changes and commutations of the vowels, hereafter to be detailed, are governed in great measure by the mutual affinities here disclosed. 3. Now it so happens that the three dominant vowel sounds above exhibited correspond so nearly with those indicated by the Evi letters §, 7, ", that the latter have not only been considered by grammarians as representatives of the former, but also as affording a philosophical basis for the arrangement of the whole of the vowel signs into three distinct classes coinciding with these three leading letters. They will of course be ranged as follows: : and Long Hireq. and Tseri. Segol short, and - long. The vowels belonging to any one class are termed kindred to each other. Those of the first class are denoted by vowel-signs alone. In both the other classes the long are distinguished by an accompanying vowel-letter or quiescent usually termed homogeneous. Of these quiescent letters, and of the manner in which they are combined in pronunciation with the several vowels, see § 18. 4. Gesenius objects to the phraseology which represents a vowel-letter (either,,, or−) as resting or quiescing in a vowel-sign, and proposes so to modify the expression, that it shall be said, that such a letter is pronounced as or by such or such a vowel. Thus, for instance, he would say that is expressed by Hireq, Tseri, or Segol; As the common method, however, besides being far more brief and convenient, is founded on a distinction of the Ehevi letters as quiescent and moveable, for which there appears to be a sufficient ground, it is doubtful whether the phraseology either will be done away or ought to be; and we have accordingly retained it in the present work. 5. It may here be remarked also, that vowels to which quiescent letters properly belong, whether written or not, are sometimes termed impure, while those destitute of such an accompaniment are styled pure. Thus the vowels in 83, 2, 173, bip, ip, are impure; and so also are those in, 5, and ; שָׁלַיִשִׁים (קוֹל נִיר the true form of the words being שָׁלִשִׁם the final ones in a fact, however, which can only be determined by a knowledge of the etymol こ ogy of the words. On the other hand, the vowels in N, 7, 3, 1, are pure. The distinction, however, is not of much practical importance, being in fact nothing more than a different mode of saying that a vowel has or has not a quiescent united with it. Yet the terms are occasionally employed in the subsequent pages. זז OBSERVATIONS ON THE VOWELS. I. The Long Vowels. (a) KAMETS (â). This point is sometimes called Kamets long, to distinguish it from Kamets Hateph, of the same form, but having the sound of short o. Rules for distinguishing them will be given in a subsequent section, § 19. As to the pronunciation of Kamets, there is no small diversity of usage, both among Jews and Christians. By the Spanish and Portuguese Jews it is sounded as a in far, e. g., ba-ra; by the German and Polish Jews as o in bone, e. g., bo-ro. In this country the authority of Prof. Stuart's Grammar, in the first instance, has given currency to the intermediate sound of a in hall, and that sound was adopted in the first edition of this Grammar, especially from its standing in such marked distinction from Pattah. But on further reflection, I have seen reason to give a decided preference to the sound of a in far; for, (1) The sound of a in hall is nowhere, that I can learn, given to Kamets out of our own country. To the Hebrew scholars both of Germany and England it is wholly unknown; nor is it ever heard among native Jews in any part of the world. (2) The scheme of vowel-sounds exhibited § 7, agrees with this sound of Kamets, and with no other. The primitive and most natural sound of the vowel is undoubtedly that which is made by simply opening the mouth and expelling the breath from the lungs; and this is clearly the sound' of a in far. But if Kamets does not represent this sound, it has no representative, for Pattah, which comes nearest to it, requires some degree of compression of the organs. On the whole, therefore, the author does not hesitate to recommend to the student of Hebrew to accustom himself from the outset to give to this vowel the sound above indicated. Though perhaps less euphonous, it is more proper. (b) TSERI (e) This vowel is always written under the line, and is marked by no special anomalies or peculiarities. PRAXIS. 