Hebrew - Various language rules
Silent and vocal sheva
Rules for sheva
e are as follows:
- Vocal sheva can occur only under a consonant starting a syllable
- Silent sheva can occur only under a consonant ending a syllable
- Where there are two adjacent shevas, the first is silent and the second vocal
- A sheva below a double consonant is always vocal
- Compound shevas are almost always attached to guttural consonants
Daghesh lene and forte
Rules for interpreting daghesh markers are as follows:
- A dot in any letter other than BeGaD KePaT is always daghesh forte
- A dot in a BeGaD KePaT letter is daghesh lene when it is not immediately preceded by a vowel
- A dot in a BeGaD KePaT letter is daghesh forte when it is immediately preceded by a vowel
- Either kind can only come after a full vowel, not a half vowel
- A BeGaD KePaT letter requires a daghesh lene when it begins a word
- A BeGaD KePaT letter requires a daghesh lene when it begins a syllable and is preceded by a consonant with silent sheva
- A BeGaD KePaT letter must not have daghesh lene when it is preceded by a consonant having full or half vowel
Vav and Yodh as vowels or consonants
- Vav functions as:
- A vowel when it is immediately after a consonant and is pointed with either ô or û
- A consonant when it is at the start of a word or syllable, and in such cases must be pointed with either a full or half vowel
- Yodh function as:
- A vowel when it is in median or final position in a syllable and is written without an accompanying vowel. It then combines with the (necessarily) full vowel of the preceding consonant to form a diphthong. This will be one of a, â, e, ê, î.
- A consonant when it is at the start of a word or syllable, and must in this case be accompanied by a full or half vowel (usually full)
