Peace-and-Love

I will start studying Biblical Hebrew this year in University. The course is designed for someone with no knowledge of the Hebrew Language.

To prepare myself, I have been looking at the Hebrew alphabet, and I just have a question.



I realize that the first part is the letter Alef, and the second part is spelling the letter out, right?

Okay, what do the little marks under the letters mean? They look like punctuation marks.

Dr. Octagon

Hey Gloria,

The little marks under the letters - called Nikud - are in fact the vowels. Each mark represents a different vowel.

Every letter in the Hebrew alphabet, can be pronounced in several different ways, depending on the vowel that is attached to it. Alef, for example, can be transliterated as "a" and "e" and "i" and "o" and "u" and "y", but there is only one correct form, and the Nikud is the tool you use to determine how it should actually be read. Fluent Hebrew speakers don't need the Nikud - because the right pronounciation is obvious to us from the context of the letter - but it is used as an aid in teaching children and foreigners. You can also see it in religious writings and in poetry, where an accurate reading is essential.