet (ח) and ‘ayin (ע), and are produced from the depth of the tongue with the opening of the throat.
27. ^ a b c The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen (ed. Yosef Tobi), in Article entitled: Notes on the Vowel System of Babylonian Aramaic as Preserved in the Yemenite Tradition, Shelomo Morag, Tel-Aviv, 2001, p. 181. ISBN 965-7247-00-4
28. ^ Avigad, N.; Schwabe, M. (1954). Excavations at Beit She'arim, 1953 – Preliminary Report. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society. p. 17.
29. ^ Kutscher, Ezekiel (1961). "Language and linguistic background of the complete Isaiah Scroll, from the Dead Sea Scrolls (הלשון והרקע הלשוני של מגילת ישעיהו השלמה, ממגילות ים המלח)". Kiryat-Sefer (in Hebrew). 36: 24–32. (p. 49 in other editions)
30. ^ Cf. Jerusalem Talmud, Sanhedrin 2:4, et al.: דהוה מפייס לנשיא הוה מפייס לגוברייא
31. ^ Shavtiel, Yitzḥak (1963), "The Yemenite Tradition in the Grammar of the Mishnah (מסורת התימנים בדקדוק לשון המשנה)", in Saul Lieberman (ed.), Sefer Ḥanokh Yallon – A Collection of Essays (in Hebrew), Jerusalem: Kiryat-Sefer Ltd., p. 339 (note 10)
32. ^ Yehudai Gaon (1999). A. Israel (ed.). Sefer Halakhot Pesuḳot (in Hebrew). Jerusalem: Ahavath Shalom. pp. 466–467\. OCLC 763145925.
33. ^ Yehudai Gaon (1999). A. Israel (ed.). Sefer Halakhot Pesuḳot (in Hebrew). Jerusalem: Ahavath Shalom. pp. 31–32\. OCLC 763145925.
34. ^ Shelomo Morag, "The Samaritan and Yemenite Traditions of Hebrew: Points of Contact", in: The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen (ed. Yosef Tobi), Tel-Aviv 2001, p. 222, § 3.4 ISBN 965-7247-00-4
35. ^ Shelomo Morag, The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen (ed. Yosef Tobi), in Article entitled: Notes on the Vowel System of Babylonian Aramaic as Preserved in the Yemenite Tradition, Tel-Aviv 2001, p. 183. ISBN 965-7247-00-4
36. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 20, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Mishnah (Oholoth 4:1), et al.; Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, p. 6, s.v. אַוֵּיר.
37. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 6, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Ta'anith 3b, et al.
38. ^ Divrei Shalom Ḥakhamim (Memorial book in honor of Rabbi Shalom Yitzhak Halevi), ed. Avner Yitzhak Halevi, Jerusalem 1993, p.220 § 13 (Hebrew); Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 1, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Mishnah (Shevi'it 7:1), et al.
39. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 1, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Berakhot 16b, et al.
40. ^ Shelomo Morag, The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen (ed. Yosef Tobi), in Article entitled: Notes on the Vowel System of Babylonian Aramaic as Preserved in the Yemenite Tradition, Tel-Aviv 2001, p. 184
41. ^ Sometimes written in defective scriptum, אִתְּמַר.
42. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 4, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Mishnah (Pesaḥim 2:1), Pes. 21a, et al.
43. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 16, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Avodah Zarah 18a, et al.
44. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 20, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Niddah 17a, et al. The plural of this word is בְּצָלִים.
45. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 5, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Sukkah 53a, et al.; cf. Shelomo Morag, The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen (ed. Yosef Tobi), Tel-Aviv 2001, p.222.
46. ^ a b c Talmud Bavli Menuqad, Yosef Amar Halevi, vol. 6, Jerusalem, 1980, s.v. Megillah 6a, et al.
47. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 1, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Berakhoth 31b, et al.
48. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 10, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Gittin 2a, et al.
49. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 4, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Mishnah (Pesahim 3:7), written in margin; Yebamoth 122b, et al.
50. ^ Cf. Rashi, Babylonian Talmud, Yebamot 62b, s.v. והנושא בת אחותו, who writes the word in plene scriptum, with a yod after the gimel.
51. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 1, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Berakhot 33b, et al.; Tsemaḥ Kessar, Oral and Written Traditions of the Mishnah: Morphology of the Noun in the Yemenite Tradition, Jerusalem 2001, pp. 304–305, ISSN 0333-5143
52. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 2, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Mishnah (Shabbath 16:3), et al.
53. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 2, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Mishnah (Shabbath 8:4), et al., which has the connotation of "glue." Cf. Isaiah 41:7, לַדֶּבֶק, which word differs and means in its context, "it is good for fastening."
54. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 15, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Sanhedrin 109a, et al.
55. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 15, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Sanhedrin 105a, et al.
56. ^ Divrei Shalom Ḥakhamim (Memorial book in honor of Rabbi Shalom Yitzhak Halevi), ed. Avner Yitzhak Halevi, Jerusalem 1993, p. 220 § 14 (Hebrew); Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 5, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Yoma 19b; ibid., vol. 4, Pesaḥim 7a, et al.
57. ^ a b Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 14, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Baba Bathra 3b, et al.
58. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 6, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Megillah 32a (end), et al.
59. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 16, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Mishnah (Avoth 1:6), et al. For example, וִהְוִי זהיר בדבריך, in Mishnah Avoth 1:9.
60. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 4, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Pesaḥim 5a, et al.
61. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Habavli Hamenuqad, vol. 2, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Shabbat 14b; the same vocalization is found for this word in Job 28:17, in the Codex proofread by Aaron ben Asher, known now universally as the Leningrad Codex.
62. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 5, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Yoma 86b, et al.
63. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 18, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Ḥullin 56b, et al.
64. ^ Tsemaḥ Kessar, Vocalized Words Based on the Tradition of Yemen: Article published in book, Le'rosh Yosef (ed. Yosef Tobi), Jerusalem 1995, p. 120, note 59, ISBN 965-7004-01-2. In the plural, חוֹמַשׁ מן הַחוּמְשִׁין (a codex of the codices).
65. ^ Shelomo Morag, The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen (ed. Yosef Tobi), in Article entitled: Notes on the Vowel System of Babylonian Aramaic as Preserved in the Yemenite Tradition, Tel-Aviv 2001, p. 184
66. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 6, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Betza 17a, et al. The Hebrew word חֲתִיכָּה (ḥăṯīkkah) is the noun, "piece" (in the absolute state), or חֲתִיכַּת בשר ("piece of meat") in the construct state. The word is of the same metre as קליפּה (qǝlipah), the noun for "peel," or the "rind" of a fruit. Both the kaf and pe in these words are accentuated with a dot (dagesh). However, when these same words are used as a verb, showing action, as in "cutting a piece" or in "peeling an apple," the words take on a different form, and would respectively be חֲתִיכָה (ḥăṯīḫah) and קליפָה (qǝlīfah), without dots of accentuation in the Hebrew characters kaf and pe (i.e. rafe letters), such as when the verb is used with the preposition "after": e.g. "after peeling the apple" = אחרי קליפת התפוח, or "after cutting the meat" = אחרי חתיכת הבשר.
67. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 13, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Baba Metzi'a 30b (end), et al.
68. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 2, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Mishnah (Shabbath 6:4), et al.
69. ^ a b Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 6, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Megillah 6a, et al.
70. ^ Divrei Shalom Ḥakhamim (Memorial book in honor of Rabbi Shalom Yitzhak Halevi), ed. Avner Yitzhak Halevi, Jerusalem 1993, p. 220 § 13 (Hebrew); Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 1, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Berakhoth 17b (Mishnah), et al.
71. ^ Divrei Shalom Ḥakhamim (Memorial book in honor of Rabbi Shalom Yitzhak Halevi), ed. Avner Yitzhak Halevi, Jerusalem 1993, p.220 § 13 (Hebrew).
72. ^ The vocalization changes only when ירק is written in the construct state: e.g. יֶרֶק הַשָׂדֶה (yereq-hasadeh) [Numbers 22:4], or יֶרֶק עשב (yereq ʻesev) [Genesis 1:30].
73. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 11, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Kiddushin 20b, et al.
74. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 14, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Baba Bathra 5a, et al. Plural: כּוֹתָלֵי בית המדרש, rather than כּוֹתְלֵי בית המדרש; construct state: כּוֹתַל חָצֵר. Although in the Scriptures the vocalization is different, this system follows what is commonly used for the Hebrew used in rabbinic literature.
75. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 13, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Baba Metzi'a 30b, et al.
76. ^ Tiklāl Etz Ḥayim (ed. Shimon Tzalah), vol. 2, Jerusalem 1971, s.v. אגדתא דפסחא, pp. 52a–b.
77. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 19, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Kareithoth 2a, et al.
78. ^ Divrei Shalom Ḥakhamim (Memorial book in honor of Rabbi Shalom Yitzhak Halevi), ed. Avner Yitzhak Halevi, Jerusalem 1993, p. 220 § 12 (Hebrew); Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 1, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Berakhoth 35a, et al.
79. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 15, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Sanhedrin 51a, et al. Divrei Shalom Ḥakhamim (Memorial book in honor of Rabbi Shalom Yitzhak Halevi), ed. Avner Yitzhak Halevi, Jerusalem 1993, p. 221 (Hebrew). Unique to Yemenite Jewish pronunciation of Aramaic words is the derived stem infinitives like qattawle (קְטַולֵי), which are always pronounced with a diphthong aʊ before the character “waw”, such as: לְמַעַוְטֵי, לְאַדְלַוְקֵי, לְבַשַּׁוְלֵי, לַאֲפַוְיֵי ,לְאַטְמַוְנֵי (lǝ’aṭmawne, la’afawye, lǝvashawle, lǝ’adlawqe, lǝma‘awṭe). See Shelomo Morag, The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen (ed. Yosef Tobi), Tel-Aviv 2001, p. 141. ISBN 965-7247-00-4
80. ^ Divrei Shalom Ḥakhamim (Memorial book in honor of Rabbi Shalom Yitzhak Halevi), ed. Avner Yitzhak Halevi, Jerusalem 1993, p. 218 § 2 (Hebrew)
81. ^ Divrei Shalom Ḥakhamim (Memorial book in honor of Rabbi Shalom Yitzhak Halevi), ed. Avner Yitzhak Halevi, Jerusalem 1993, p.220 § 13 (Hebrew); Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 12, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Baba Kama 35b, et al.
82. ^ Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, p. 143 (Hebrew); cf. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 2, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Shabbath 31b (Mishnah), בְּשָׁעַת לִידְתָּן, et al.
83. ^ Plural: לוֹלָבִּים.
84. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 4, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Pesaḥim 7b, et al.; Tsemaḥ Kessar, Vocalized Words Based on the Tradition of Yemen: Article published in book, Le'rosh Yosef (ed. Yosef Tobi), Jerusalem 1995, p. 111.
85. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 2, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Mishnah (Shabbath 19:4), et al.
86. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 16, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Avodah Zarah 18a, et al. The conventions for Yemenite Hebrew require that the Hebrew character ḥet (ח) be stressed in this one word.
87. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 8, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Kethuboth 2a, et al.
88. ^ The full infinitive form of a verbs "to draw near" and "to distance."
89. ^ The difference between lish'al (לִשְׁאַל) and lish'ol (לִשְׁאֹל) is that the former is used for a question, whereas the latter is used for borrowing an object.
90. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 8, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Kethuboth 27b, et al.
91. ^ Zechariah Al-Dhahiri, Sefer Ha-Mūsar (ed. Mordechai Yitzhari), Benei Barak 2008 (Hebrew)
92. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 13, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Baba Metzi'a 40a, et al.; cf. Shelomo Morag, The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen (ed. Yosef Tobi), in Article entitled: Notes on the Vowel System of Babylonian Aramaic as Preserved in the Yemenite Tradition, Tel-Aviv 2001, p. 255.
93. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 13, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Baba Metzi'a 59b (in glosses), et al.
94. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 1, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Mishnah (Berakhoth 7:2), et al.
95. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 1, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Berakhoth 17b, et al. The ḥet in מִחֲזִי is also stressed in the Yemenite tradition, as in מִחֲזִי כיוהרא (ibid.).
96. ^ Shelomo Morag, The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen (ed. Yosef Tobi), Tel-Aviv 2001, p. 205. The same metre is used for other words: e.g. מְחָטְפִין , מְזָלְפִין, etc.
97. ^ Shelomo Morag, The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen (ed. Yosef Tobi), Tel-Aviv 2001, p. 48.
98. ^ Shelomo Morag, The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen (ed. Yosef Tobi), Tel-Aviv 2001, p. 111 (ISBN 965-7247-00-4) (Hebrew/English).
99. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 13, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Baba Metzi'a 29b, et al.
100. ^ a b Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 14, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Baba Bathra 14a, et al.
101. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 15, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Sanhedrin 16b, et al.
102. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 11, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Kiddushin 47a, et al. For example: מִלְוָה להוצאה ניתנה, "A loan is given with the intent of it being expendable."
103. ^ Shelomo Morag, The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen (ed. Yosef Tobi), in Article entitled: Notes on the Vowel System of Babylonian Aramaic as Preserved in the Yemenite Tradition, Tel-Aviv 2001, pp. 205–206
104. ^ Adjective, "ostracized," in this vowel assignment is for either male or female; מְנוּדָּה לרב מְנוּדָּה לתלמיד. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 6, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Moed Qatan 16a, et al.
105. ^ Shelomo Morag, The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen (ed. Yosef Tobi), Tel-Aviv 2001, p.48.
106. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 17, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Zevaḥim 53a (top), et al.
107. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 5, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Rosh Hashanah 8a
108. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 20, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Mishnah (Miqwa'oth 7:1); ibid., vol. 5, Yoma 85b, et al. Only in the construct state, as in מִקְוֵה המים or מִקְוֵה ישראל is it miqwe (e.g. miqwe hamayim) [Genesis 1:10].
109. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 4, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Mishnah (Pesaḥim 3:2); Shelomo Morag, The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen (ed. Yosef Tobi), Tel-Aviv 2001, p. 57
110. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 5, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Sukkah 38b, et al.
111. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 2, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Shabbath 80b, et al.
112. ^ Shelomo Morag, The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen (ed. Yosef Tobi), in Article entitled: Notes on the Vowel System of Babylonian Aramaic as Preserved in the Yemenite Tradition, Tel-Aviv 2001, p. 255
113. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 5, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Rosh Hashana 11b, et al.
114. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 20, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Mishnah (Kelim 23:2); ibid., vol. 15, Sanhedrin 103a, et al.
115. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 16, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Mishnah (Avoth 2:2), et al.
116. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 19, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Middoth 35a (in margin), et al. The same metre is used for other words: e.g. מְתַלְּשִׁין; cf. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 5, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Yoma 66a.
