Editing Dagesh (section)

==Dagesh qal<span class="anchor" id="Dagesh Kal"></span>==
A '''{{lang|he-Latn|dagesh kal}}''' or '''{{lang|he-Latn|dagesh qal}}''' ({{lang|he|דגש קל}}, or {{lang|he|דגש קשיין}}, also ''{{lang|he-Latn|dagesh}} [[lenis consonant|lene]]'', ''weak/light dagesh'') may be placed inside the consonants {{Script/Hebrew|ב}} {{lang|he-Latn|bet}}, {{Script/Hebrew|ג}} {{lang|he-Latn|gimel}}, {{Script/Hebrew|ד}} {{lang|he-Latn|dalet}}, {{Script/Hebrew|כ}} {{lang|he-Latn|kaf}}, {{Script/Hebrew|פ}} {{lang|he-Latn|pe}} and {{Script/Hebrew|ת}} {{lang|he-Latn|tav}}. They each have two sounds, the original hard [[plosive consonant|plosive]] sound (which originally contained no {{lang|he-Latn|dagesh}} as it was the only pronunciation), and a soft [[fricative consonant|fricative]] version produced as such for speech efficiency because of the position in which the mouth is left immediately after a vowel has been produced.

Prior to the [[Babylonian captivity]], the soft sounds of these letters did not exist in Hebrew, but they were later differentiated in Hebrew writing as a result of the [[Aramaic]]-influenced pronunciation of Hebrew.{{Citation needed|date=October 2020}} The Aramaic languages, including [[Jewish]] versions of Aramaic, have these same [[allophonic]] pronunciations of the letters.

The letters take on their hard sounds when they have no vowel sound before them, and take their soft sounds when a vowel immediately precedes them. In [[Biblical Hebrew]] this was the case within a word and also across word boundaries, though in [[Modern Hebrew]] there are no longer across word boundaries, since the soft and hard sounds are no longer allophones of each other, but regarded as distinct phonemes.

When vowel diacritics are used, the hard sounds are indicated by a central dot called {{lang|he-Latn|dagesh}}, while the soft sounds lack the mark. In Modern Hebrew, however, the {{lang|he-Latn|dagesh}} only changes the pronunciation of {{Script/Hebrew|ב}} {{lang|he-Latn|bet}}, {{Script/Hebrew|כ}} {{lang|he-Latn|kaf}}, and {{Script/Hebrew|פ}} {{lang|he-Latn|pe}}. Traditional [[Ashkenazic pronunciation]] also varies the pronunciation of {{Script/Hebrew|ת}} {{lang|he-Latn|tav}}, as does [[Yemenite Hebrew|Yemenite pronunciation]].  Some traditional Middle Eastern pronunciations{{which|date=March 2024}} carry alternate forms for {{Script/Hebrew|ד}} {{lang|he-Latn|dalet}}.

{| class="wikitable"
! colspan=5 | With dagesh
! colspan=5 | Without dagesh
|-
! Symbol
! Name
! Transliteration
! [[Help:IPA chart for Hebrew|IPA]]
! Example in English
! Symbol
! Name
! Transliteration
! IPA
! Example in English
|-
| align=center | {{Script/Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;">בּ</span>}}
| {{lang|he-Latn|bet}}
| b
| {{IPAslink|b}}
| '''b'''un
| align=center | {{Script/Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;">ב</span>}}
| {{lang|he-Latn|vet}}
| v
| {{IPAslink|v}}
| '''v'''an
|-
| align=center | {{Script/Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;line-height:1.5em;">כּ ךּ</span>}}{{efn|group=lower-alpha|"{{Script/Hebrew|ךּ}}" is rare but exists, e.g. the last word in [[Deuteronomy]] 7:1 ({{lang|he|דברים פרק ז׳ פסוק א׳}}) in the word "{{lang|he|מִמֶּךָּ}}", see [[s:he:דברים ז א|here]].}}
| {{lang|he-Latn|kaph}}
| k
| {{IPAslink|k}}
| '''k'''angaroo
| align=center | {{Script/Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;">כ ך</span>}}
| {{lang|he-Latn|khaph}}
| kh/ch/ḵ
| {{IPAslink|χ}}
| [[:wiktionary:loch#English|lo'''ch''']]
|-
| align=center | {{Script/Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;line-height:1.5em;">פּ ףּ</span>}}{{efn|group=lower-alpha|"{{Script/Hebrew|ףּ}}" is rare but exists, e.g. the second word in [[Proverbs 30]]:6 ({{lang|he|משלי פרק ל׳ פסוק ו׳}}) in the word "{{lang|he|תּוֹסְףְּ}}" – see [[s:he:משלי ל ו|here]].}}
| {{lang|he-Latn|pe}}
| p
| {{IPAslink|p}}
| '''p'''ass
| align=center | {{Script/Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;">פ ף</span>}}
| {{lang|he-Latn|phe}}
| f/ph
| {{IPAslink|f}}
| '''f'''ind
|}

