Niqqud

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Hebrew alphabet
א    ב    ג    ד    ה    ו
ז    ח    ט    י    כך
ל    מם    נן    ס    ע    פף
צץ    ק    ר    ש    ת
History · Transliteration
Niqqud · Dagesh · Gematria
Cantillation · Numeration
"Vowel point" redirects here. For the Arabic equivalent, see Harakat.

In Hebrew orthography, Niqqud or Nikkud (Hebrew: נִקּוּד, Biblical נְקֻדּוֹת, Standard Nekudot Tiberian Nəquddôṯ ; "dots") is the system of diacritical signs used to represent vowels or distinguish between alternative pronunciations of letters in the Hebrew alphabet. Several orthographic systems for representing Hebrew vowels were developed in the Early Middle Ages. The most widespread system (and the only one still used to a significant degree today) was created by the Masoretes of Tiberias (see Masoretic Text, Tiberian Hebrew) in the second half of the first millennium in the Land of Israel.

Niqqud marks are small compared to consonants, so they can be added without retranscribing texts whose writers did not anticipate them.

Among those who do not speak Hebrew, niqqud are the sometimes unnamed focus of controversy regarding the interpretation of those written with the Tetragrammaton -- written as יְהֹוָה in Hebrew. The interpretation affects discussion of the authentic ancient pronunciation of the name whose other conventional English forms are "Jehovah" and "Yahweh".

Gen. 1:9 And God said, "Let the waters be collected".Letters in black, niqqud in red, cantillation in blue
Gen. 1:9 And God said, "Let the waters be collected".
Letters in black, niqqud in red, cantillation in blue

Contents

[edit] Short table

Israeli Hebrew has five vowel phonemes—/i/, /e/, /a/, /o/, and /u/—but many more written symbols for them. Niqqud denote the following vowels.

Name Symbol Israeli Hebrew Keyboard Input Hebrew Alternate
Names
IPA Transliteration English
Example		 Letter Key
Hiriq [i] i seek 4 חִירִיק ‒
Tzeire [ɛ] and [ɛi] e and ei men 5 צֵירֵי or צֵירֶה ‒
Segol [ɛ], ([ɛi] with
succeeding yod)		 e, (ei with
succeeding yod)		 men 6 סֶגוֹל ‒
Patakh [a] a far 7 פַּתָּח ‒
Kamatz [a], (or [ɔ]) a, (or o) far 8 קָמָץ ‒
Sin dot (left) [s] s sour 9 שִׂי״ן ‒
Shin dot (right) [ʃ] sh shop 0 שִׁי״ן ‒
Holam [ɔ] o bore - חוֹלָם ‒
Dagesh or Mappiq

Shuruk

 N/A N/A N/A = דָּגֵשׁ or מַפִּיק ‒
[u] u cool שׁוּרוּק ‒
Kubutz [u] u cool \ קֻבּוּץ ‒
Below: Two vertical dots underneath the letter (called sh'va) make the vowel very short.
Sh'va [ɛ] or [-] apostrophe, e,
or nothing		 silent ~ שְׁוָא ‒
Reduced Segol [ɛ] e men 1 חֲטַף סֶגוֹל Hataf Segol
Reduced Patakh [a] a far 2 חֲטַף פַּתָּח Hataf Patakh
Reduced Kamatz [ɔ] o bore 3 חֲטַף קָמָץ Hataf Kamatz

Note Ⅰ: The symbol "O" represents whatever Hebrew letter is used.
Note Ⅱ: The letter "ש" is used since it can only be represented by that letter..
Note Ⅲ: The dagesh, mappiq, and shuruk are different, however, they look the same and are inputted in the same manner.
Note Ⅳ: The letter "ו" is used since it can only be represented by that letter.

