HETH
ח
VOICELESS PHARYNGEAL FRICATIVE [ħ]
Tiberian Hebrew ḥeth does not have a corresponding sound in English. It is a bit like English "h", but not quite as deep in the throat. For those familiar with Arabic, it is pronounced like the letter ḥāˀ (ح).
[ħ]
ח
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)
א̇ה̇ח̇ע̇ מחלהא מחל ואחד והו אלחלקום ואצל אללסאן ויסמונה אלטבראניין עקר הלשון ובית הבליעה והו אול מחל פי אלפם ולדלך צארת אכף אלחרוף מגמועה או מפתרקה
Text from Khan (TPTBH II.L.1.3.2)
EXAMPLE WORDS:
רוּחַ
[ˈʀ̟uːwaħ]
תַּחַת
[ˈtʰaːħaθ]
וְחֹ֖שֶׁךְ
[voˈħoːʃɛχ]
חֶ֫פְצ֥וֹ
[ħefˈsˁoː]
SOURCES AND FURTHER READING
Khan, Geoffrey. 2020. The Tiberian Pronunciation Tradition of Biblical Hebrew. Cambridge: Cambridge and Open Book Publishers. §I.1.8.