Usage in Hebrew
For more details on this topic, see Hebrew spelling.Most commonly, yod י indicates i or e, while waw ו indicates o or u. Aleph א was not systematically developed as a mater lectionis in Hebrew (as it was in Aramaic and Arabic), but it is occasionally used to indicate an a vowel. (However, a silent aleph — indicating an original glottal stop consonant sound which has become silent in Hebrew pronunciation — can occur after almost any vowel.) At the end of a word, He ה can also be used to indicate that a vowel a should be pronounced.
Examples:
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Symbol Name Vowel formation Vowel quality Example Biblical Modern Hebrew Transliteration א Alef ê, ệ, ậ, â, ô mostly ā פארן Paran ה He ê, ệ, ậ, â, ô mostly ā or e לאה Leah משה Moshe ו Waw Vav ô, û ō or ū יואל Yo'el ברוך Baruch י Yod Yud î, ê, ệ ī, ē or ǣ דויד David
Read more about this topic: Mater Lectionis
Famous quotes containing the words usage and/or hebrew:
“I am using it [the word ‘perceive’] here in such a way that to say of an object that it is perceived does not entail saying that it exists in any sense at all. And this is a perfectly correct and familiar usage of the word.”
—A.J. (Alfred Jules)
“Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”
—Bible: Hebrew Ecclesiastes, 4:9-12.