[edit] Vowel comparison table

Vowel Comparison Table
Vowel Length IPA Transliteration English
Example
Long Short Very Short
ָ ַ ֲ [a] a far
ֵ ֶ ֱ [ɛ] e temp
וֹ ָ ֳ [ɔ] o coke
וּ ֻ n/a [u] u tube
יִ ִ [i] i ski
Note Ⅰ: By adding two vertical dots (sh'va) ְ
the vowel is made very short.
Note Ⅱ: The short o and long a have the same niqqud.
Note Ⅲ: The short o is usually promoted to a long o
in Israeli writing for the sake of disambiguation
Note Ⅳ: The short u is usually promoted to a long u
in Israeli writing for the sake of disambiguation

[edit] Long table

This table uses the consonants ב ,ח or ש, where appropriate, to demonstrate where the niqqud is placed in relation to the consonant it is pronounced after. Any other consonants shown are actually part of the vowel. Note that there is some variation among different traditions in exactly how some vowel points are pronounced. The table below shows how most Israelis would pronounce them, but the classic Ashkenazi pronunciation, for example, differs in several respects.

This demonstration is known to work in Internet Explorer and Mozilla browsers in at least some circumstances, but in most other Windows browsers the niqqud do not properly combine with the consonants. This is because, currently, the Windows text display engine does not combine the niqqud automatically. Except as noted, the vowel pointings should appear directly beneath the consonants and the accompanying "vowel letter" consonants for the mālê (unchangeable long) forms appear after.
Symbol Type Common Name Alternate Names Scientific Name Hebrew IPA Transliteration Comments
בְ Israeli Sh'va sheva šəva שְׁוָא [ɛ] or Ø ə, e, ', or nothing

In modern Hebrew, shva is pronounced either /e/ or Ø, regardless of it's traditional classification as shva naḥ (שווא נח) or shva na (שווא נע), see following table for examples:

