The pronunciation tag has no wiki summary.
13
votes
2answers
207 views
Whispering prayers?
Can one whisper t'fila (prayer)? I'm thinking of obligatory t'filos like sh'mone esre and "Sh'ma".
I know one can speak t'fila quietly, even very quietly; in fact, sh'mone esre is said quietly. I'm ...
12
votes
1answer
189 views
Kubutz and shuruk in Polish/Hungarian pronunciation
What is the origin or basis of the Polish and Hungarian prevalence for pronouncing "oo" vowels as "ee"? The variants of other vowels are easier to understand in the context of phonological shifting, ...
12
votes
2answers
162 views
Why doesn't Chabad differentiate between Ches and Chaf, and Ayin and Aleph?
The Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe writes that the Shabbos before the great debate in Minsk, the Alter Rebbe served as the chazzan and baal koreh for his minyan. Furthermore, although the Alter Rebbe used ...
11
votes
6answers
301 views
11
votes
1answer
175 views
Where did the sing-song chant that Jews often use while contrasting points come from?
I am having a very hard time coming up with a good way to describe the phenomenon that I am thinking of, but many people will recognize it. I am talking about the kind of singing rhythm that people ...
10
votes
38answers
1k views
words often mispronounced [closed]
What are some words commonly mispronounced? (Not by elision/reduction (like ה׳→אדְני) or assimilation (like תזכרו→תשׂכרו), but rather words that are pronounced wrong ...
10
votes
8answers
283 views
How do you extend the sound of a daleth in Shema?
How does one extend the sound of the daleth in the echod of the shema as prescribed in OC 61 (6)?. The letter as we say it does not seem to allow extension. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalet ...
10
votes
2answers
227 views
Meaning and pronunciation of יישר כחך
What is the exact meaning of the phrase "יישר כחך", and what is the gramatically-correct way to pronounce it?
10
votes
3answers
201 views
Were our symbols for trope and nekudos created by the Masoretes, or transmitted by them?
It is commonly said in secular sources that the shapes of the trope and nekudos we use today were invented by the Masoretes (7th to 11th Century CE), but I cannot find any source in our mesorah to ...
10
votes
3answers
367 views
Disparity between male and female pronunciation of Cholam
In many Yeshivish communities in the US, the male segment of the population vocalizes the cholam as "oi," while their female counterparts vocalize it as a long "o". How did this come about? Does the ...
10
votes
1answer
202 views
Should I say “amen” to a malformed bracha?
If I hear somebody substantially mispronounce a bracha, should I say amen anyway (recognizing the intent) or remain silent? I'm not talking about nuances like pronouncing 'ayin or distinguishing ...
9
votes
3answers
279 views
Yisgadal or Yisgadel?
I've noticed that some people, when reciting kaddish, pronounce the first words as "yisgadal v'yiskadash" with a patach under the dalet of both words, while others say "yisgadel v'yisgadesh" with a ...
8
votes
3answers
401 views
What is the correct pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton?
I come from Christianity.SE, where I asked almost the same question. Isaac Moses assured me that the question would not be disrespectful and could be asked here.
God's name is written as the ...
8
votes
1answer
223 views
A Lubavitch custom of reciting zecher and zeicher in “Ashrei”?
My cousin, a Lubavitcher, says both zecher and zeicher (that is, both זֶכֶר with a segol and זֵכֶר with a tzeire) in "Ashrei". I noticed this when I visited him a good few years ago, and assumed it ...
8
votes
2answers
334 views
Relationship between Samekh and Sin
What is the relationship between the letters samekh and sin? Did they ever have distinct sounds? Why do they exist as separate letters?
8
votes
1answer
159 views
Jewish names commonly used in a different form than found in Tanach
Some names are popularly used in a different form than the way they're spelled or pronounced in Tanach. A few that I can think of are:
Nochum (נָחוּם) - is written in Tanach (Nah. 1:1) as נַחוּם ...
8
votes
1answer
202 views
Why shin and sin?
Why does Hebrew use the same letter to represent two different sounds: shin and sin? As far as I know, with the exception of when using a dagesh kal, no other Hebrew letter has this property.
8
votes
0answers
132 views
Inhaling prayers?
Elsewhere I ask whether it's sufficient to pray in a whisper. See there, please, for a description of whispering and how it differs from speaking quietly.
