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Shva or, in Biblical Hebrew, shĕwa ( he, שְׁוָא) is a
Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
niqqud In Hebrew orthography, niqqud or nikud ( or ) is a system of diacritical signs used to represent vowels or distinguish between alternative pronunciations of letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Several such diacritical systems were developed in ...
vowel A vowel is a syllabic speech sound pronounced without any stricture in the vocal tract. Vowels are one of the two principal classes of speech sounds, the other being the consonant. Vowels vary in quality, in loudness and also in quantity (len ...
sign written as two vertical dots () beneath a letter. It indicates either the
phoneme In phonology and linguistics, a phoneme () is a unit of sound that can distinguish one word from another in a particular language. For example, in most dialects of English, with the notable exception of the West Midlands and the north-wes ...
(shva na', mobile shva) or the complete absence of a vowel (/ Ø/) (shva nach, resting shva). It is transliterated as , , , (
apostrophe The apostrophe ( or ) is a punctuation mark, and sometimes a diacritical mark, in languages that use the Latin alphabet and some other alphabets. In English, the apostrophe is used for two basic purposes: * The marking of the omission of one ...
), or nothing. Note that use of for shva is questionable: transliterating
Modern Hebrew Modern Hebrew ( he, עברית חדשה, ''ʿivrít ḥadašá ', , '' lit.'' "Modern Hebrew" or "New Hebrew"), also known as Israeli Hebrew or Israeli, and generally referred to by speakers simply as Hebrew ( ), is the standard form of the He ...
shva nach with is misleading, since it is never actually pronounced – the vowel does not exist in Modern Hebrew. Moreover, the vowel is probably not characteristic of earlier pronunciations such as Tiberian vocalization. A shva sign in combination with the vowel diacritics patáẖ, segól and kamáts katán produces a : a diacritic for a (a 'reduced vowel' – lit. 'abducted').


Pronunciation in Modern Hebrew

In
Modern Hebrew Modern Hebrew ( he, עברית חדשה, ''ʿivrít ḥadašá ', , '' lit.'' "Modern Hebrew" or "New Hebrew"), also known as Israeli Hebrew or Israeli, and generally referred to by speakers simply as Hebrew ( ), is the standard form of the He ...
, shva is either pronounced or is mute ( Ø), regardless of its traditional classification as ''shva nach'' () or ''shva na'' (), see following table for examples. The Israeli standard for its transliteration is only for a pronounced shva na (i.e., one which is pronounced ), and no representation in transliteration if the shva is mute. In Modern Hebrew, a shva is pronounced under the following conditions:


Counterexamples

One exception to rule 2 seems to be 'inventory'; the absence of a vowel after the () might be attributable to the high sonority of the subsequent liquid (), however compare with (, not ) 'filling' (in cuisine). According to the ''New User-Friendly Hebrew-English Dictionary'' (Arie Comey, Naomi Tsur; Achiasaf, 2006), the word ('stock') is pronounced with an :
e'lai Elai ({{zh, t=惡來, p=Èlái) was a bodyguard for King Zhou of the Chinese Shang dynasty. He was an ancestor of Feizi, the founder of the state of Qin. His brother Jisheng ( 季勝) was an ancestor of Zaofu, the founder of the state of Zhao. Acc ...
Exceptions to rule 6 include (, not – 'pianist'), (, not – 'English'), (, not – 'we will sprinkle'), several
inflection In linguistic morphology, inflection (or inflexion) is a process of word formation in which a word is modified to express different grammatical categories such as tense, case, voice, aspect, person, number, gender, mood, animacy, and ...
s of quinqueliteral roots – e.g.: (, not – 'he synchronized'); (, not – 'he did stupid things'); (, not – 'he had a flirt') – as well as other, more recent
loanword A loanword (also loan word or loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language. This is in contrast to cognates, which are words in two or more languages that are similar because ...
s, e.g. (, not – 'mantra'). In earlier forms of Hebrew, shva na and nach were phonologically and phonetically distinguishable, but the two variants resulting from Modern Hebrew phonology no longer conform to the traditional classification, e.g. while the (first) ''shva nach'' in the phrase ('books of the Law') is correctly pronounced in Modern Hebrew with the (or /f/ sound) being mute, the ''shva na'' in ('time') in Modern Hebrew is often pronounced as a mute ''Shva'' (). In religious contexts, however, scrupulous readers of the prayers and scriptures do still differentiate properly between ''Shva Nach'' and ''Shva Na'' (e.g. ).