Pronunciation of shva in modern Hebrew
  Occurrences of shva denoting the vowel [e̞]) Occurrences of shva denoting Ø (absence of a vowel)
shva naḥ* קִמַּטְתְּ [ki'mate̞t]
הִתְמוֹטַטְתְּ [hitmo̞'tate̞t]		 קִפַּלְתְּ [ki'palt]
הִתְקַפַּלְתְּ [hitka'palt]
shva na שָׁדְדוּ [ʃade̞'du]
לְאַט [le̞'at]		 שָׂרְדוּ [sar'du]
זְמַן [zman]
*All shvas in the words "קִמַּטְתְּ" and "הִתְמוֹטַטְתְּ" are shva naḥ,
nonetheless those marked under the letter tet ("ט") are pronounced /e/ ([e̞])
Tiberian šəwâ שְׁוָא [ə]  
חֱ Israeli Reduced Segol hataf segol ḥataf seggol חֲטַף סֶגּוֹל [ɛ] e ‒
Tiberian ḥăṭep̄ səḡôl חֲטֶף סְגוֹל [ɛ] ĕ ‒
חֲ Israeli Reduced Patach hataf patach ḥataf pátaḥ חֲטַף פַּתַח [a] a ‒
Tiberian ḥăṭep̄ páṯaḥ חֲטֶף פַּתַח ă ‒
חֳ Israeli Reduced Kamatz hataf kamatz ḥataf qamaẓ חֲטַף קָמָץ [ɔ] o ‒
Tiberian ḥăṭep̄ qāmeṣ חֲטֶף קָמֶץ [ɔ] ŏ ‒
בִ Israeli Hiriq ḥiriq חִירִיק [i] i Usually promoted to Hiriq Malei in Israeli writing for the sake of disambiguation.
Tiberian ḥîreq חִירֶק [i] or [iː]) i or í ‒
בִי Israeli Hiriq Malei hiriq yod ḥiriq male חִירִיק מָלֵא [i] i ‒
Tiberian ḥîreq mālê חִירֶק מָלֵא [iː] î ‒
בֵ Israeli Zeire tzeirei, tsere ẓere צֵירֵי [ɛ] e ‒
Tiberian ṣērê צֵרֵי [eː] ē ‒
בֵי, בֵה, בֵא Israeli Zeire Malei tsere yod, tzeirei yod ẓere male צֵירֵי מָלֵא [ɛ] e More commonly ei (IPA [ei]).
Tiberian ṣērê mālê צֵרֵי מָלֵא [eː] ê ‒
בֶ Israeli Segol seggol סֶגּוֹל [ɛ] e ‒
Tiberian səḡôl סְגוֹל [ɛ] or [ɛː] e or é ‒
בֶי, בֶה, בֶא Israeli Segol Malei segol yod seggol male סֶגּוֹל מָלֵא [ɛ] e With succeeding yod, it is more commonly ei (IPA [ei])
Tiberian səḡôl mālê סְגוֹל מָלֵא [ɛː] ệ ‒
בַ Israeli Patach pátaḥ פַּתַח [a] a A patach on a letter ח at the end of a word is sounded before the letter, and not after. Thus, נֹחַ (Noah) is pronounced /no-ax/. This only occurs at the ends of words and only with patach and ח, ע, and הּ (that is, ה with a dot (mappiq) in it). This is sometimes called a patach g'nuvah, or "stolen" patach (more formally, "furtive patach"), since the sound "steals" an imaginary epenthetic consonant to make the extra syllable.
Tiberian páṯaḥ פַּתַח [a] or [aː] a or á ‒
בַה, בַא Israeli Patach Malei pátaḥ male פַּתַח מָלֵא [a] a ‒
Tiberian páṯaḥ mālê פַּתַח מָלֵא [aː] ậ ‒
בָ Israeli Kamatz Gadol kamatz qamaẓ gadol קָמַץ גָּדוֹל [a] a ‒
Tiberian qāmeṣ gāḏôl קָמֶץ גָּדוֹל [ɔː] ā ‒
בָה, בָא Israeli Kamatz Malei kamatz he qamaẓ male קָמַץ מָלֵא [a] a comm
Tiberian qāmeṣ mālê קָמֶץ מָלֵא [ɔː] â ‒
בָ Israeli Kamatz Katan kamatz hatuf qamaẓ qatan קָמַץ קָטָן [ɔ] o Usually promoted to Holam Malei in Israeli writing for the sake of disambiguation. Also, not to be confused with Hataf Kamatz.
Tiberian qāmeṣ qāṭān קָמֶץ קָטָן [ɔ] ‒
בֹ Israeli Holam ḥolam חוֹלָם [ɔ] o Usually promoted to Holam Malei in Israeli writing for the sake of disambiguation. The holam is written above the consonant on the left corner, or slightly to the left of (i.e., after) it at the top.
Tiberian ḥōlem חֹלֶם [oː] ō comm
בוֹ, בֹה, בֹא Israeli Holam Malei ḥolam male חוֹלַם מָלֵא [ɔ] o The holam is written in the normal position relative to the main consonant (above and slightly to the left), which places it directly over the vav.
Tiberian ḥōlem mālê חֹלֶם מָלֵא [oː] ô ‒
בֻ Israeli Kubutz qubbuẓ קוּבּוּץ [u] u Usually promoted to Shuruk in Israeli writing for the sake of disambiguation.
Tiberian scien ִבּוּץ [u/] or [uː/] u or ú comm
בוּ, בוּה, בוּא Israeli Shuruk šuruq שׁוּרוּק [u] u The shuruk is written after the main consonant, because it is essentially a vav with a piercing; the piercing is written identically to a dagesh (see below).
Tiberian šûreq שׁוּרֶק [uː] û ‒
בּ Israeli Dagesh dageš דָּגֵשׁ varied varied Though Standard Hebrew indicates doubled consonants in transliteration, such doubling (gemination)—but not consonant hardening—is almost universally ignored in Israeli Hebrew. For most consonants the dagesh is written within the consonant, near the middle if possible, but the exact position varies from letter to letter; some letters do not have an open area in the middle, and in these cases it is written usually beside the letter, as with yod. A dagesh used to signify a hardening (of letters בגדכפת), but not gemination is known as a dagesh qal, whereas that which geminates a letter is known as a dagesh hazaq. The guttural consonants (אהחע) and resh (ר) do not take a dagesh, although the letter he (ה) may appear with a mappiq (which is written the same way as dagesh) at the end of a word to indicate that the letter is not only being used to signify a vowel, but is consonantal. See Dagesh.
Tiberian dāḡēš דָּגֵשׁ Not actually a vowel. It hardens or doubles the consonant it modifies. The resulting form can still take a niqqud vowel.
שׁ Israeli Shin dot shin dot שׁי"ן [ʃ] š/sh Niqqud, but not a vowel. The dot for shin is written over the right (first) branch of the letter. It is usually written as sh.
Tiberian šin dot š ‒
שׂ Israeli Sin dot sin dot שׂי"ן [s] s Niqqud, but not a vowel. The dot for sin is written over the left (third) branch of the letter
Tiberian śin dot שׂי"ן [s] ś Some linguistic evidence indicates that it was originally IPA [ɬ], though poetry and acrostics show that it has been pronounced /s/ since quite ancient times).
בֿ Israeli Rafe Not used in Hebrew. Still occasionally seen in Yiddish (actually more often as the spelling becomes more standardized, embracing YIVO rules) to distinguish פּ /p/ from פֿ /f/ (note that this letter is always pronounced [f] when in the final position, with the exception of loanwords—שׁוֹפּ—, foreign names—פִילִיפּ— and some slang—חָרַפּ). Some ancient manuscripts have a dagesh or a rafe on nearly every letter. It is also used to indicate that a letter like ה or א is silent. In the particularly strange case of the Ten Commandments, which have two different traditions for their Cantillations which many texts write together, there are cases of a single letter with both a dagesh and a rafe, if it is hard in one reading and soft in the other.
Tiberian Niqqud, but not a vowel. Used as an "anti-dagesh", to show that a בגדכפת letter is soft and not hard, or (sometimes) that a consonant is single and not double, or that a letter like ה or א is completely silent