Answers to that question indicate that ...
7
votes
2answers
173 views
How to learn Amidah, Shma and others?
I live 3000km from shul and take conversion classes remotely. I am learning from Koren Siddur. Because I do not ever hear how the words should be spoken, I sometimes wonder if it is a waste of time. I ...
7
votes
2answers
174 views
Stress of הושיעה and הצליחה in Hallel
Why is הושיעה Mileel (penultimately stressed) whereas הצליחה is Milra (ultimately stressed) in Psalms 118:25?
7
votes
2answers
165 views
Why do many (most?) people call the upcoming holiday “Peysach”?
In some Ashkenazic dialects, lots of words in which the first syllable is accented and the vowel is segol are pronounced as though they had a tzeirei. Examples include "meylech," "tzeydek," and ...
7
votes
2answers
275 views
מרדכי = Mord'chi?
When learning with Jews of the Syrian community, I noticed that they pronounced מרדכי (the name of the halachic commentary on the g'mara) as "mord'chi", as if the final vowel were a chirik. Why is ...
7
votes
0answers
103 views
Pronunciation guide by a Gerer Rebbe?
I heard from a friend years ago that one of the Rebbes from Gur (possibly the S'fas Emes) wrote a book describing the proper pronunciation of Hebrew letters and words. I am not able to find any trace ...
6
votes
1answer
431 views
Why so many vocalized shvas in Siddur Tehillat Hashem?
I prayed using a Siddur Tehillat Hashem the other day, and I noticed that many more shvas were marked with an asterisk above, indicating that they should be vocalized, than I'd expect. In particular, ...
6
votes
2answers
76 views
Why are Chazal asking if words are spelled with א or ע?
In Shabbos 77a-77b, Chazal ask about the spelling of a series of words, questioning whether the words are spelled with an alef - as in גראינין - or with an ayin - as in גרעינין. Wasn't ayin vocalized ...
6
votes
3answers
180 views
רָקִיאַע or רָקִיַע
The מנחת שי at the beginning of בראשית (on "יהי רקיע") cites a מחלוקת whether the word 'רָקִיעַ' (and likewise for other words with a פתח גנובה) is pronounced as רָקִיאַע or as רָקִיַע, that is, with ...
6
votes
1answer
124 views
“Hayom yom X b'shabas” or “bashabas”?
A sidur I used this morning had the introductory line of the shir shel yom as "hayom yom sheni b'shabas". When I checked the two sidurim I trust the most for excatitude in these matters, one had ...
6
votes
1answer
479 views
Different traditions in Hebrew pronunciation
The theme of Hebrew pronunciation is one that facinates me and, as such, I want to get some feedback on some issues I've been thinking about for years. I have already discussed some of these issues ...
6
votes
2answers
125 views
How to pronounce the name of the sefer “Bnei Yso(s)cher”
How does one pronounce the name of the sefer בני יששכר ?
I've heard people pronounce both sins -- so it is Ysoscher. (There is also a common custom to pronounce the name יששכר with both sins the ...
6
votes
1answer
296 views
מֶה, מָה, מַה - Meh, Mah, Ma - What's the difference?
What causes the difference in vowelization of the Hebrew word for "what"? In some contexts it is מֶה, in others - מָה, and in yet others - מַה. The hypothesis that an acquaintance and I converged on ...
6
votes
0answers
95 views
Prounciation - IM vs YIM? with ים ending
I've read that ידים is to be pronounced ya- DAI - im, yet שמים is to be pronounced sha-MAI-yim.
Both end the same, but are pronounced differently. (This was from a text purporting to teach "Biblical ...
5
votes
2answers
388 views
Pronunciation of משנה הלכות
Are R' Menashe Klein's volumes of responsa pronounced "Mishna Halachos" or "Mishaneh Halachos"? Can someone provide the grammatical explanation please?
5
votes
1answer
111 views
Why is it “Beiz”?
I understand the Ashkenazi pronunciation of Hebrew is that the letter 'ת' with no דגש is an 's' sound.
So why do (many) Ashkenazim pronounce the name of the letter 'ב', which is normally spelled ...
5
votes
3answers
275 views
How do you pronounce Hashem's name when there is a prefix?