117. ^ Such as in the expression: מִתְּקָן על ידי האור, Lit. “It is made ready through fire (being prepared by fire; readied)”; The transitive verb of ready, or To cause to be ready. Had it been מתוקן, the sense would have been: “It was made ready through fire.”
118. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 13, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Mishnah (Baba Metzi'a 4:7), et al.
119. ^ Shelomo Morag, The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen (ed. Yosef Tobi), in Article entitled: Notes on the Vowel System of Babylonian Aramaic as Preserved in the Yemenite Tradition, Tel-Aviv 2001, p. 222 (3:3).
120. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 2, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Mishnah (Shabbath 19:5), et al. The Yemenite tradition of vocalization in this word is found also in the Tiberian Masoretic text in two places: I Chronicles 3:5 and ibid., 20:8, נוּלְּדוּ. In both cases, the waw is written with a shuraq instead of a ḥōlam.
121. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 16, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Mishnah (Avoth 5:22), et al.; Shelomo Morag, The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen (ed. Yosef Tobi), Tel-Aviv 2001, p. 255.
122. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 5, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Mishnah (Yoma 3:4); ibid., vol. 19, Bekhoroth 21b, et al. This verb conjugation (נִכְנָס = entered), the simple passive stem (Heb. nif'al), is marked by a permanent form, with the vowel qamaṣ appearing regularly in the last syllable. Other examples: נזכָּר, etc. See Shelomo Morag, The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen, Tel-Aviv 2001, p. 250.
123. ^ The noun, petroleum (Oleum petrae); cf. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 2, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Shabbath 26a, et al. According to Shelomo Morag, this is a frequently recurring pattern of nouns in the Yemenite tradition whose counterpart in the Tiberian tradition is usually marked by a sǝġūl, or what are known as "segolate nouns" (see The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen (ed. Yosef Tobi), in Article entitled: The Samaritan and Yemenite Traditions of Hebrew: Points of Contact, Tel-Aviv 2001, p. 222, § 3.2. ISBN 965-7247-00-4 )
124. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 6, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Megillah 16a (end), et al.
125. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 5, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Yoma 16ab, et al. See also ibid., vol. 6, s.v. Megillah 2a, מגילה נִקְרַאַת (The Scroll of Esther is read, etc.)
126. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 7, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Yevamoth 47a, et al.
127. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 8, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Kethuboth 95b (end), et al.
128. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 6, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Ḥaggiga 2a, et al.; Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, p. 192.
129. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 5, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Yoma 16a, et al.
130. ^ Divrei Shalom Ḥakhamim (Memorial book in honor of Rabbi Shalom Yitzhak Halevi), ed. Avner Yitzhak Halevi, Jerusalem 1993, p.220 § 13 (Hebrew); Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 5, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Yoma 75b, et al.
131. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 15, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Sanhedrin 49b, et al.
132. ^ Shelomo Morag, The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen (ed. Yosef Tobi), Tel-Aviv 2001, p. 48
133. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 2, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Mishnah (Shabbath 21:3); ibid., vol. 6, Megillah 6b, אין מַעְבִּירין על המצות, et al. See past-tense of the verb in Yosef Amar Halevi, ibid., vol. 12, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Mishnah (Baba Kama 8:6), et al.
134. ^ a b Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 4, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Pesaḥim 24b, et al.
135. ^ Divrei Shalom Ḥakhamim (Memorial book in honor of Rabbi Shalom Yitzhak Halevi), ed. Avner Yitzhak Halevi, Jerusalem 1993, Introduction on the Vowel Points, pp. 217 – 218.
136. ^ Shelomo Morag, The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen, Tel-Aviv 2001, p. 30. ISBN 965-7247-00-4
137. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 15, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Sanhedrin 43b (end), et al.
138. ^ Courtyard of the women. See Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, p. 204, s.v. עֲזֶרֶת.
139. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 2, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Shabbath 31a, et al.
140. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 5, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Rosh Hashanah 16a (end), et al.
141. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 15, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Sanhedrin 27b (end), et al.
142. ^ a b Talmud Bavli Menuqad, Yosef Amar Halevi, vol. 10, Sotah 42a (end), Jerusalem 1980, as in: "The morning and evening prayer," תפלת שחרית וערבית.
143. ^ Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, p. 221.
144. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 4, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Pesaḥim 46a, et al.; Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, p. 222.
145. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 7, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Yebamoth 63a; vol. 15 (ibid.) Sanhedrin 59b (top), et al.; Shelomo Morag, The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen (ed. Yosef Tobi), in Article entitled: The Samaritan and Yemenite Traditions of Hebrew: Points of Contact, Tel-Aviv 2001, p. 222, § 3.4 ISBN 965-7247-00-4
146. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 16, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Avodah Zarah 42b, et al.
147. ^ Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, p. 230, s.v. פָרָשָׁה. In Yemenite Jewish tradition, the sense here is to the Bible Codex itself, rather than to the weekly Torah lections read on Sabbath days, which in Yemenite parlance is called seder (סדר).
148. ^ Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, p. 233, s.v. פתקין (Hebrew)
149. ^ The noun, paint; cf. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 19, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Mishnah Arakhin 6:5, et al. According to Shelomo Morag, this is a frequently recurring pattern of nouns in the Yemenite tradition whose counterpart in the Tiberian tradition is marked by a sǝġūl, or what are known as "segolate nouns" (see The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen (ed. Yosef Tobi), in Article entitled: The Samaritan and Yemenite Traditions of Hebrew: Points of Contact, Tel-Aviv 2001, p. 222, § 3.2. ISBN 965-7247-00-4 )
150. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 20, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Niddah 33b (end), et al.
151. ^ The great metropolis of Galilee during the Second Temple period. Thus is the vocalization of the word in the Facsimile of a Yemenite Mishnah MS., with Yemenite vocalization (סדרי המשנה נזיקין, קדשים, טהרות), ed. Shelomo Morag, Makor: Jerusalem 1970, s.v. Mishnah Arakhin 9:6; Compare Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 19, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Arakhin 32a, who assigns the vowels צִפָּרִין (ṣipoːrīn) for the same word, and who perhaps hadn't seen the earlier Yemenite rendition of this place name.
152. ^ As in: עֲשֵׂה תּוֹרָתָךְ קְבָע (Make your study of the Torah a permanent matter); see Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 2, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Shabbath 82a, הנכנס לסעודת קְבָע , et al.
153. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 13, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Baba Metzi'a 107a, et al.
154. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 6, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Megillah 32a, et al. Even though the vowel arrangement in the Book of Esther is קִיבֵּל, Mishnaic Hebrew differs in Yemenite tradition.
155. ^ Shelomo Morag, The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen,Tel-Aviv 2001, p. 250, ISBN 965-7247-00-4; Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 15, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Sanhedrin 64a (end)
156. ^ Tsemaḥ Kessar, Oral and Written Traditions of the Mishnah: Morphology of the Noun in the Yemenite Tradition, Jerusalem 2001, pp. 153–154, ISSN 0333-5143
157. ^ Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, p. 250, s.v. קְפִידָה.
158. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 1, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Berakhoth 21a (in glosses), et al.; Shelomo Morag, The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen (ed. Yosef Tobi), in Article entitled: The Samaritan and Yemenite Traditions of Hebrew: Points of Contact, Tel-Aviv 2001, p. 222, § 3.4 ISBN 965-7247-00-4
159. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 18, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Ḥullin 56a (in glosses), et al.
160. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 14, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Baba Bathra 77b, et al.
161. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 12, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Baba Kama 70a (end), et al. The same pronunciation is given for ר' יוסי בר' חַלְפְּתָא.
162. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 16, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Avodah Zarah 17a (end), et al.
163. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 10, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Sotah 3a, et al. Yehuda Ratzaby makes note of the fact that there were some in Yemen who, when reading this word in rabbinic literature, would pronounce it שֵׁטוּת, while yet others would say שְׁטוּת (see Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews, Tel-Aviv 1978, p. 24 in Introduction, note 5).
164. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 6, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Megillah 6b, et al.
165. ^ The noun, "allusion; intimation; hint." For example: רְמָז רָמַז לוֹ (Megillah 16b). Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 6, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Megillah 16b; vol. 7 (ibid.) Yebamot 21a, et al.
166. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 19, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Arakhin 30a, et al.; Divrei Shalom Ḥakhamim (Memorial book in honor of Rabbi Shalom Yitzhak Halevi), ed. Avner Yitzhak Halevi, Jerusalem 1993, p.220 § 12 (Hebrew). Although the Tiberian Masoretic text for the same word in Psalm 146:3 has assigned the vowels שֶׁאֵין, just as it is pronounced in Modern Hebrew, we nevertheless still find in the Tiberian Masoretic text a similar practice as found in the Yemenite tradition where the shin at the beginning of a word has the vowel šĕwā, as in שְׁהֶם, in Ecclesiastes 3:18. Morag (1974:309) believes this to be a Babylonian tradition.
167. ^ Shelomo Morag, The Hebrew of the Jews of Yemen ( העברית שבפי יהודי תימן), Academy of the Hebrew Language: Jerusalem 1963, pp. 4–5 (Hebrew).
168. ^ In Modern Hebrew, the word "parashah" means the weekly biblical lection read on each Sabbath day, but in the Yemenite Jewish tradition the word means "Bible Codex."
169. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 2, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Shabbath 94b (Mishnah), et al. The word shǝvoth (Heb. שבות) means those types of labour on the Sabbath day which are proscribed (forbidden) by a rabbinic edict.
170. ^ Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, p. 267, s.v. שְׁבָח.
171. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 12, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Baba Kama 15a, et al.
172. ^ For example, במיעוט שִׁינָה. See Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. ?, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. ? ?, et al.
173. ^ Divrei Shalom Ḥakhamim (Memorial book in honor of Rabbi Shalom Yitzhak Halevi)(דברי שלום חכמים), ed. Avner Yitzhak Halevi, Jerusalem 1993, p. 218
174. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 16, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Mishnah (Eduyoth 2:8), et al.
175. ^ For example: בְּשָׁעַת דָּחְקוֹ (bǝshoːʻath doːḥqo), and not בִּשְׁעַת דָּחֳקוֹ (bishʻat daḥăko)
176. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 6, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Betzah 28b, et al.
177. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 15, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Sanhedrin 77a, et al.
178. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 6, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Megillah 16b, et al.
179. ^ Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, p. 289, s.v. שְׁתָיָה.
180. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 15, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Sanhedrin 90a, et al. The difference between תְּחָיַת המתים and תְּחִיַית מתים is that, in the first case, the word תְּחָיָה is a noun and, when used in the construct state, revolves around the dead being brought back to life again; the dead themselves being resurrected. However, in the second case, the word תְּחִיָה is a verb and, when used in the construct state, it has the sense of the dead causing others to live.
181. ^ Saphir, J. (1866). Iben Safir (in Hebrew). Vol. 1\. Lyck: L. Silbermann. p. 56a. OCLC 457568245.
182. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 2, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Shabbath 78a (end), et al.
183. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 5, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Rosh Hashanah 16b, et al.
184. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 4, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Pesaḥim 66a, et al.
185. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 2, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Mishnah (Shabbath 18:2), et al.
186. ^ Baladi-rite Siddur, Morning Prayer on Sabbath day, in liturgy: Nishmath kol ḥai; In the Morning Prayer for weekdays and Sabbath days, in Yishtabaḥ, the vowel assignment for the same word is: תֻּשְׁבָּחוֹת.
187. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 19, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Bekhoroth 38b, et al.
188. ^ Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 15, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Sanhedrin 104b, et al.; Shelomo Morag, The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen, Tel-Aviv 2001, p. 256 ISBN 965-7247-00-4
189. ^ Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, s.v. דּוּכֵּהּ (p. 54).
190. ^ Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, s.v. רְאָיָה (p. 255).
191. ^ Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, s.v. פָרָשָׁה (p. 230); see also Zekhor Le'Avraham (ed. Uzziel Alnaddaf), Jerusalem 1992, p. 27, note 115.
192. ^ S.D. Goitein, Hebrew Elements in the Spoken Language of the Jews of Yemen, pub. by Leshonenu III, Jerusalem 1931; reprinted in: Shelomo Dov Goitein, The Yemenites – History, Communal Organization, Spiritual Life (Selected Studies), editor: Menahem Ben-Sasson, Jerusalem 1983, p. 279, s.v. מצווה; ibid., p. 214. ISBN 965-235-011-7 ; Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, s.v. מִצְוָה (p. 167).
193. ^ Cf. Leviticus Rabba, section 34: כל עמא יפלגון מצוה = "let every person distribute charity."
194. ^ Amram Qorah, Sa’arat Teiman, Jerusalem 1988, p. 113; in 1954 edition, p. 132 (in PDF); Shelomo Dov Goitein, The Yemenites – History, Communal Organization, Spiritual Life (Selected Studies), editor: Menahem Ben-Sasson, Jerusalem 1983, pp. 278–279, s.v. צדקה. ISBN 965-235-011-7
195. ^ Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, s.v. תָּדֵיר (p. 291).
196. ^ Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, s.v. מַכְתֵּב (p. 158). Cf. Mishnah Kelim 16:8; Midrash HaGadol (on Deuteronomy 28:52).
197. ^ Midrash Rabba (Lamentations Rabba 2:5); Jerusalem Talmud, Taanit 4:5 (24b), with slight variations. Cf. Rashi's commentary on Mishnah Avot 5:6, where he says of the word והמכתב, "the stylus of a scrivener, grafie in the foreign tongue, with which He engraved the Ten Commandments that were given to Moses. That same stylus was created of old."
198. ^ Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, s.v. שִׁלְטוֹן (p. 278).
199. ^ Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, s.v. כּוֹתֵב (p. 127).
200. ^ Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, s.v. צִבּוּרִים (p. 233).
201. ^ Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, s.v. חֵפֶץ (p. 101).
202. ^ Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, s.v. פִקְפוּק (p. 228).
203. ^ Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, s.v. הַרְפַּתְקֵי (pp. 72– 3).
204. ^ Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, s.v. פַזְמוּן (p. 221).
205. ^ Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, s.v. הִמּוּץ (p. 67).
206. ^ Shelomo Dov Goitein, The Yemenites – History, Communal Organization, Spiritual Life (Selected Studies), editor: Menahem Ben-Sasson, Jerusalem 1983, p. 279. ISBN 965-235-011-7
207. ^ Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, s.v. קִיַּם (p. 247).