[edit] Niqqud and the keyboard

For the Hebrew letters there is a standardized Hebrew keyboard. But when it comes to niqqud, different computer systems and programs provide for adding the signs in different ways.

Nevertheless, a standard is beginning to emerge in the keystrokes that enter niqqud in Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Word and Open Office alike. In these applications, to enter niqqud the typist first switches to a Hebrew layout, then presses "Caps Lock." Then, to enter any specific niqqud, one presses "shift" and simultaneously presses one of the following keys:

Niqqud Input
Input Key Type Result
~ Sh'va
1 Reduced Segol
2 Reduced Patach
3 Reduced Kamatz
4 Hiriq
5 Zeire
6 Segol
7 Patach
8 Kamatz
9 Sin dot (left)
0 Shin dot (right)
- Holam
= Dagesh or Mappiq

Shuruk
\ Kubutz

Note Ⅰ: The letter "O" represents whatever Hebrew letter is used.
Note Ⅱ: For Sin dot and Shin dot, the letter "ש" (Sin/Shin) is used since they can only be used with that letter..
Note Ⅲ: The dagesh, mappiq, and shuruk are different; however, they look the same and (hence) are input the same way (all 3 of them.)
Note Ⅳ: For Shuruk, the letter "ו" (Vav) is used since it can only be used with that letter.

[edit] Rules for Writing Without Niqqud

For more details on this topic, see Ktiv male.

In modern Israeli orthography niqqud is seldom used, except in specialised texts such as dictionaries, poetry, or texts for children or for new immigrants. For purposes of disambiguation, a system of spelling-without-niqqud, known in Hebrew as ktiv male (Hebrew: כתיב מלא), literally "full spelling" has developed. This was formally standardised in the Rules for the Spelling-Without-Niqqud (כללי הכתיב חסר הניקוד) enacted by the Academy of the Hebrew Language in 1996.[1]

[edit] Disputes among Protestant Christians

Protestant literalists who believe that the Hebrew text of the Old Testament is the inspired Word of God are divided on the question of whether or not the vowel points should be considered an inspired part of the Old Testament. In 1624, Louis Cappel, a French Huguenot scholar at Saumur, published a work in which he concluded that the vowel points were a later addition to the biblical text and that the vowel points were added not earlier than the fifth century AD. This assertion was hotly contested by Swiss theologian Johannes Buxtorf in 1648. Brian Walton's 1657 polyglot bible followed Cappel in revising the vowel points. In 1675, the 2nd and 3rd canons of the so-called Helvetic Consensus of the Swiss Reformed Church confirmed Buxtorf's view as orthodox and affirmed that the vowel points were inspired.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Rules of the Spelling-Without-Niqqud

[edit] External links

[edit] Technical problems on Wikimedia

  • Important: There is currently a serious bug affecting niqqud in all Wikimedia projects. See Wikipedia:Niqqud for a discussion of the problem in English, and click the language link in the sidebar for an extensive analysis of the problem in Hebrew.
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