72, 17, 19, 27, 1, 2, 3, sēh, rē, pēh, rē, gē, mē, tē, ē. (c) HIREQ magnum, or long (+7=1). The letter Yod () in connection with this vowel is termed its fulcrum. It is a usual, but not an invariable attendant of the vowel; being omitted, for instance, though analogically due, in 77 (777) mir, 777 (7777) Dâ-vidh, 77 (777) hō-ridh. The presence of the is, however, with few exceptions, the grand mark of distinction between Hireq magnum, or long, and Hireq parvum, or short. Accordingly is pronounced dil=deel, while 3 has the sound of dil; and so generally. ערן עררן for (d) HOLEM (i=0). Here also the, like the in the case of Hireq, is merely a fulcrum to the vowel, which is essentially complete in the point (__) written above the line. The accordingly is very frequently omitted, as p gōl for ip; to-hu for in. As a general rule, the 7, when thus used as an appendage to Holem, loses its original consonant power, and quiesces in the Holem (§ 18). This is obvious in the examples just given. But there are numerous cases where this quiescence does not take place. If, for instance, the has the Holem-point above and a vowel under it, it is to be pronounced as a consonant; e. g., in yë-hō-vâh, not yẽ-hō-âh; 3 lō-vēh, not lō-īh; rip qō-vīm, not qō-īm. In like manner, the word is pronounced â-von, though the be destitute of a vowel subscript. The point in this case 7 ought to incline a little to the left of the apex of the 1, but Hebrew types are seldom constructed with sufficient accuracy to mark this distinction. lation of Holem to the diacritical point over and is peculiar. In order to avoid the concurrence of two points, which would happen when is preceded by in, as in it, or succeeded by, as in, the is in such cases often omitted altogether, and the words written and . When thus used, the point performs the double office of marking the vowel and distinguishing the letter; as it shows, in the above examples, that the first is to be pronounced sō-nē (not shō-nē), and the second mō-shẽh (not mō-seh). The general rule, therefore, is, that the point over the right tooth of (i) is to be read as Holem in mō-shēl, viņ dâ-rōsh, 7 The re if the preceding letter has no vowel of its own; as qon hō-shěk, bu she-to-shim. That over the left is to be read as Holem if they has no vowel point of its own, but the following letter has; as sō-vēṛ, □ṛin sō-hět, □xi ně-sō-im. On the other hand, with two points, beginning a word is read sho, as ni shō-mēr, but ending a word or syllable is read ōs, as yir-pōs; consequently in the middle of a word it is to be read as s when it has either a vowel or a Sheva (§ 9); as bō-sẽm, ɔ nō-se-īm. PRAXIS. nyn, zin, 12, 35, bin, i, ja ho-seh, hösh, sôn, lol, dòm, vò, bà. (e) SHUREQ (u). This vowel-point always follows the consonant to which its sound belongs, and is written in the bosom of its fulcrum 1, from which it is never separated. It is not however to be confounded with Dageshed Vav (1), of the same form. They are distinguished by Shureq's never having a vowel under it, whereas Dageshed ‐ always has either a vowel or a Sheva under it, except when Shureq follows it. Thus is read qum, but is sounded qiv-vâm. So • ♫ ráv vâh, ♫ạy” yê-tzuv-veh, but 57 qăv-vũ, without קוּם קים == a vowel subscript. Shureq at the beginning of words is pronounced like ũ=00; as ņū-mī, not vū-mī; p ū-vēn, not vũ-vēn ; ¡757 ũ-phâ-râh, not vũ-phâ-rân. (f) PATTAH (-a). Pattah, as a general rule, is short. In some cases it presents an anomalous appearance by being connected with a quiescent, as but these cases are few, and owing to מְלַאכְתּוֹ לַיהוָה לַאדֹנָי לִקְרַאת special causes, the consideration of which is not appropriate here. See § 26.3. When occurring under the final Gutturals,,, it is sounded, contrary to usual analogy, before instead of after the letter under which it stands, as định rũ đh, not rũ-hà; nước mê-shian, Hinh gô-vôăh, pin sha-mo-d. It is then called Pattah Furtive, of which see § 11. (g) SEGOL (=). This, though classed with the short vowels, is long in the following cases; (1) when standing in a simple syllable (§ 8. 