## Bibliography

[edit]

* Morag, Shelomo (2001). The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen (article: Notes on the Vowel System of Babylonian Aramaic as Preserved in the Yemenite Tradition), ed. Yosef Tobi. Tel-Aviv: Afikim. ISBN 965-7247-00-4.
* Morag, Shelomo (1974). "On the Historical Validity of the Vocalization of the Hebrew Bible". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 94 (3): 307–315\. doi:10.2307/600065. JSTOR 600065.
* Isaac, Ephraim; Tobi, Yosef [in Hebrew] (1999). Judaeo-Yemenite Studies - Proceedings of the Second International Congress. Princeton University: Institute of Semitic Studies.
* Goitein, Shelomo Dov (1983). Ben-Sasson, Menahem (ed.). The Yemenites – History, Communal Organization, Spiritual Life (Selected Studies). Jerusalem: Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi. ISBN 965-235-011-7.
* Ratzaby, Yehuda [in Hebrew] (1978). Ōsar Leshon Haqqōdesh Shellivnē Temān [Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews] (in Hebrew). Tel-Aviv.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
* Gluska, Isaac; Kessar, Tsemah (1992). Shivtiel Book – Studies in the Hebrew Language and in the Linguistic Traditions of the Jewish Communities. Tel-Aviv.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) (Cited in article by Yehuda Ratzaby who quotes from Kitāb al-Ānwār, ed. Leon Nemoy)
* Ben Uzziel, Yonathan (1949). The Targum of Isaiah – with supralinear punctuation (ed. J.F. Stenning). Oxford.
* Amar Halevi, Yosef [in Hebrew] (1980). Talmud Bavli Menuqad. Vol. 1–20\. Jerusalem.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
* Yitzhak Halevi, Shalom (1960). Siddur Tefillat Kol Pe (in Hebrew). Jerusalem.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
* Yitzhak Halevi, Avner (1993). Divrei Shalom Ḥakhamim (Memorial book in honor of Rabbi Shalom Yitzhak Halevi). Jerusalem.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) (Hebrew)
* Qafih, Yosef (1989). Collected Papers. Vol. 2\. Jerusalem. pp. 943–946.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) (Hebrew)
* Hayim Yitzhak Barda (1991). Responsa Yitzhak Yeranen; article: Inquiry into the Pronunciation of Letters and Punctuation, Whether according to the Sephardic Jews, or the Ashkenazim and Yemenites (by Meir Mazuz) (in Hebrew). Vol. 4\. pp. 51 (section 9).
* Idelsohn, Abraham Z. (1917). Phonographierte Gesänge und Aussprachsproben des Hebräischen der jemenitischen, persischen und syrischen Juden. Vienna.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) (German)
* Pinhas Halevi, Yoav, ed. (1990). Maḥberet Kitrei Ha-Torah (in Hebrew). Benei Barak.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

