22 Comments
They are spelled the same, but the emphasis is different. אוכל as in food has the emphasis on the first syllable, אוכל as in [he] eats/is eating has the emphasis on the second syllable
I absolutely HATE And DETEST the insistence of NO vowel points! If children learning Hebrew can get the vowel points, then so should we! I am sick, and tired of being treated like I should already know how to pronounce and read vowelless Hebrew and understand one word from another! I do not! I do NOT hear very well. I am not deaf. I am at a loss and I think I should do the right thing and kick Hebrew to the curb! It would be nice if we at least could have the option to SEE the vowels!
Velvelajade, people who speak the Hebrew language do not use vowels—they are only used as a method of teaching young children what sounds words make, and then, by the second grade, no more vowels. It is good to learn to read vowel-less hebrew because people who speak the language and read it do not use them.
"If children learning Hebrew can get the vowel points, then so should we!" Doh! ;) It is a learning tool for those learning Hebrew so that they can learn it. That is why we SHOULD have it, and be able to go through the course with the vowel points and without it as an option! And they do put in the vowel points on new words for children older than 8! By the age of 12, they learn how to read the entire Torah without vowel points. That does not mean that adults who are learning language, should be forced to not have vowel points because well, it isn't there anyway in normal writing, so we don't care. Even Japanese will put in kana as pronunciation-meaning aids for the Kanji!
Besides, your argument does not even care about the hearing impaired, and tells us we should just be discriminated against because we can not be bothered to accommodate because Adult deaf who were born and raised on Hebrew do not get any aids as adults, so you shouldn't either, is just silly! We are beginners and should get the same aids as other beginners get!
And I am very tired of people telling the hearing impaired to go away. I don't know how else to say this. I think that reasonable accommodation CAN and SHOULD be had! When we don't care about the disabled, then we stop being a united front for all people. Instead, we become a united front for only the "privledged people without disabilities".
This was briefly mentioned in the tips, but can yes/no questions like this one really just be turned from sentence to questions with a question mark?
Yes, in every day speech and non-formal writing - it's only the question mark and the intonation that make the difference. האם is added before a yes/no question when speaking or writing FORMALLY.
What is the difference in pronunciation for (אוכל) food vs. eats/eating? I can't hear a difference.
That's quite hard to explain. I think you could say that when you say אוכל for eats/eating you emphasize more the 'o' at the beginning. If you know anyone speaking Hebrew, it's best to ask them and hear it yourself
That is correct. The emphasis shifts from first syllable (food) to second syllable (eat / eats). Often represented as O-khel versus o-KHEL
Is there a general rule for when to use ח or כ or do you just need to know the שורש?
You basically just need to know them, I'm afraid, similar to א and ע.
No. Vav is only the vowel here. Kaf is pronounced as K or as Hk (sounds like ח) it has different sound in different words
Meal is ארוחה. I guess you can sometimes switch between the two depending on the context
16
If you do your lessons on a PC, the alef-bet is in the introductions to the first three lessons which are on the alphabet. Go to "Home", click on the lesson circles, then click on the "lightbulb" icons. The introductions are only available on the personal computer program.
