To Belabour the Points: Encoding Vowel Phonology in Syriac and Hebrew Vocalization

To Belabour the Points: Encoding Vowel Phonology in Syriac and Hebrew VocalizationJournal of Semitic StudiesSyriaca.org: The Syriac Reference PortalThe National Endowment for the HumanitiesThe International Balzan Prize FoundationDavid A. Michelsoncbsc_adminRecord added to Zotero bycbsc_adminSyriaca.org: The Syriac Reference Portalhttp://syriaca.org/cbss/T6B94RT3/tei

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2024-08-15-04:00

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CREATED: This bibl record was autogenerated from a Zotero record.NickPosegayTo Belabour the Points: Encoding Vowel Phonology in Syriac and Hebrew Vocalizationhttp://syriaca.org/cbss/T6B94RT3https://www.zotero.org/groups/a_comprehensive_bibliography_on_syriac_studies/items/T6B94RT3https://www.zotero.org/groups/4861694/items/T6B94RT3Journal of Semitic Studies66:1202153-76Medieval Hebrew and Syriac scribes both indicated vowels by placing dots above or below their consonantal writing. These vowel points were created in the Late Antique and early Islamic periods to disambiguate the vocalization of important texts, especially the Bible. The earliest step in this process was the implementation of the Syriac ‘diacritic dot’ system, which used a single dot to distinguish pairs of homographs: a dot ‘above’ marked a word with relatively-backed vowels, and a dot ‘below’ marked its homograph with relatively-fronted vowels. This graphic depiction conveyed a phonological association of ‘height’ with ‘backness’, and that association then entered the Masoretic Hebrew tradition in the form of <i>mille'el</i> (‘above’) and <i>millera'</i> (‘below’) homograph comparisons. In turn, this principle of backness as ‘height’ informed the later placement of both the Syriac and the Tiberian Hebrew vowel points. Posegay, Nick. “To Belabour the Points: Encoding Vowel Phonology in Syriac and Hebrew Vocalization.” Journal of Semitic Studies 66:1 (2021): 53–76. Nick Posegay, To Belabour the Points: Encoding Vowel Phonology in Syriac and Hebrew Vocalization, Journal of Semitic Studies 66:1 (2021): 53–76.Classical SyriacSyriac languagediacriticsgrammarphonology