nikkud (the Hebrew dot puctuation thing)
(This is like, entirely new levels of procrastination. But at least I wasn't officially planning to work today.)
If you've ever looked at Hebrew script and seen stuff like this scattered around the alphabet --
-- and wondered to yourself hey, how does that work, below this cut is a demonstration. A very general one.
Actually, it's just a very general demonstration of how the red dots work. The red dots are called nikkud (handy wiki link), and they're the Hebrew equivalent of vowels -- you put them above or below a consonant and they tell you how that consonant is supposed to sound. There are only six possible sounds, which is far far less than in English, and part of the reason English is so hard for Israelis to pronounce correctly.
The blue dots are cantillation -- they're like musical notes for how you're supposed to sing the words, and they're only used in the Bible and a few other religious texts. (They also have different melodic interpretations that come from different traditions and regions.
lomedet explained it to me once, it's kind of cool.) When kids study for their bar/bat mitzva haftara (Torah portion [=BIBLE SECTION (sorry, I never know how much detail to go into)]) readings, part of what they're studying is the cantillation, so they know how to sing the notes.
Anyway, in very very general terms, here is how it works:
NOTE: I can't believe I have a typo in my diagram D: That should be "no sound", not "so sound", in the top left box.
So:
top left -- the six different sounds and their symbols
bottom left -- examples of how the same consonants indicate different words with different nikkud
right -- demonstration? /o\
I should disclaim this in a number of different ways:
1. This is not actually a well thought out or well researched post, just me playing with nikkud a bit. Sometimes dotting I's just isn't enough.
2. There are more nikkud symbols than these, but they all represent the same sounds as these. Like, the sound "eh" is represented by the segol I gave here as an example, but also by the zeire and the hataf segol. All in all there are 15 symbols for the same basic 6 sounds; once upon a time they sounded different in the same way that once upon a time c and k sounded different, but when Hebrew was revived in the 19th century those distinctions were almost entirely erased.
3. Reading nikkud is pretty easy, but knowing how to correctly add nikkud is ridiculously complicated. There are so many rules. Nikkud can tell you how to pronounce words, but it can also tell you whether a word is in present or past tense, or differentiate the meanings of two homonyms. I do not actually know how to add nikkud correctly; the only people I know who know how are people who've studied Hebrew at uni level.
4. If I wanted to make the above example more like Hebrew, I shouldn't have used E, I, O or U as consonants, just used an A with appropriate nikkud whenever I wanted to make a consonant-A sound.
5. Native/fluent modern Hebrew speakers hardly ever use nikkud IRL. It's important for reading the Bible or poetry or unfamiliar words or, on occasion, texts that use a higher level of Hebrew. But most of the time, Hebrew is read (and especially written) without nikkud, because it's not needed; you see words and know what they mean, and if there are double meanings, they're usually clear from context. Jst lyk yu cn rd ths wth no vwls, and probably read my amazing Paintbrush creation without actually referring to the nikkud key.
So, yeah, this post is about 0% scientific, but I felt compelled to make it anyway. (Possibly it is sunstroke! I did spend a lot of time in the sun today.)
General updates:
a) There is a knock on wood forever Very Good Chance that someone will be replacing me in my apartment and I won't actually have to pay a million shekel's worth of rent for the weeks I'm not there. *crosses fingers*
b) It it nothing short of completely ironic that my best current soundtrack for writing post-split Brendon/Spencer fic is TYV's Take A Vacation!. THEY'RE BEACH BOYS, OKAY. Brendon and Spencer walk the walk, Jon and Ryan talk the talk. Or at least they sing it.
c) The Kinneret was fun! Amazing (amazing) hotel, rafting, swimming, massage, and I even have a Very Mild Tan. There are also photos (pick your jaws off the floor) but some other time.
d) I still need to pay money and book flights but apparently I am going to Vividcon! Baby's first con, I am excite :D
e) HOSHIT I leave for the US in just over a WEEK EEPS. So much to do and I can't believe it's so soon, fuckyayfuckyayfuck! IF ANYONE HAS ANY WEATHER PACKING TIPS FOR SOMEONE WHO WILL BE SPENDING 2 WEEKS IN JULY IN OHIO, HIT ME. Your summer is not my summer. I have not worn any coats or jackets since March, I am unprepared.
And finally, ¡Viva España! Go beat some Dutch ass. (I love the Netherlands, but I am still bitter over Uruguay's loss.)
comments on Dreamwidth.
