The phonological and morphological effects of guttural consonants in Hebrew

Abstract

The Hebrew language includes a rich system of guttural consonants (א', ה', ח', ע'), which significantly affect the phonological and morphological structure of words. Phonologically, these consonants cause phenomena such as "vowel elevation"- replacing a stop with a slur or a hirak to facilitate pronunciation, and "vowel lowering"- a transition from a high to a low vowel in a guttural environment. The phenomenon of "likeness" appears when a guttural consonant affects the adjacent consonant, sometimes changing the place of the cut or the quality of the vowel. Morphologically, guttural consonants affect verb inflection, noun construction, and the appearance of long or shortened vowels. They also create anomalies in the normal forms of constructions, such as in the form "התפעל"  "הִתְחָרֵט"/hitxaret/ with With a long vowel instead of a fatha vowel. Morphological changes include the replacement of one morphological unit with another, as occurs when it comes to a verb and the noun of the action, to create a new and different meaning. It is clear in general in modern Hebrew and in particular in biblical Hebrew and the "Tabari" punctuation system.