Hebrew alphabet

The Hebrew Alphabet (héb.: אָלֶף־בֵיתעִבְרִי , alefbet ʼivri ) is a Abjad which developed starting from the Aramean alphabet. The Hebrew call their alphabet alefbet or, traditionally, aleph-beth ( aleph and beth while being the first two letters).

It is used mainly for the usual transcription of the Hebrew language and its vernacular or dialectal varieties of the family Judéo-Arabic ( Al Yahudiyya ), as well as other languages of Jewish tradition like the Judéo-espagnol ( djudezmo ), the ladino (the only written shape of Hebrew translates Spanish word-with-word in ), the Judéo-allemand (or Yiddish ), theAlsatian one (or Jéddischdaitsch ), and also formerly for that of others Semitic Langues or on a regional level for those of Indo-Aryan Langues spoken by the Jewish Diaspora.

History of the Hebraic writing

The Archeology watch which the old Hebraic writing is close to the writing phenician which was spread with the the Middle East at the end of the {{mid-|II|E}} before the Christian era. During the exile with the {{sav-|VI|E}} before the Christian era, the Juif S borrowed a more modern form of it from the Babylonian Jews which had inherited themselves them the Jews Assyrie NS. It was the square alphabet which is still used today.

According to the Jewish tradition, their writing was formed at the time of Moïse, although the role of Esdras is recognized for its contribution to the square writing. Owing to the fact that the notation of calculation was done with letters, as in Greek, the Hebraic letters have a numerical value, symbolic system and mystic who is abundantly illustrated by the Kabbale. It is probable that if the shape of the 22 letters evolved/moved, their row in the Alphabetical order remained fixed since a very old origin. See Alphabet ougaritic.

In spite of the decline of the Hebrew and Araméen like spoken languages, the Hebraic writing was maintained in religious teaching and like conveys Yiddish and Judéo-espagnol, the languages of the Diaspora.

The writing was given to the honor (as a natural support of living languages) at the time of the rebirth of the national conscience and the language Hebraic at the end of the 19th century and the recognition of the Hebrew language E like Official language since the creation of the State of Israel in 1948 (where the other Hebraic languages or vernacular varieties of the language hébreue are also spoken today by very alive communities today, and which maintain the very important cultural relations with the diaspora in the rest of the world).

General principles of the writing with the Hebrew alphabet

Some letters know a contextual Variante at the end of the mot. It is a process similar to that which one meets for the Arabic alphabet, although much simpler. However, these alternatives were sometimes used to note differences phonetic and orthographical, or preserved by tradition in made up words. For these reasons, the texts in writing hébreue should not be the subject of an automatic contextual variation between the final and normal forms. The writing hébreue must thus be treated as if the final forms were distinct letters in the orthographical plan, supplementing the basic alphabet. It is not necessarily the case of the other the diacritic variations using consonantaux ones noted in the table below.

Traditional Hebrew does not note of course the Voyelle S, since it is a Abjad. Signs Diacritic S, points or nikkud , were however added to facilitate the teaching and the reading of the crowned texts. There exist also signs of Cantillation and ornaments suitable for the Torah. In the same way, the use of the matres lectionis simplifies the reading, by transforming the traditional abjad into alphabet (without using any other diacritic vowel).

Thus, four basic letters of the alphabet ( א aleph , ה He , ו waw or י yodh ) is semi-consonants (or semivowels according to the point of view), which means that they are employed like consonants in the basic writing, but are it also occasionally like vowels ( MATER lectionis ) in certain simplified orthographies of the language hébreue; in the normal writing hébreue of other languages, like the Yiddish (or Yiddish) and the Jéddischdaitsch (or judéo-Alsatian), they are employed directly for the transcription (definitely simplified) their vowels, without inevitably calling upon the diacritic vowels of the writing hébreue (that requires the use of bindings specific to these languages to allow certain orthographical distinctions between the vocalic and consonnantaux uses).

These four semi-consonants in language hébreue have also a contextual reading very frequently different, and a particular behavior relating to the placement of the diacritic vowels which can also precede them (and which normally supplements the preceding basic letters). These groupings are then named differently to qualify this particular vocalic use in connection with the other “true” diacritic vowels hébreues (not always noted even if they are implicit).

Phonetic alphabet basic or wide consonnantal (abjad) and values

Are listed below only the letters of bases necessary for the transcription of modern or traditional Hebrew, like their alternatives consonnantales (including the bindings specific to the transcription of the Yiddish), other than the others diacritic Hebrew (vocalic points and marks of cantillation) who is used only in the pointed writing hébreue.

The majority of the basic letters of Hebrew have phonetic alternatives represented with the diacritic ones making it possible to distinguish them phonetically. Diacritic the daguesh (called mapiq when it relates to a semivowel) is most current and can be added in the middle of the majority of the letters, but there exist also diacritic the rarer (the such rāp̄eh or rafe to note the fricative alternative with a small indent as a chief in opposition to the central daguesh which notes the occlusive alternative, and the varyika in Yiddish very similar to the daguesh but note an articulation moved of occlusive) to add additional distinctions necessary to the transcription of older varieties of the language hébreue or that of other languages.

Glyphes

Here increased versions of the glyphes of each of the 22 basic letters of the alphabet and their final alternatives, in a traditional style and a simplified modern style. The names given here to the letters indicate to the Latin Translittération recommended for the Semitic writings, followed the most common orthography of French.

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