1. Section 3
Vowel Signs

2. 3.1 Vowel Letters
‫ה‬ ‫א‬ ‫ו‬ ‫י‬

3. Yod and Waw
✦ The half vowels Yod (‫י‬) and Waw (‫ו‬) as
consonants can be made silent after vowels.
✦ Waw (‫ו‬) stands for the deep vowels ō and ū.
✦ Yod (‫י‬) stands for the light vowels i, ē, and e.

4. ‫יום‬ yōm
‫אישׁ‬ ’iš
‫אלהים‬ ‘’älōhim
‫עיר‬ `ir

5. Alef and He
✦ The end sounds Alef (‫א‬) and He (‫ה‬) as
consonants can be cancelled out and appear
now to mark the final vowel.
✦ He (‫ה‬) stands in the final sound of a word for
all long vowels other than i.
✦ If He (‫ה‬) at the end of the word should be
pronounced as a consonant, then it has a
diacritical point (‫הּ‬) called a Mappíq → § 5.1.

6. Alef and He
✦ Alef (‫א‬) stands in the final sound of a syllable
for each long vowel.

7. ‫פּנה‬ Pāne
‫שׁנה‬ šānā
‫משׁה‬ mōše
‫יצא‬ yāṣā

8. 3.2 The Tiberian
Punctuation
Signs for each of the 7 vowel sounds

9. Overview of Vowels
i ē ä/e a ā å ō u
ִ‫ל‬ ֵ‫ל‬ ֶ‫ל‬ ַ‫ל‬ ָ‫ל‬ ָ‫ל‬ 4 ֻ‫ל‬
both long both short long short long both
Chireq Tsere Segol Patach Qamets
Qamets
Chatuf
Cholem Qibbuts

10. Your words with vowels
‫ֵן‬‫בּ‬ ‫ֹל‬‫כּ‬
‫֫;ץ‬ֶ‫א‬ <ֶ‫ל‬ֶ֫‫מ‬
‫ִישׁ‬‫א‬ ‫יוֹם‬
‫ַם‬‫ע‬ ‫>ה‬‫נ‬ָ‫פּ‬
‫@ת‬‫י‬ַ֫‫בּ‬ ‫ד‬B‫י‬

11. Technical Terms
✦ Mater lectionis – vowel letters (‫י‬ ‫ו‬ ‫ה‬ ‫)א‬
✦ a consonant quiesces – stands for a vowel
(loses its consonantal quality)
✦ plene writing – vowel written together with a
vowel letter (plene: “full”)

12. Technical Terms
✦ defective writing – vowel written without a
vowel letter
✦ Words appear written either with or
without the vowel letter.
✦ homogeneous vowels –those that can appear
with vowel letters

13. Placing of Vowel Signs
✦ Vowel signs were placed above or below
letters in the text.
✦ Remember to pronounce the consonant
first and then the vowel.
✦ Only exception is the “furtive patach”

14. Placing of Vowel Signs
✦ Vowel signs were also placed where a vowel
letter already stood. The sign was placed not
under the vowel letter but under the preceding
letter.
✦ One significant combination to note: vowel
sound u with Waw gives Shureq (‫וּ‬).

15. ‫ִי‬‫ס‬‫סוּ‬ susi Yod is a vowel letter
‫ַי‬‫ס‬‫סוּ‬ susay Yod is a consonant
‫ָה‬‫ל‬E‫י‬ַ‫ל‬ layla Yod is a consonant; He is a vowel letter
‫ָוֹן‬‫ע‬ ‘awon Waw is a consonant
‫עוֹד‬ ‘od Waw is a vowel letter
‫ָה‬‫כּ‬ְ‫ל‬ַ‫מ‬ malka He is a vowel letter
‫ָהּ‬‫כּ‬ְ‫ל‬ַ‫מ‬ malkah He is a consonant
ָ‫ה‬‫ֶי‬‫ס‬‫סוּ‬ susäha
He is a consonant; Waw and Yod are
vowel letters
‫ֹא‬‫ב‬B‫י‬ yabo Alef is a vowel letter
‫ֹאוּ‬‫ב‬B‫י‬ yabo’u Alef is a consonant; Waw a vowel letter