6.), as ọp kë-seph, qhp molèk; (2) before the quiescents,,; as n miq-nèh, not miq-něh ; ♬ņ mēh, ge, y tzē; (3) before a Guttural in which there is an implied Dagesh (§ 25.); as הֶהָרִים ; äh-hâv אַתָּיו e-hhâv for he-hâ-rim hăh-hâ-rīm. In all such cases Segol is to be pronounced like Tseri. PRAXIS. ō-lēh, mō-rēh, nē-phěsh, bē-těn, mět, běl. (h) KIBBUTS (;=). Kibbuts is not unfrequently used as a substitute for Shureq; as qū-mū for ap; Supqâ-tül for 3. In this case it is long, and is called Kibbuts vicarious. It generally has this character when not immediately followed by a Dagesh forte (§ 16.); as gè-vū-le-kâ for ¬¬. But when it stands in a mixed syllable (§ 8. 6.) it is usually short; vuj shūlhhon, qub-bâh. (2) KAMETS HATEPH ( = ŏ). This vowel agrees in form with Kamets. The rules for distinguishing them will be better given after settling some preliminary points necessarily involved in the distinction. See § 10. GENERAL PRAXIS. Each of the vowels to be named and its representative sound stated by the learner. sūs, qūm, yădh, lō, kōl, dil, lédh, hēm, tŭl, shīm, măk, lēv, bâ, â, CHAPTER III. § 8. SYLLABICATION. 1. Preliminary Remarks.-There exist in Hebrew, essentially, three gradations of sounds;-(1) The Syllable, as the first and most simple sound, a sound intrinsically forming a member of a word, yet capable of being viewed and treated as independent and separable; (2) the Word, generally polysyllabic, and in that case holding together and uniting all its syllables by means of one syllable distinguished by the tone, but still closely connected with the proposition; and (3) the Proposition, or a limited expression of thought, generally consisting of several words, keeping all its words together by the sense of the speaker as indicated by the rise and fall of the vocal intonations, and particularly by the pause at the end. The movements of all oral sounds are within this circle, and the three governing principles are (1) the vowel for the syllable, (2) the tone for the word, and (3) the sense and the pause for the proposition. 2. In the syllable, vowel and consonant form an inseparable whole, but the vowel is the centre, the power which alone moves and unites. A vowel is a sound in itself distinct, either uttered pure (a), or compressed by the organs above or below (i, u) according to § 7. 1, but still resounding uninterrupted from the open mouth. This vowel-sound, however, though in itself a pure breathing, is at the same time sustained and modified by the intrinsically mute action of the organs of speech, viz. the lungs, throat, tongue, and palate (i. e. by the consonants); and since these sounds are much more manifold than the vowels, the number of possible syllables is very great. The vowels, therefore, properly considered, are the animating elements of the language, but compared with the shorter but firmer consonants, they are merely its finer, feebler, more pliable part, and hence in the formation of words the nicer and more intellectual distinctions of meaning are produced by them. At the same time it is to be remarked that although vowels and consonants are essentially different, yet there are certain mutual approximations between them, as i (ee) and u (oo), which are formed by a contraction of the organs, are more firm and substantial, i. e. come nearer the nature of consonants, than the pure a. And so of the consonants themselves, some are harder, and some more soft and liquid than others. 3. As a general characteristic, the Shemitic languages are well supplied with vowels-sounds, and for the most part avoid a concurrence of closely joined consonants, particularly at the beginning of a syllable, § 9. 1. This principle is most deeply interwoven with the whole system of word-formations, and constitutes one of the fundamental peculiarities of this family of languages. The Hebrew, however, is not the most vocalic of the Shemitic languages, and especially is it incapable of sustaining a short vowel in a simple syllable (§ 27.), as the Arabic in kă-tă-lă, and the Greek in -yêv-E-Tõ. A short vowel can only remain in such a syllable when the tone sustains and animates it with new power; in other cases, as a general rule, it falls away. But as this does not |