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TAV

ת

VOICELESS ASPIRATED ALVEOLAR STOP []

VOICELESS ALVEOLAR FRICATIVE [θ]

OR

Tav with dagesh is pronounced similarly to English "t", except the tip of the tongue is placed behind the teeth on the gums instead of on the teeth themselves. Tav with rafe, which typically occurs after vowels, is pronounced with the tip of the tongue in the same place (i.e., on the gums behind the teeth), but with an allowance of air to pass through to make a fricative sound.

[tʰ]

תּ

תֿ

[θ]

Hidayat al-Qari

From the third place of articulation are heard five letters, namely דטלנת. This is the extremity of the tongue in combination with the flesh of the teeth. If you press gently, you hear from it דֿ and תֿ rafe. If you press with force, you hear from it דּ and תּ with dagesh. This differs from the second place of articulation, which is divided into two places (when the letters are pronounced) with dagesh and rafe respectively, namely the (back) third of the tongue and its middle. Dalet and tav are not like that, rather their place of articulation does not change, whether they have dagesh or rafe. Dagesh denotes pressing with force and rafe (pressing) lightly.

Translation from Khan (TPTBH II.L.1.3.7)

 ואלמחל אלתאלת <יסמע מנה> כמסה חרוף והי ד̇ט̇ל̇נ̇ת̇ והו טרף אללסאן מע לחם אלאסנאן ואן אלצקת ברפק סמעת מנהא דֿ תֿ אלמרפיין ואן אלצקת בקוה סמעת מנה דּ תּ אלמדגושין והד̇א מכ̇אלף ללמחל אלב̇ אלדי אנקסם אלי מחלין ענד אלדגש ואלרפה המא תלת אללסאן ווסטה ואלדאל ואלתו ליס המא כדלך בל מחלהמא לא יתגייר לא פי אלדגש ולא פי אלרפי ואנמא אלדגש לאלאלצאק באלקוה ואלרפי באלכפה

Text from Khan (TPTBH II.L.1.3.7)

EXAMPLE WORDS:

אֵ֥ת

[ˈʔeːeθ]

בְּת֣וֹךְ

[baˈθoːoχ]

אִשְׁתֶּךָ֒

[ʔiʃɛːχɔː]

תַּרְקִ֣יעַ

[ɑrˁˈq̟iːjaʕ]

SOURCES AND FURTHER READING

Khan, Geoffrey. 2020. The Tiberian Pronunciation Tradition of Biblical Hebrew. Cambridge: Cambridge and Open Book Publishers. §I.1.23.

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