Schwa (Hebrew)

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The Hebrew Schwa (Heb. שְׁוָא [ʃva] ), sometimes also written Sheva , represented by two dots under a consonant, is part of the Nikud in the Hebrew alphabet system . In today's Hebrew it is either / ⁠ e / ⁠ pronounced precisely: [E] ( for the consonants, under which it is), or it is not pronounced. In traditional Hebrew linguistics, however, “Schwa” refers to some grammatical entities that no longer correspond to today's pronunciation (see table).

Pronunciation of Schwa
in modern Hebrew → 		Schwas, which denote the
vowel [e̞]		 Schwas, which denote the absence of
a sound ( Ø ) ​​
Traditional classification ↓
Schwa quiescens * קִמַּטְתְּ
הִתְמוֹדַדְתְּ 		[ki'mate̞t]
[hitmo̞'dade̞t] 		קִפַּלְתְּ
הִתְמַתַּנְתְּ 		[ki'palØt] = [ki'palt]
[hitma'tanØt] = [hitma'tant]
Schwa mobile שָׁדְדוּ
לְאַט 		[ʃade̞'du]
[le̞'at] 		שָׂרְדוּ
זְמַן 		[sarØ'du] = [sar'du]
[zØman] = [zman]
* All Schwas in the words קִמַּטְתְּ and הִתְמוֹטַטְתְּ are Schwas quiescentes;
nevertheless, the Schwa is pronounced under the letter ט / e /

Traditional assignment

Traditionally, Schwas are referred to in most grammatical occurrences either as "Schwa quiescens" (Heb. "Schwa Nach") or as "Schwa mobile" (Heb. "Schwa Na"); in a few cases they are called "Schwebendes Schwa" (Heb. "Schwa Merachef"), and in relation to the Tiberian pronunciation (from about 700 to 1500 AD), some Schwas are assigned as "Schwa Ga'ja".

Schwa mobile

Schwa mobile (Hebrew שבא נע Schwa Na` , dt. Moved Schwa ) is considered in traditional Hebrew linguistics as an indicator for a vowel that exists in the basic form of a word and has become short through inflection and is either used as the phoneme / ə / or / ĕ / circumscribed (the circumscription / ə / can be misleading in connection with New Hebrew , since the vowel [ə] does not exist in New Hebrew ). The terms “mobile” and “moved” as translations of Hebrew na` are common; “vowel” would be more appropriate, because in Hebrew the word תנועה tenu`a (movement) from the same root as na` also means “vowel”.

A Schwa mobile is recognized as such if it meets the following criteria:

  1. if it is under the first of two identical letters,
  2. if it is under the first letter of a word,
  3. if it is the second of two Schwas that are under two letters next to each other, except at the end of the word,
  4. if it is under a letter preceded by a "large vowel" (Qamatz, Tzere, Chiriq Male, Cholam or Schuruq),
  5. if it is under a letter that is marked with a Dagesch Chasaq ( gemination point ).

A Schwa mobile dictates certain grammatical rules, e.g. E.g .: if one of the letters ב, ג, ד, כ, פ, ת appears after a Schwa mobile, this letter may not be marked with a Dagesch Qal .

Schwa quiescens

Schwa quiescens (Hebrew שוא נח Schwa Nach , dt. Dormant Schwa ) denotes in traditional Hebrew linguistics the ending of a syllable in the absence of a vowel. This Schwa is not spoken. Except in a few exceptional cases, every Schwa that does not meet the above-mentioned criteria for the Schwa mobile is classified as a Schwa quiescens. A Schwa quiescens dictates certain grammatical rules, e.g. E.g .: if one of the letters ב, ג, ד, כ, פ, ת follows a Schwa quiescens , this letter must be marked with a Dagesch Qal .

Floating Schwa

Floating Schwa (Hebrew שוא מרחף Schwa Merachef ) is a Schwa with a consonant after a "small vowel" - so that it would be a Schwa quiescens according to the above-mentioned recognition criteria - but which does not end a closed syllable. This is the case when a prefix does not combine with the following consonant to form a syllable, and in some cases also when a vowel has been replaced by the Schwa compared to the basic form of the word by inflection . Although the floating Schwa, like the Schwa quiescens, represents silence , a Begadkefat following this Schwa is not marked with a Dagesch lene (see also rules with examples there).

