2.8 Transliteration Shorthand
- Most Hebrew grammar books include transliteration values
- While learning the transliteration scheme can help in some instances, our general position is that it can be an unnecessary distraction
- Where it can be useful is as shorthand
- It would get wordy to write “Holem Vav” repeatedly
- It’s much less clutter to write the shorthand version based on transliteration: \(\hat O\)
- Often, the vowel marks in isolation can be difficult to detect (compare ֹ with \(\hat O\))
- As we move forward in the course, particularly in unit three, we will be making use of the vowel shorthand listed below
Shorthand consists of an uppercase letter for the vowel’s class and usually a mark above the letter:
- Short vowels - no marking, e.g., \(A\) for short A, Patach
- Long Vowels - a bar, e.g., \(\bar A\) for long A, Qamets
- Vowel letters - a hat, e.g., \(\hat E\) for the vowel letter Hireq Yod
For Hebrew GRAMMAR Quest, we will use the following vowel shorthand34:
| Type/Class | A | E | I | O | U |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Short | \(A\) | \(E\) | \(I\) | \(O\) | \(U\) |
| Patach | Seghol | Hireq | Qamets Hatuf | Qibbuts | |
| Long | \(\bar A\) | \(\bar E\) | \(\bar O\) | ||
| Qamets | Tsere | Holem | |||
| Letters | \(\hat A\) | \(\hat E\) | \(\hat I\) | \(\hat O\) | \(\hat U\) |
| Qamets Hei | Tsere Yod | Hireq Yod | Holem Vav | Shureq |
- Additionally, we have Vocal Sheva = \(ə\), and \(:\) for Silent Sheva35
We will use this shorthand frequently when we discuss verbs. We will review the values again as we get into Unit III
Other Hebrew grammars may have more comprehensive shorthand/transliteration lists. The vowels in the table above is all we will use in this course.↩︎
Vocal Sheva has a “hurried” pronunciation, like the a in amuse or Tina. ə is the international character for this sound. Silent Sheva has no pronunciation transliteration value.↩︎