1. Rabbi Joab Eichenberg-Eilon PhD
PRONOUNCING AND

2. • Hebrew = Semitic language like Aramaic, Arabic, etc.
• Typical : deep throaty sounds = “guttural” consonants or letters
• Lost some of their traditional sound but important for grammar
SEMITIC CONSONANTS: THE GUTTURALS
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I N T E R C O N N E C T P R O D U C T I O N S . C O M
‘
‘áyin
’
’áleph
ḥ
ḥēt
h
hē

3. ‟ALEPH AND „AYIN = GLOTTAL STOPS
C R E A T E D B Y J O A B E I C H E N B E R G - E I L O N - C O P Y R I G H T © 2 0 1 3 -
I N T E R C O N N E C T P R O D U C T I O N S . C O M
„ ‟
„áyin ‟áleph
• Two of the guttural - and - have no equivalent Western letters
• They represent a brief stop of air flow before a vowel
• The technical term for them is “glottal stops”

4. Sound Wave of the Syllable ‟ā Where the Glottal Stop Happens
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I N T E R C O N N E C T P R O D U C T I O N S . C O M
GLOTTAL STOPS ARE CONSONANTS
Glottal Stop Glottal
‘
Consonant Vowel
ā

5. Adam ‟ādām
GLOTTAL STOP WITHIN A WORD
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I N T E R C O N N E C T P R O D U C T I O N S . C O M
Glottal stop Glottal stop
Vowel “a”Vowel “a”

6. HOW TO SAY “HAWAII”?
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I N T E R C O N N E C T P R O D U C T I O N S . C O M
huh – why
huh – why – ee
or

7. glottal stop
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I N T E R C O N N E C T P R O D U C T I O N S . C O M
Ha/wa/’ii
vowel

8. C R E A T E D B Y J O A B E I C H E N B E R G - E I L O N - C O P Y R I G H T © 2 0 1 3 -
I N T E R C O N N E C T P R O D U C T I O N S . C O M
Ha/waai
glottal stop vowel

9. C R E A T E D B Y J O A B E I C H E N B E R G - E I L O N - C O P Y R I G H T © 2 0 1 3 -
I N T E R C O N N E C T P R O D U C T I O N S . C O M
/həwaɪʔi:/Ha
glottal stop
vowel
wai’i

10. BE SURE YOU PRONOUNCE VOWELED AND
CONSONANTS
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I N T E R C O N N E C T P R O D U C T I O N S . C O M
Israel llé’|rah-Yis Eezraell
Jacob Yah | ’àh kov Yàhkov
Pharaoh Pahr | ’óh Pahrow
Saul Shah | ’óol Shawool
Hebrew English pronounce so: not so:

11. COURSE VOCABULARY VOWELED MIDDLE AND
C R E A T E D B Y J O A B E I C H E N B E R G - E I L O N - C O P Y R I G H T © 2 0 1 3 -
I N T E R C O N N E C T P R O D U C T I O N S . C O M

12. COURSE VOCABULARY INITIAL VOWELED AND (1/3)
C R E A T E D B Y J O A B E I C H E N B E R G - E I L O N - C O P Y R I G H T © 2 0 1 3 -
I N T E R C O N N E C T P R O D U C T I O N S . C O M

13. COURSE VOCABULARY INITIAL VOWELED AND (2/3)
C R E A T E D B Y J O A B E I C H E N B E R G - E I L O N - C O P Y R I G H T © 2 0 1 3 -
I N T E R C O N N E C T P R O D U C T I O N S . C O M

14. COURSE VOCABULARY INITIAL VOWELED AND (3/3)
C R E A T E D B Y J O A B E I C H E N B E R G - E I L O N - C O P Y R I G H T © 2 0 1 3 -
I N T E R C O N N E C T P R O D U C T I O N S . C O M

15. FINAL AND OTHER SILENT AND
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I N T E R C O N N E C T P R O D U C T I O N S . C O M

16. Furtive Pataḥ -
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I N T E R C O N N E C T P R O D U C T I O N S . C O M
= rēa’rē’a ≠= nōaḥnōḥa ≠
‘ayin or ḥet at the end of a word with the patah vowel have their
pronunciation inverted: instead of CV they are pronounced VC.