16. Section 4
The Schwa-Sign

17. 4.1 Signs for Half-
Vowels
Simple Schwa and Composite Schwa

18. Schwa mobile
✦ The Schwa is a double dot under the
consonant (ְ‫ל‬).
✦ Same principle of pronunciation as other
vowels
✦ Schwa is vowel reduced at its strongest
✦ The Schwa can be voiced or silent (see § 4.2)
✦ Also called Simple Schwa or Vocal Schwa

19. Chatef Vowels
✦ Also called Composite
Schwas
✦ Combination of vowel sign
and Schwa sign
✦ Only occur under gutturals
‫@י‬‫נ‬ֲ‫א‬ ’anī
Chatef-
Patach
‫ִים‬‫ה‬4ֱ‫א‬ ’elōhīm
Chatef-
Seghol
‫ִי‬‫ל‬ֳ‫ח‬ ḥålī
Chatef-
Qames

20. 4.2 Signs for
Vowellessness
Schwa quiescens (Silent Schwa)

21. Schwa quiescens
✦ Also called Silent Schwa
✦ This Schwa sign stands with consonants
within the word that do not have vowels that
follow.
✦ Here is the confusion:
✦ The same sign can be either silent or vocal.
So there needs to be some way to
distinguish them.

22. 4.3 Differentiation
of Schwas
Vocal or Silent Schwa?

23. The Schwa is vocal ...
at the beginning of the
word ‫ִי‬‫ה‬E‫י‬
when it is the second of
2 contiguous Schwas ‫הוּ‬B‫י‬ְ‫מ‬L@‫י‬
under a consonant with
a Dagesh
‫י‬M‫נ‬ְ‫פּ‬‫ַל־‬‫ע‬
‫ִים‬‫ל‬Nְ‫גּ‬ַ‫ה‬
after a long vowel (note
the use of the Meteg) ‫ְרוֹן‬‫מ‬ֹ‫שׁ‬

24. Some new words
‫ָר‬‫ב‬ָ‫דּ‬ ‫ָב‬‫א‬
‫ִיר‬‫ע‬ ‫@ן‬‫י‬ַ֫‫ע‬
‫ֵם‬‫שׁ‬ ‫ה‬B‫נ‬ָ‫שׁ‬
‫ֶד‬‫ב‬ֶ֫‫ע‬ ‫ָה‬ּ‫שׁ‬ִ‫א‬
‫ֶשׁ‬‫פ‬֫>‫נ‬ ‫ֵן‬‫ה‬ֹ‫כּ‬

25. Listen to this...
֗‫ז‬֗‫י‬֗‫ק‬ ‫ְמוֹר‬‫ז‬ִ‫מ‬
֑‫ם‬@‫י‬‫ָל–גּוֹ‬‫כּ‬ ‫ה‬B‫ו‬‫ה‬E‫י‬–‫ֶת‬‫א‬ ‫ְלוּ‬‫ל‬ַ‫ה‬
‫ֽם׃‬‫י‬ִ‫מּ‬ֻ‫א‬ָ‫ה‬–‫ָל‬‫כּ‬ ‫ְחוּהוּ‬‫בּ‬ַ‫שׁ‬
‫ְדּוֹ‬‫ס‬ַ‫ח‬ ‫ֵינוּ‬‫ל‬ָ‫ע‬ ‫ַר‬‫ב‬ָ‫ג‬ ‫ִי‬‫כּ‬
‫ָם‬‫ל‬‫ְעוֹ‬‫ל‬ ‫ה‬B‫ו‬‫ה‬E‫י‬–‫ֶת‬‫מ‬ֱ‫א‬>‫ו‬
‫הּ׃‬B‫י‬–‫ְלוּ‬‫ל‬ַ‫ה‬