Contents of this weekly column are (mostly) based on the sefer: EIM LAMIKRA HASHALEIM, by R' Nissan Sharoni, Ashdod, a guide to correct pronunciation of Hebrew, specifically in davening and Torah reading.

Reader Feedback
Prof. DK wrote about the examples from English in last week’s column, so I will not include this comments here. But I would like to thank him for his feedback. Among the issues that he addressed was an explanation of why some plurals change the final vowel sound, as in leaf-leaves. ES pointed out that even if the green stuff on trees became leaves, the Toronto hockey team is still called the Leafs. Go figure.

Something from DK’s note about English might impact on Hebrew pronunciation as well. In discussing voiced and voiceless consonants, he pointed out that ALL vowels are voiced. Without saying more about that, there is something to the way sounds flow from a vowel to a voiced or voiceless letter. Play with it a little and you’ll see what we mean.
Concerning the voiced-voiceless letters, ES pointed out that in the HITPA’EL form of Hebrew verbs, the standard HEI-TAV beginning, as in HITPALEIL, will sometimes change to a voiced letter and sometimes change position. E.g. to grow old is not L’HIT-ZAKEIN, but L’HIZDAKEIN. Not only did the voiceless TAV become a voiced DALET (to match the voiced ZAYIN), but the DALET and the ZAYIN changed positions. These switches enhance the sound of the language.

ES also pointed out that the TROP should be helpful to the Baal Korei in guiding him to the correct accenting of words. Only a couple of the notes are not placed on the accented syllable, but usually the TROP will help.
As to the suggestion made in last week’s column, that maybe, perhaps, perchance, mayhap, possibly, a Baal Korei might be excused from mis-accenting a word if he does it a lot, and in a community where many (most?) people are not “into” proper accenting... YL was adamant that such a person shouldn’t be a Baal Korei. We’re still waiting for more feedback on that issue. Thank you, readers and feedbackers.

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