Traditional classification

In traditional Hebrew grammar, a shva is categorized according to several attributes of its grammatical context. The three categories of shva relevant to standard grammar of Modern Hebrew are ''shva na'' (), ''shva naḥ'' () and the less common ''shva meraḥef'' (). When discussing Tiberian pronunciation (ca. from the 8th until the 15th century) some shvas are classified as ''shva ga'ya'' (). The following table summarizes four distinguishing attributes which determine these categories: * Does the shva supersede a vowel or no vowel in the word's non inflected form? * Is the preceding letter pointed with a "short" or a "long" niqqud-variant? * Is the following letter, when , pointed with a dagesh qal or not? * Is the letter which is pointed with shva assigned to the preceding or to the following syllable? To help illustrate the first criterion (existence or non-existence of a vowel in the word's non
inflected In linguistic morphology, inflection (or inflexion) is a process of word formation in which a word is modified to express different grammatical categories such as tense, case, voice, aspect, person, number, gender, mood, animacy, and de ...
form), the location of the shva (i.e., the place within the word where the lack of vowel is indicated by it) is marked within the
phonemic transcription In phonology and linguistics, a phoneme () is a unit of sound that can distinguish one word from another in a particular language. For example, in most dialects of English, with the notable exception of the West Midlands and the north-west ...
with an orange linguistic zero: Ø; if existing, the corresponding vowel in the basic (non inflected) form of the example is also marked in orange.


Shva Na

In most cases, traditional Hebrew grammar considers ''shva na'', or the mobile shva, to be an entity that supersedes a vowel that exists in the basic form of a word but not after this word underwent
inflection In linguistic morphology, inflection (or inflexion) is a process of word formation in which a word is modified to express different grammatical categories such as tense, case, voice, aspect, person, number, gender, mood, animacy, and ...
or
declension In linguistics, declension (verb: ''to decline'') is the changing of the form of a word, generally to express its syntactic function in the sentence, by way of some inflection. Declensions may apply to nouns, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, and ...
. Additionally, any shva marked under an initial letter is classified shva na. Merely identifying a given shva as being a shva na offers no indication as to its pronunciation in Modern Hebrew; it is however relevant to the application of standard
niqqud In Hebrew orthography, niqqud or nikud ( or ) is a system of diacritical signs used to represent vowels or distinguish between alternative pronunciations of letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Several such diacritical systems were developed in ...
, e.g.: a letter following a letter marked with a shva na may not be marked with a dagesh qal (Modern Hebrew
phonology Phonology is the branch of linguistics that studies how languages or dialects systematically organize their sounds or, for sign languages, their constituent parts of signs. The term can also refer specifically to the sound or sign system of a ...
sometimes disagrees with this
linguistic prescription Linguistic prescription, or prescriptive grammar, is the establishment of rules defining preferred usage of language. These rules may address such linguistic aspects as spelling, pronunciation, vocabulary, syntax, and semantics. Sometimes infor ...
, as in – 'they zapped' – in which the second pe is pointed with a dagesh qal although preceded by a shva na), or: the vowel preceding a letter marked with a shva na must be represented by the "long" niqqud-variant for that vowel: qamats and not
pataḥ Pataḥ ( he, פַּתָּח ', , Biblical Hebrew: ') is a Hebrew niqqud vowel sign represented by a horizontal line underneath a letter. In modern Hebrew, it indicates the phoneme which is close to the " sound in the English word ''far'' ...
, tsere and not segol etc.. Furthermore, in standard syllabification, the letter under which a shva na is marked is grouped with the following syllable. The Academy of the Hebrew Language's transliteration guidelinesTransliteration guidelines from 2006 (p. 4)
/ref> specify that shva na should be transliterated only if pronounced in Modern Hebrew, in which case be used for general purposes and for precise transliteration. Shva na is sometimes transliterated . Concerning Modern Hebrew pronunciation, however, this symbol is misleading, since it is commonly used in linguistics to denote the vowel schwa, which does not exist in Modern Hebrew. A shva na can be identified as such by means of the following criteria: # when marked under the first letter of a word, as in , , and , # when marked under the first of two identical letters, # when it's the second of two shvas marked under two consecutive letters (except when marked under the last letter of a word), as in and , # when the letter before the one under which it is marked is marked with a "long" niqqud-variant,, such as the long vowel of either ''yod'' or ''ḥiríq'', as in (''yəḥīḏəḵa''), or the long vowel of ''waw'' or ''ḥolam'', as in the words , and (''hōləḵīm'', ''yōdəʻīm'' and ''mōḵərīm'') and , ''"šōfəṭīm wa-šōṭərīm."'' # when marked under a letter with a dagesh ḥazaq (historically an indicator of
gemination In phonetics and phonology, gemination (), or consonant lengthening (from Latin 'doubling', itself from '' gemini'' 'twins'), is an articulation of a consonant for a longer period of time than that of a singleton consonant. It is distinct from ...
), as and .''Maḥberet Kitrei Ha-Torah'' (ed. Yoav Pinhas Halevi), chapter 5, Benei Barak 1990 (Hebrew) For a more detailed account, see