In Ashkenazi pronunciation, {{lang|he-Latn|tav}} without a {{lang|he-Latn|dagesh}} is pronounced {{IPAblink|s}}, while in other traditions{{which|date=March 2024}} it is assumed to have been pronounced {{IPAblink|θ}} at the time {{lang|he-Latn|[[niqqud]]}} was introduced. In Modern Hebrew, it is always pronounced {{IPAblink|t}}.

The letters {{lang|he-Latn|[[gimel]]}} ({{Script/Hebrew|ג}}) and {{lang|he-Latn|[[dalet]]}} ({{Script/Hebrew|ד}}) may also contain a {{lang|he-Latn|dagesh kal}}. This indicates an allophonic variation of the phonemes {{IPAslink|ɡ}} and {{IPAslink|d}}, a variation which no longer exists in modern Hebrew pronunciation. The variations are believed to have been: {{Script/Hebrew|גּ}} pronounced as {{IPAblink|ɡ}}, {{Script/Hebrew|ג}} as {{IPAblink|ɣ}}, {{Script/Hebrew|דּ}} as {{IPAblink|d}}, and {{Script/Hebrew|ד}} as {{IPAblink|ð}}. The Hebrew spoken by the Jews of Yemen ([[Yemenite Hebrew]]) still preserves unique [[phonemes]] for these letters with and without a dagesh.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sagavyah.tripod.com:80/ALEFBET.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150428054913/http://sagavyah.tripod.com/ALEFBET.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2015-04-28 |title=Vocalization of Hebrew Alphabet |access-date=2018-09-20 }}</ref>
===Pronunciation===
Among Modern Hebrew speakers, the pronunciation of some of the above letters has become the same as others:
{| class="wikitable"
! Letter
! Pronounced like
! Letter
|-
| align=center | {{Script/Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;">ב</span>}}<br>{{lang|he-Latn|vet}}
| align=center | (without {{lang|he-Latn|dagesh}}) like
| align=center | {{Script/Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;">ו</span>}}<br>{{lang|he-Latn|vav}}
|-
| align=center | {{Script/Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;">כ</span>}}<br>{{lang|he-Latn|khaf}}
| align=center | (without {{lang|he-Latn|dagesh}}) like
| align=center | {{Script/Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;">ח</span>}}<br>{{lang|he-Latn|chet}}
|-
| align=center | {{Script/Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;">כּ</span>}}<br>{{lang|he-Latn|kaf}}
| align=center | (with {{lang|he-Latn|dagesh}}) like
| align=center | {{Script/Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;">ק</span>}}<br>{{lang|he-Latn|qof}}
|-
| align=center | {{Script/Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;">תּ, ת</span>}}<br>{{lang|he-Latn|tav}}
| align=center | (with and without {{lang|he-Latn|dagesh}}) like
| align=center | {{Script/Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;">ט</span>}}<br>{{lang|he-Latn|tet}}
|}