AYIN

ע

VOICED PHARYNGEAL FRICATIVE [ʕ]

Tiberian Hebrew ayin is not like any sound in English. It is pronounced by constricting deep in the throat, but not quite as deep as with alef [ʔ] or he [h]. For those familiar with Arabic, it is pronounced like the letter ˁayin (ع).

[ʕ]

Hidayat al-Qari

The letters אהחע have a single place of articulation. This is the throat and the root of the tongue. The Tiberians call it the ‘root of the tongue’ and the ‘place of swallowing’. This is the first place of articulation in the mouth. For this reason they are the lightest letters, as a group or individually.

Translation from Khan (TPTBH II.L.1.3.2)

EXAMPLE WORDS:

רָקִ֖יעַ

[ʀ̟ɔːˈq̟iːjaʕ]

עֹשֶֽׂה

[ʕoːˈsεː]

וַיַּ֣עַשׂ

[vaɟɟaːʕas]

עַל־פְּנֵ֣י

[ʕal pʰaˈneː]

SOURCES AND FURTHER READING

Khan, Geoffrey. 2020. The Tiberian Pronunciation Tradition of Biblical Hebrew. Cambridge: Cambridge and Open Book Publishers. §I.1.16.