Babylonian vowels - a system of vowels of Jewish writing developed by the Babylonian masoretes [1] . Having reached its peak of development in the first half of the 10th century, later, due to the decline of the Jewish community of Babylonia, it was everywhere (except for Yemen , where it was preserved in an altered form [2] ) replaced by the Tiberias system [3] .
Description
Vowels were located above the letters. A single sign was used to designate patach and segol , which is associated with the peculiarities of local pronunciation [4] . The resting seam was not designated in any way [5] .
In addition, the Babylonian system is presented in manuscripts in two versions, which are conditionally designated by researchers as simple and complex [5] . A distinctive feature of the latter was the distinction of vowels by longitude [4] (brevity was indicated [6] by adding the hitf sign ( Hebrew חטפא) to the vocalization, which is a horizontal line; the same sign denoted a movable seam [5] ).
The table shows the signs of the vowels of the simple Babylonian system:
| Vowel in the Babylonian system | An analogue in the Tiberias system | Designated sound |
|---|---|---|
| אִ | [i] | |
| אַ / אֶ | [æ] | |
| אָ | [ɑ] | |
| אֵ | [e] | |
| אֹ | [o] | |
| אֻ | [u] |
Notes
- ↑ Khan, 953
- ↑ Tov 2001, 40
- ↑ Sáenz-Badillos 1993, 98
- ↑ 1 2 Khan, 955
- ↑ 1 2 3 Sáenz-Badillos 1993, 97
- ↑ Khan, 956
Bibliography
- Tov E. Old Testament Textology / Per. K. Burmistrov, G. Yastrebov. - M.: Biblical Theological Institute of St. Apostle Andrew, 2001 .-- 424 p. ISBN 5-89647-031-2
- Sáenz-Badillos, A. A History of the Hebrew Language. Great Britain: Cambridge University Press, 1993. ISBN 0-521-43157-3
Links
- Khan, G. Vocalization, Babylonian (link not available)