Shva Naḥ

Traditional Hebrew grammar defines shva naḥ, or shva quiescens, as indicating the absence of a vowel. In Modern Hebrew, some shvas classified as shva naḥ are nonetheless pronounced (e.g. the shva under the second dalet in the word – – "you (f.) robbed"; see table above). In all but a small number of cases, a shva not conforming to the criteria listed above is classified shva naḥ. This offers no conclusive indication as to its pronunciation in Modern Hebrew; it is however relevant to the application of standard
niqqud In Hebrew orthography, niqqud or nikud ( or ) is a system of diacritical signs used to represent vowels or distinguish between alternative pronunciations of letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Several such diacritical systems were developed in ...
, e.g.: a letter following a letter marked with a shva nacḥ must be marked with a dagesh qal (Modern Hebrew
phonology Phonology is the branch of linguistics that studies how languages or dialects systematically organize their sounds or, for sign languages, their constituent parts of signs. The term can also refer specifically to the sound or sign system of a ...
sometimes disagrees with this
linguistic prescription Linguistic prescription, or prescriptive grammar, is the establishment of rules defining preferred usage of language. These rules may address such linguistic aspects as spelling, pronunciation, vocabulary, syntax, and semantics. Sometimes infor ...
, as in – "to miss" – in which the second pe lacks a dagesh qal although preceded by a shva naḥ), or: the vowel preceding a letter marked with a shva naḥ must be represented by the "short" niqqud-variant for that vowel: pataḥ and not qamats, segol and not tsere etc.. Furthermore, in standard syllabification, the letter under which a shva naḥ is marked is grouped with the preceding syllable. The Academy of the Hebrew Language's transliteration guidelines specify that shva naḥ should not be represented in transliteration.