## Further reading

[edit]

* S. Morag, 'Pronunciations of Hebrew', Encyclopaedia Judaica XIII, 1120–1145
* Morag, Shelomo (1963). Ha-Ivrit she-be-fi Yehude Teman (Hebrew as pronounced by Yemenite Jews). Jerusalem: Academy of the Hebrew Language.
* Yeivin, I., The Hebrew Language Tradition as Reflected in the Babylonian Vocalization: Jerusalem 1985 (Hebrew)
* מלמדי תינוקות ודרכי הלימוד (Hebrew), beginning on page 50 in Halichoth Teiman (1963).
* נקוד, טעמים ומסורת בתימן (Hebrew) in Rabbi Yosef Qafih's Collected Papers, volume 2, pages 931–936.
* אלף בי (Hebrew): A popular Yemenite alaph bei book.
* השירה והלחנים בתפילת יהודי תימן (Hebrew) in Rabbi Yosef Qafih's Collected Papers, volume 2, pages 958–960.
* Sáenz-Badillos, Angel (1996). A History of the Hebrew Language. trans. John Elwolde. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-55634-1.

## External links

[edit]

* Sifra in the Babylonian supraliner punctuation, Manuscript: Vaticani ebraici 66 (Late 9th-mid 10th century)
* Pronunciation Chart, Pronunciation Chart (continued)
* Torah reading with Targum Onkelos, read by Yemenite elder, Mori Shalom Cohen
* Aleph be recording (published by http://www.temoni.org/?p=3652).
* Aharon Amram – Recordings:
* Tunes of Yemen – Aharon Amram for Android.
* Cantillation of שביעי in Parshat Miketz (published by Nosach Teiman).
* Reading of Psalm 119 (published by Nosach Teiman).
* Yemenite reading of the complete Hallel (published by Nosach Teiman).
* Piyyutim for Simchat Torah disc 1.
* Megillat Eichah (portions thereof published by Nosach Teiman):
* Chapter 2
* Chapter 4
* Chapter 5
* Purim song: שמח דודי ביום פורים (published by Nosach Teiman).
* 1988 Selichot in a Rosh HaAyin synagogue
* שבח אשיר
* Rabbi Yosef 'Amar – Recordings and Work:
* הקלטת וידאו משנת תשכ"ו – אופן טעמי המקרא, וכן קטעי הדגמה לאופן הקריאה בתורה (published by Nosach Teiman).
* דוגמה לקריאות מהתנ"ך
* קטע ממסכת ברכות
* קטע ממסכת כלים
* Babylonian Talmud vowelized according to the tradition of the Jews of Yemen
* הקדמה, סימני הניקוד, מבוא, מסורת תימן של לשון התלמוד ועוד
* כל מסכת מגילה מתוך התלמוד הבבלי בניקוד תימני להורדה (from Nosach Teiman)
* מסכת מכות – פרק ראשון מתוך התלמוד הבבלי בניקוד תימני להורדה (from Nosach Teiman)
* Rabbi Yosef Qafih: Megillat Esther reading of Purim 1996 (until 2:5, from CD)
* Rabbi Ratson 'Arusi – Recordings:
* סעודת מצווה חתן וכלה בנוסח יהודי תימן
* קינון והספד תימני
* Ashmuroth in 1975 – Shabbazi Synagogue, Kiryat Ono (preceded by his introductory remarks)
* ברכת חמה
* גמרא בצוותא עם חברי כולל יום השישי
* Vocabulary of Yemenite Pronunciations, David Ben-Abraham, 2005
* On the Hebrew Language of Yemen Archived 2011-06-07 at the Wayback Machine, 2005 (mostly unreferenced)
* Rabbi Evin Sapir's Account of Yemenite Hebrew (in Hebrew); free translation at http://www.chayas.com/evinsapir.doc Archived 2011-06-07 at the Wayback Machine
* Vocalization of Hebrew Alphabet: A non-Yemenite's efforts at imitation of Sana'ani Yemenite Pronunciation of Hebrew.

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Hebrew language

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Reading traditions|

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Orthography|

| Eras|

* Biblical

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Scripts|

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Alphabet|

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Phonology|

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Jewish languages

Afroasiatic|

| Hebrew|

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Reading traditions|

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Judeo-Aramaic/Targum|

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Sign languages|

* Israeli Sign Language (German Sign)
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Italics indicate extinct languages
*[lit.]: Literal translation
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