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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxt!mhuxv!segs
From: segs@mhuxv.UUCP (slusky)
Newsgroups: net.religion.jewish,net.nlang
Subject: Re: Writing from right to left
Message-ID: <224@mhuxv.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 8-Feb-85 09:57:45 EST
Article-I.D.: mhuxv.224
Posted: Fri Feb  8 09:57:45 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 9-Feb-85 06:24:59 EST
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Xref: watmath net.religion.jewish:1404 net.nlang:2550

<quote at end>
Most people don't write Hebrew the way it's printed. There's a whole different
script that's used for handwriting. There may be adult oriented books that
show Hebrew script as opposed to printing, but the only book at my house
that shows it is a children's book called the Alef-Bet Zoo published
by K'tav in New York. Some of the script letters are very similar to
their printed counterparts. Others are pretty much unrelated looking.
All the script letters are one or two stroke symbols and it's pretty
obvious from looking at them how to write them.

As to the sounds, I'm familiar with the way Hebrew is pronounced,
but I'm not familiar with your linguistic terminology, so maybe
someone who understands you can answer that.

Susan Slusky


> Recently I've become interested in Hebrew. Unfortunately, I've never
> seen anyone write Hebrew characters, so my letters are quite ugly. Are
> there any general rules for drawing the script? Do you usually start
> at the upper left or the upper right of a letter? Take, for instance,
> the word \b're:shiyth\. Would most people write its strokes in the 
> order that I have guessed?
>                                                                            
>   1            1      5    3    1     3      1      1             1          
>   ########    ##     #### ###  ###    #     ###     #########     #######   
>  ##########  #####   #### #### ###    ##    ####    ##########   #########  
>  ##########  #####   #### #### ###   ####   #####   ##########    ########  
>   #########   ####   #### #### ###   #####   ####    #########    ########  
>   3       #   ####    ##   ##   ##    #####   ##             #          ##  
>   #       #      #        #     #      ####### 2             #           #  
>   #       #      #   #    #     #      4######               #           #  
>   #       #     2    #   ##    #      #  ######              #           #  
>   #       #          #   #     #      #   ######             #           #  
>   ##      #          6  #     ##      ##   ######            #           #  
>   ##      #           #4    ###       ###    ####            #           2
> 5###4     #           #########       ####    ###            #    #########3
>  ####     #           ########        ####     ##            #   ########## 
>  ####     #           ########        ####     #             #  ########## 
>  ####     2           2#######       5###      4             2  4#########  
>  
> 
> Of course, I'm writing the letters from right to left!
> 
> ========================================================================
> 
> Also, I have real problems with the pronunciation. To the best I can
> determine, Ancient Hebrew had the sound system below:
> 
> 
> CONSONANTS
> 
>                 labial  dental  alveolar        velar   gut.    glottal
> 
> unvoiced        p/ph    t/th    T               k/kh    q
>                 pey     taw     teyth           kaph    qowph
> voiced          b/bh    d/dh                    g/gh    
>                 beyth   daleth                  giymel
> u.affricates                    ts
>                                 tsadhey
> u.fricatives                    s       sh              x       h
>                                 samekh  shiyn           xeyth   hey
> v.fricatives                    z                       ?       :
>                                 zayin                   ?ayin   :aleph
> 
>                                    l                r
>                                    leemedh          reysh
> 
> {The pairs _/_h seem to have been allophonic in Biblical times; I don't know
> about today. Also \shiyn\ can represent another `s' sound, about which I
> know little. ?ayin and :aleph are a wild guess in this chart..}
> 
> VOWELS/SEMIVOWELS/DIPHTHONGS
> 
>                 y       w
> 
>         iy      i       u       uw
>         ow      oo      ee      ey
>                 o       e
>                   aa a
> 	    
> ..and finally the the schwa (') with its 3 varieties (E A O)
> 
> I'd be interested in knowing anything about these sounds either in ancient
> times or today, particularly ayin, aleph, heth, he, qoph and teth (?ayin,
> :aleph, xeyth, hey, qowph, teyth in the phonetic representation here).
> 
> I've never seen a text that was clear on these points!
> 
> -michael
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