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| Dagesh | |
|---|---|
| ּ | |
| Usage | |
| Writing system | Hebrew alphabet |
| Type | Abjad |
| Language of origin | Hebrew |
| Sound values |
|
| In Unicode | U+05BC |
| History | |
| Sisters | Mappiq,shuruq dot |
| Transliterations |
|
| Other | |
| Associated graphs | בbet,גgimel,דdalet,כkaf,פpe,תtav |
| This article containsphonetic transcriptions in theInternational Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, seeHelp:IPA. For the distinction between[ ],/ / and ⟨ ⟩, seeIPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters. | |
Thedagesh (Hebrew:דָּגֵשׁ,romanized: dagésh) is adiacritic that is used in theHebrew alphabet. It takes the form of a dot placed inside a consonant.
A dagesh can either indicate a "hard"plosive version of the consonant (known asdagesh qal, literally 'light dot') or that the consonant isgeminated (known asdagesh ḥazaq, literally 'hard dot').
InModern Hebrew, the dagesh only changes the pronunciation of בbet, כkaf, and פpe: in those letters, it turns a fricative sound (vet,khaf, andfe) into a plosive sound (bet,kaf, andpe), regardless of the dagesh's grammatical/orthographic origin,kal orḥazaq;gemination itself (lengthening of the consonant) is generally not pronounced in any consonant.
The dagesh was added toHebrew orthography at the same time as theMasoretic system ofniqqud (vowel points).
Two other diacritics with different functions, themappiq and theshuruq dot, are visually identical to the dagesh but are only used withvowel letters.
The dagesh and mappiq symbols are usually omitted when writing without niqqud (e.g.בּ is written asב), however, dagesh may be added to words that would be ambiguous without niqqud.[2][failed verification] The use or omission of such marks is usually consistent throughout any given context.
Adagesh kal ordagesh qal (דגש קל, orדגש קשיין, alsodageshlene,weak/light dagesh) may be placed inside the consonantsבbet,גgimel,דdalet,כkaf,פpe andתtav. They each have two sounds, the original hardplosive sound (which originally contained nodagesh as it was the only pronunciation), and a softfricative version produced as such for speech efficiency because of the position in which the mouth is left immediately after a vowel has been produced.
Although there is debate, some scholars suggest that prior to theBabylonian captivity, the soft sounds of these letters did not exist in Hebrew, but they were later differentiated in Hebrew writing as a result of theAramaic-influenced pronunciation of Hebrew.[citation needed] The Aramaic languages, includingJewish versions of Aramaic, have these sameallophonic pronunciations of the letters.
The letters take on their hard sounds when they have no vowel sound before them, and take their soft sounds when a vowel immediately precedes them. InBiblical Hebrew this was the case within a word and also across word boundaries, though inModern Hebrew there are no longer across word boundaries, since the soft and hard sounds are no longer allophones of each other, but regarded as distinct phonemes.
When vowel diacritics are used, the hard sounds are indicated by a central dot calleddagesh, while the soft sounds lack the mark. In Modern Hebrew, however, thedagesh only changes the pronunciation ofבbet,כkaf, andפpe. TraditionalAshkenazic pronunciation also varies the pronunciation ofתtav, as doesYemenite pronunciation. Some traditional Middle Eastern pronunciations[which?] carry alternate forms forדdalet.
| With dagesh | Without dagesh | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Symbol | Name | Transliteration | IPA | Example in English | Symbol | Name | Transliteration | IPA | Example in English |
| בּ | bet | b | /b/ | bun | ב | vet | v | /v/ | van |
| כּ ךּ[b] | kaph | k | /k/ | kangaroo | כ ך | khaph | kh/ch/ḵ | /χ/ | loch |
| פּ ףּ[c] | pe | p | /p/ | pass | פ ף | phe | f/ph | /f/ | find |
In Ashkenazi pronunciation,tav without adagesh is pronounced[s], while in other traditions[which?] it is assumed to have been pronounced[θ] at the timeniqqud was introduced. In Modern Hebrew, it is always pronounced[t].
The lettersgimel (ג) anddalet (ד) may also contain adagesh kal. This indicates an allophonic variation of the phonemes/ɡ/ and/d/, a variation which no longer exists in modern Hebrew pronunciation. The variations are believed to have been:גּ pronounced as[ɡ],ג as[ɣ],דּ as[d], andד as[ð]. The Hebrew spoken by the Jews of Yemen (Yemenite Hebrew) still preserves uniquephonemes for these letters with and without a dagesh.[3]
Among Modern Hebrew speakers, the pronunciation of some of the above letters has become the same as others:
| Letter | Pronounced like | Letter |
|---|---|---|
| ב vet | (withoutdagesh) like | ו vav |
| כ khaf | (withoutdagesh) like | ח chet |
| כּ kaf | (withdagesh) like | ק qof |
| תּ, ת tav | (with and withoutdagesh) like | ט tet |
Dagesh ḥazak ordagesh ḥazaq (דגש חזק,lit. 'strong dot', i.e. 'geminationdagesh', orדגש כפלן, also 'dageshforte') may be placed in almost any letter, indicating agemination (doubling) of that consonant in the pronunciation of pre-modern Hebrew.
This gemination is not adhered to in modern Hebrew and is only used in careful pronunciation, such as the reading of scripture in a synagogue service, recitation of biblical or traditional texts or on ceremonial occasions, and only by very precise readers. However, the rules of thedagesh ḥazak still influence pronunciation in modern Hebrew, though not by gemination: in all cases where Biblical Hebrew geminates a letter, modern Hebrew retains adagesh inside the letter, which influences pronunciation in the following way: in בbet, כkaf, and פpe, it turns a fricative sound (vet,khaf, andfe) into a plosive sound (bet,kaf, andpe); in all other letters, it is not pronounced.
The following letters, thegutturals, almost never have adagesh:alephא,heה,chetח,ayinע, andreshר. A few instances ofresh withdagesh are recorded in theMasoretic Text, as well as a few cases ofaleph withdagesh, such as inLeviticus 23:17.
The presence of adagesh ḥazak or consonant-doubling in a word may be entirely morphological, or, as is often the case, is a lengthening to compensate for a deleted consonant. Adagesh ḥazak may be placed in letters for one of the following reasons:
In Masoretic manuscripts the opposite of adagesh would be indicated by arafe, a small horizontal line on top of the letter. This is no longer found in Hebrew, but may still sometimes be seen inYiddish andLadino.
In computer typography there are two ways to use adagesh with Hebrew text. The following examples give theUnicode andnumeric character references:
U+05D1U+05BC orבּU+05DBU+05BC orכּU+05E4U+05BC orפּU+FB31 orבּU+FB3B orכּU+FB44 orפּSomefonts,character sets,encodings, andoperating systems may support neither, one, or both methods.
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar, §12,§13