If you've ever looked at Hebrew script and seen stuff like this scattered around the alphabet --
-- and wondered to yourself hey, how does that work, below this cut is a demonstration. A very general one.
Actually, it's just a very general demonstration of how the red dots work. The red dots are called nikkud (handy wiki link), and they're the Hebrew equivalent of vowels -- you put them above or below a consonant and they tell you how that consonant is supposed to sound. There are only six possible sounds, which is far far less than in English, and part of the reason English is so hard for Israelis to pronounce correctly.
The blue dots are cantillation -- they're like musical notes for how you're supposed to sing the words, and they're only used in the Bible and a few other religious texts. (They also have different melodic interpretations that come from different traditions and regions.
lomedet explained it to me once, it's kind of cool.) When kids study for their bar/bat mitzva haftara (Torah portion [=BIBLE SECTION (sorry, I never know how much detail to go into)]) readings, part of what they're studying is the cantillation, so they know how to sing the notes.
Anyway, in very very general terms, here is how it works:
NOTE: I can't believe I have a typo in my diagram D: That should be "no sound", not "so sound", in the top left box.
So:
top left -- the six different sounds and their symbols
bottom left -- examples of how the same consonants indicate different words with different nikkud
right -- demonstration? /o\
I should disclaim this in a number of different ways:
1. This is not actually a well thought out or well researched post, just me playing with nikkud a bit. Sometimes dotting I's just isn't enough.
2. There are more nikkud symbols than these, but they all represent the same sounds as these. Like, the sound "eh" is represented by the segol I gave here as an example, but also by the zeire and the hataf segol. All in all there are 15 symbols for the same basic 6 sounds; once upon a time they sounded different in the same way that once upon a time c and k sounded different, but when Hebrew was revived in the 19th century those distinctions were almost entirely erased.
3. Reading nikkud is pretty easy, but knowing how to correctly add nikkud is ridiculously complicated. There are so many rules. Nikkud can tell you how to pronounce words, but it can also tell you whether a word is in present or past tense, or differentiate the meanings of two homonyms. I do not actually know how to add nikkud correctly; the only people I know who know how are people who've studied Hebrew at uni level.
4. If I wanted to make the above example more like Hebrew, I shouldn't have used E, I, O or U as consonants, just used an A with appropriate nikkud whenever I wanted to make a consonant-A sound.
5. Native/fluent modern Hebrew speakers hardly ever use nikkud IRL. It's important for reading the Bible or poetry or unfamiliar words or, on occasion, texts that use a higher level of Hebrew. But most of the time, Hebrew is read (and especially written) without nikkud, because it's not needed; you see words and know what they mean, and if there are double meanings, they're usually clear from context. Jst lyk yu cn rd ths wth no vwls, and probably read my amazing Paintbrush creation without actually referring to the nikkud key.
So, yeah, this post is about 0% scientific, but I felt compelled to make it anyway. (Possibly it is sunstroke! I did spend a lot of time in the sun today.)
General updates:
a) There is a knock on wood forever Very Good Chance that someone will be replacing me in my apartment and I won't actually have to pay a million shekel's worth of rent for the weeks I'm not there. *crosses fingers*
b) It it nothing short of completely ironic that my best current soundtrack for writing post-split Brendon/Spencer fic is TYV's Take A Vacation!. THEY'RE BEACH BOYS, OKAY. Brendon and Spencer walk the walk, Jon and Ryan talk the talk. Or at least they sing it.
c) The Kinneret was fun! Amazing (amazing) hotel, rafting, swimming, massage, and I even have a Very Mild Tan. There are also photos (pick your jaws off the floor) but some other time.
d) I still need to pay money and book flights but apparently I am going to Vividcon! Baby's first con, I am excite :D
e) HOSHIT I leave for the US in just over a WEEK EEPS. So much to do and I can't believe it's so soon, fuckyayfuckyayfuck! IF ANYONE HAS ANY WEATHER PACKING TIPS FOR SOMEONE WHO WILL BE SPENDING 2 WEEKS IN JULY IN OHIO, HIT ME. Your summer is not my summer. I have not worn any coats or jackets since March, I am unprepared.
And finally, ¡Viva España! Go beat some Dutch ass. (I love the Netherlands, but I am still bitter over Uruguay's loss.)
comments on Dreamwidth.