TheRashi script orSephardic script (Hebrew:כְּתַב רַשִׁ״י,romanized: Ktav Rashi) is atypeface for theHebrew alphabet based on 15th-centurySephardic semi-cursive handwriting. It is named for therabbinic commentatorRashi, whoseworks are customarily printed in the typeface (though Rashi himself died several hundred years before the script came into use). It was taken as a model by early Hebrew typographers such asAbraham Garton, theSoncino family andDaniel Bomberg in their editions of commented texts (such as theMikraot Gedolot and theTalmud, in which Rashi's commentaries prominently figure).[1]
The initial development of typefaces for theprinting press was often anchored in a pre-existingmanuscript culture. In the case of the Hebrew press, the tradition of using square orblock letters werecast forBiblical and other important works prevailed. However, secondary religious texts such as rabbinic commentaries, were commonly set with a semi-cursive form of Sephardic origin, ultimately normalised as the Rashi typeface.[1]
A corresponding but distinctive semi-cursive typeface was used for printingYiddish. It was termedmashket orvaybertaytsh, the Yiddish wordvayber meaning "women" (Weiber) andtaytsh being an archaic word for "German" (Deutsch), since works printed inmashket were often intended for a female readership.[2]
| Hebrew letters in Rashi and square type | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
א =.svg) | ב =.svg) | ג =.svg) | ד =.svg) | ה =.svg) | ו =.svg) | ז =.svg) | ח =.svg) | ט =.svg) |
י =.svg) | כ =.svg) | ך =.svg) | ל =.svg) | מ =.svg) | ם =.svg) | נ =.svg) | ן =.svg) | ס =.svg) |
ע =.svg) | פ =.svg) | ף =.svg) | צ =.svg) | ץ =.svg) | ק =.svg) | ר =.svg) | ש =.svg) | ת =.svg) |
Besides usage for theHebrew language, an adapted form of Rashi script alphabet is commonly used for writingLadino language texts in the Hebrew alphabet. To express additional fricative sounds found in Ladino, the alphabet is expanded by adding diacritic marks to existing letters. Whereas in block print a Hebrew letter is typically modified by an adjacentgeresh, in the Rashi script, new letters are formed by adding a breve-shapedvarrica ("little crossbar")rafe diacritic ⟨ﬞ◌⟩ directly onto a letter.[3] Historically, a cursive script known as "solitreo" served as the standard handwritten form of Ladino in the Balkans and Turkey, which complemented the Rashi script character set used for printing.
| Ladino letters formed using a 'varrica'rafe | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WithoutRafe | WithRafe (equivalent withgeresh) | ||||||||
| Symbol | Translit. | IPA | Example | Symbol | Translit. | IPA | Example | ||
| ב | b | [b] | boy | (ב׳)בﬞ | v | [v]~[β̞] | voyage | ||
| ג | g | [ɡ] | gap | (ג׳)גﬞ | dj, ǧ,or ch, č | [d͡ʒ]~[t͡ʃ] | Jupiter,George,chip | ||
| ד | d | [d̪] | day | (ד׳)דﬞ | dh, th, ḏ, đ | [ð̞] | they | ||
| ז | z | [z] | zoo | (ז׳)זﬞ | j, g, zh, ž | [ʒ] | Jacques, beige, vision | ||
| ט | t | [t̪] | toy | (ט׳)טﬞ | th | [θ] | thirty | ||
| כ | c, k | [k] | care,king | (כ׳)כﬞ | ch, kh, ḵ | [x]~[χ] | loch, Bach | ||
| פ | p | [p] | past | (פ׳)פﬞ | f | [f] | fast | ||
| ש | s, ç | [s] | sin,cent | (ש׳)שﬞ | sh, š | [ʃ] | shin | ||