Shva Meraḥef

"Shva meraḥef" is the grammatical designation of a shva which does not comply with all criteria characterizing a shva na (specifically, one marked under a letter following a letter marked with a "short", not a "long", niqqud-variant), but which does, like a shva na, supersede a vowel (or a shva na) that exists in the basic form of a word but not after this word underwent
inflection In linguistic morphology, inflection (or inflexion) is a process of word formation in which a word is modified to express different grammatical categories such as tense, case, voice, aspect, person, number, gender, mood, animacy, and ...
or
declension In linguistics, declension (verb: ''to decline'') is the changing of the form of a word, generally to express its syntactic function in the sentence, by way of some inflection. Declensions may apply to nouns, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, and ...
. The classification of a shva as ''shva meraḥef'' is relevant to the application of standard
niqqud In Hebrew orthography, niqqud or nikud ( or ) is a system of diacritical signs used to represent vowels or distinguish between alternative pronunciations of letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Several such diacritical systems were developed in ...
, e.g.: a letter following a letter marked with a shva meraḥef should not be marked with a dagesh qal, although the vowel preceding this letter could be represented by the ''short'' niqqud-variant for that vowel. This reflects sometimes, but not always, pronunciation in Modern Hebrew, e.g. ('kings of') is commonly pronounced in accordance with the standard form, (with no dagesh qal in the letter kaf), whereas ('dogs of'), whose standard pronunciation is , is commonly pronounced (as if there were a dagesh qal in the letter
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). In standard syllabification, the letter under which a shva meraḥef is marked is grouped with the preceding syllable.


Shva Ga'ya

''Shva ga'ya'' designates a shva marked under a letter that is also marked with the cantillation mark ( lit. 'bleating' or 'bellowing'), or , e.g. the shva under the letter
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in the word ('toes') would normally be classified a shva na and be transliterated : (or according to the precise standard, : ), however, if marked with the ga'ya cantillation mark, , this shva is classified as shva ga'ya, and the transliteration believed to reflect its historical pronunciation would be . This "strict application" is found in Yemenite Hebrew.


T'nua hatufa

Within
niqqud In Hebrew orthography, niqqud or nikud ( or ) is a system of diacritical signs used to represent vowels or distinguish between alternative pronunciations of letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Several such diacritical systems were developed in ...
, vowel diacritics are sorted into three groups: ''big'', ''small'' and ''fleeting'' or ''furtive'' ( , ), sometimes also referred to as ''long'', ''short'' and ''very short'' or ''ultrashort''. This grouping might have correlated to different
vowel length In linguistics, vowel length is the perceived length of a vowel sound: the corresponding physical measurement is duration. In some languages vowel length is an important phonemic factor, meaning vowel length can change the meaning of the word ...
s in earlier forms of Hebrew (see Tiberian vocalization → Vowels; spoken Israeli Hebrew however does not distinguish between different vowel lengths, thus this orthographic differentiation is not manifest in speech). The vowel diacritics classified as ('fleeting') all share the common feature of being a digraph of a ''small vowel'' diacritic ( Patach, Segol or Kamatz Katan) plus a shva sign. Similarly, their names are derived from the respective ''small vowel'' diacritic's name plus the adjunct : , and . As with a shva na, standard ( prescribed) syllabification determines that letters pointed with a ''fleeting vowel'' diacritic be considered part of the subsequent
syllable A syllable is a unit of organization for a sequence of speech sounds typically made up of a syllable nucleus (most often a vowel) with optional initial and final margins (typically, consonants). Syllables are often considered the phonological ...
, even if in modern Hebrew pronunciation this diacritic represents a full-fledged syllable, thus e.g. the phonologically trisyllabic word ('he placed upright'), pronounced , should standardly be syllabified into only two syllables, ().


Comparison table


Unicode encoding

As of 2016, a separate Unicode symbol for the sheva na has been proposed but not implemented.


See also

*
Niqqud In Hebrew orthography, niqqud or nikud ( or ) is a system of diacritical signs used to represent vowels or distinguish between alternative pronunciations of letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Several such diacritical systems were developed in ...
* Schwa * Tiberian vocalization * Arabic diacritic sukūn


Notes

Long and short niqqud-variants represent identical spoken vowels in Modern Hebrew; the orthographic distinction is, however, still observed in standard spelling.


Bibliography

*


References

{{Hebrew language Niqqud