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:
“Pythagoras, Locke, Socrates—but pages
Might be filled up, as vainly as before,
With the sad usage of all sorts of sages,
Who in his life-time, each was deemed a bore!
The loftiest minds outrun their tardy ages.”
—George Gordon Noel Byron (1788–1824)
“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace.”
—Bible: Hebrew Isaiah 52:7.