Schwa Ga'ja

Schwa Ga'ja denotes a Schwa that occurs under a letter that is marked with the cantillation symbol "Ga'ja" (or "Meteg") and consequently has the status of a "full vowel", in contrast to Schwa mobile, that as a "very small vowel" (Heb. "Tnu'a Chatufa"), z. B .: the Schwa in the word בְּהוֹנוֹנ “toes” would normally be a Schwa mobile and would represent a / ĕ /; but if, as here Shwa-gaja.jpg:, the initial letter ב is marked with the cantillation symbol “Ga'ja”, the Schwa becomes a Schwa Ga'ja and is pronounced / o /.

Today’s debate

In today's Hebrew , the Schwa is pronounced either as / e / or Ø (not at all). It is never pronounced as [ə] (the phonetic schwa ) (the vowel [ə] does not exist in modern Hebrew).

A Schwa is pronounced as / e / in the following cases:

  1. when it is under the first of two letters that represent the same consonant , e.g. B. שָׁכְחוּ / ʃaχeˈχu / "they have forgotten", מוֹטַטְתְּ / moˈtatet / "you brought [something] to collapse"
  2. if it is under the first letter of a word and the first letter is י / j /, ל / l /, מ / m /, נ / n / or ר / r /, e.g. B. נְמָשִׁים / nemaˈʃim / "freckles"
  3. if it is under the first letter of a word and the second letter is א / ʔ /, ה / h / or ע / ʕ / or / ʔ /, e.g. B. בְּהִירוּת / behiˈrut / "clarity"
  4. if it is under the first letter of a word and this letter represents one of the following morphemes : ב / be / = u. a. "In", ו / ve / = "and", כ / ke / = u. a. "Like" or "approximately", ל / le / = u. a. " Zu ", dative construction and verb form in the infinitive , ת / te / as future tense indicator, e.g. B. בְּרֵיחָהּ / berejˈχa / "in their smell"
  5. (in non- standard pronunciation) if it would be pronounced as / e / under the first letter of a word and one of the above-mentioned morphemes ב / be /, ו / ve /, כ / ke / or ל / le / zum The beginning of the word is appended (ie in this case all Schwas / e / are pronounced), e.g. B. * לְאֲרָיוֹת וְלְנְמֵרִים יֵשׁ פַּרְוָה * / learaˈjot v e l e n e merim / "Lions and tigers have a fur", * וְכְּיְלָדִים שִׂחַקְנוּ בַּחוּץ * / v e k e j e laˈdim / "and as children we played outside"
  6. (mostly) if it is under a letter that is not at the beginning of a word, and the letter is pronounced immediately before this letter without a subsequent vowel, e.g. B. נִשְׁפְּכוּ / niʃpeˈχu / "poured out"
Exceptions:
The Schwa is never pronounced when it is at the end of the word: אָמַרְתְּ / aˈmartØ / = / aˈmart / "you (female) said"; "נֵרְדְּ" / nerdØ / = / nerd / " Nard Oil ".
Even if the Schwa is in the middle of the word, it is sometimes not pronounced, e.g. B. אַנְגְּלִית / aŋgØˈlit / = / aŋgˈlit / "English", נַשְׁפְּרִיץ / naʃˈpØriʦ / = / naʃˈpriʦ / "we will be sprayed on".

notes

  1. ↑ This applies to the Tiberian system used today . In the Palestinian Nikkud system, which was used in Palestine at the beginning of the Middle Ages , the sign for a Schwa Mobile was a "c" -like sign above the consonant (here with the letter ב :) , with no sign for a Schwa quiescens .Pal shwa.jpg
  2. ↑ Source: Characterization and Evaluation of Speech-Reading Support Systems for Hard-of-Hearing Students in the Class by Becky Schocken; Faculty of Management, Tel-Aviv University, Department of Management and Economics, The Open University of Israel