When you have a prefix, such as a lamed, before the name YKVK people pronounce it la | donai instead of la | a | donai. Why?
5
votes
2answers
83 views
TOras chayim or ToRAS chayim in 19th b'racha?
In the final b'racha of sh'monah esrei the phrase "תורת חיים - (Toras chayim)" appears. In some sidurim [that denote that kind of thing] the accent is placed on the first syllable and in others on the ...
5
votes
1answer
113 views
how do you pronounce the soft reish?
from the sefer yetzirah it seems that there is both a hard and soft letter reish (see 4th perek, aryeh kaplan edition). How do you pronounce the soft reish?
5
votes
3answers
282 views
Silent aleph (no, I mean really silent)
Please explain what is going on with the letter aleph in certain places in Tanakh (e.g. the second to last word of Devarim 3:12, the first word of Tehilim 34:10) where the aleph contributes neither a ...
5
votes
2answers
105 views
Correct Niqqud for ואטהר in Sefira Nusach
Context: In the Ashkenaz / Sefard (and possibly others) Nuschaos of Sefira, there is a prayer starting with the words "Ribbono Shel Olam [רבונו של עולם]" that is said. Towards the end of this prayer ...
5
votes
0answers
96 views
Good resource for learning vowel pronunciation
In trying to improve my leyning, I'm trying to get the finer points of vowel pronunciation down.
What is a good resource to learn, e.g., the difference between a patach and chataf-patach or a ...
4
votes
4answers
526 views
Did Rav Moshe Feinstein pronounce his last name “Feinstain” or “Feinsteen”?
And, as a follow-up, does having the answer to this question dictate how we should say it?
4
votes
1answer
84 views
What is the correct pronunciation of last letter in the Hebrew alphabet?
I have heard mixed answers as to how to pronounce the letter תּ
Is it taf or tav?
(I'm referring to the halachic pronunciation not the common street way.)
Is there a difference between Ashkenazi or ...
4
votes
3answers
95 views
Pronunciation of חשמונאי
A friend today told me that the word חשמונאי traditionally pronounced "Chashmonai" should really be pronounced "Chashmunai" with the vav being read as a shuruk vowel instead of a cholom.
Is this ...
4
votes
1answer
151 views
Was Pharoh's daughter named Basya or Bisya?
Was Pharoh's daughter named Basya or Bisya? Sources please!
4
votes
3answers
208 views
Hebrew Pronunciation- Sephardic Ashkenaz
I often hear Ashkenazim pronouncing (or at least trying) Hebrew words in Tefila/Keriat HaTorah like Sephardim. It probably isn't only Religious Zionists but it seems to be only them. Where did the ...
4
votes
1answer
123 views
BinyOn or binyAn adai-ad in one of the sheva brochos?
At a chupah today, in the brocho of “asher yotzar es ho’odom betzalmo” a learned Rabbi said the word “binyOn” before “adai-ad” rather than the more usual “binyAn”. “binyOn” is the text in the Baer ...
4
votes
2answers
159 views
What's the difference between LaZman and LeZman?
In the Mishnah Brurah (676:1) it says:
והגיענו לזמן הזה הלמ"ד בחיר"ק ולא בפת"ח
That in the Bracha of Shehechiyanu, the Lamed in the word Lazman should be said with a Hiriq and not with a Patach.
...
4
votes
1answer
272 views
Hebrew Havarah?
Similar to this question
Different parts of Eastern Europe had different dialects.
For example, Ukrainian, Polish and Hungarian Jews pronounce a "Shuruk" as a EE, or a Komatz as an oo (so Boruch ...
4
votes
0answers
76 views
Is there a tradition to pronounce kamatz katan as “a”?
There are many ways of pronouncing Hebrew in prayers and when reading the Tora. Most of these are tradition-based: one pronounces it the same way his parent or teacher did, or a close approximation. ...
4
votes
0answers
160 views
How do people daven so quickly, and what's the support for it?
I learned that one must clearly enunciate every word of tefila. At the least this would include Shemoneh Esreh and Shema, but one might presume it includes all of davening. This question can easily ...
4
votes
1answer
94 views
Making mistakes in shemone esri
I would assume at some point, too many uncorrected mistakes during the shemone esri (not talking about the things that would make it avodah zara here) would make it invalid/useless as it simply loses ...
