Yemenite Hebrew

Yemenite Hebrew (Hebrew: עִבְרִית תֵּימָנִית Ivrit Teimanit, Arabic: العبرية اليمنية‎ al-ʿibriyya al-yamaniyya), also referred to as Temani Hebrew, is the pronunciation system for Hebrew traditionally used by Yemenite Jews. Yemenite Jews brought their language to Israel through immigration. Their first organized immigration to the region began in 1882.

Yemenite Jewish elders rehearsing oral lessons (1906–1918)

Yemenite Hebrew has been studied by scholars, many of whom believe it to contain the most ancient phonetic and grammatical features. ^[1] The Yemenites, themselves, among all Jewish ethnic groups, have garnered considerable praise because of their strict application of the laws of grammar. The notable Tunisian rabbi and scholar, Rabbi Meir Mazuz, once said of Yemenites that they are good grammarians.^[2] It is believed by some scholars that its phonology was heavily influenced by spoken Yemeni Arabic . Other scholars and rabbis, including Rabbi Yosef Qafih and Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, hold the view that Yemenite Hebrew was not influenced by Yemenite Arabic, as this type of Arabic was also spoken by Yemenite Jews and is distinct from the liturgical Hebrew and the conversational Hebrew of the communities.^[3] Among other things, Rabbi Qafih notes that the Yemenite Jews spoke Arabic with a distinct Jewish flavor, inclusive of pronouncing many Arabic words with vowels foreign to the Arabic language, e.g., the Qamats ( ×§Ö¸×žÖ·×¥) and Tseri (צֵירִי‎).^[4] Hence, pronunciation of Yemenite Hebrew was not only uninfluenced by Arabic, but it influenced the pronunciation of Arabic by the Jews, despite the Jewish presence in Yemen for over a millennium.

Among the dialects of Hebrew preserved into modern times, Yemenite Hebrew is regarded as one of the forms closest to Hebrew as used in ancient times, particularly Tiberian Hebrew and Mishnaic Hebrew. This is evidenced in part by the fact that Yemenite Hebrew preserves a separate sound for every consonant - except for sāmeḵ (ס) and šīn (שׂ‎), which are both pronounced /s/,^[5] but which had already merged in ancient times, as evident in the spelling variants in the Dead Sea Scrolls.^[6]

History

Yemenite Hebrew may have been derived from, or influenced by, the Hebrew of the Geonic era Babylonian Jews: the oldest Yemenite manuscripts use the Babylonian system of vowel symbols, which is believed to antedate the Tiberian vowel system.^[7] As late as 937 CE, Qirqisāni wrote: “The biblical readings which are wide-spread in Yemen are in the Babylonian tradition."^[8] Indeed, in many respects, such as the assimilation of paṯaḥ and səġūl, the current Yemenite pronunciation fits the Babylonian notation better than the Tiberian. This is because in the Babylonian tradition of vocalization there is no distinct symbol for the səġūl.^[9] It does not follow, as claimed by some scholars, that the pronunciation of the two communities was identical, any more than the pronunciation of Sephardim and Ashkenazim is the same because both use the Tiberian symbols. A distinct feature of Yemenite Hebrew is the slight similarity between the ḥōlam and the ṣêrệ which, to the untrained ear, sound as though they were the same phoneme. Yemenite grammarians will point out the difference. For example, the word "shalom" (Hebrew: שָׁלוֹם), is pronounced sho løm, the /øː/ having the phonetic sound of something between a non-rhotic English "er" and the German o-umlaut. For all practical purposes, this sound is similar to the "i" in girl. Some see the assimilation of these two vowels as a local variant within the wider Babylonian family, which the Yemenites happened to follow.^[10] It should be noted that these sounds are only identical in a minority of Yemenite Jews (e.g. the Jews of the provinces), as opposed to that of the Sana'ani pronunciation which most Yemenite Jews use.

Section of Yemenite Siddur, with Babylonian supralinear punctuation (Pirke Avot)

The following chart shows the seven vowel paradigms found in the Babylonian supralinear punctuation, which are reflected to this day by the Yemenite pronunciation of Biblical lections and liturgies, though they now use the Tiberian symbols. For example, there is no separate symbol for the Tiberian səġūl and the pataḥ and amongst Yemenites they have the same phonetic sound.^[11] It should be noted in this connection that the Babylonian vowel signs remained in use in Yemen long after the Babylonian Biblical tradition had been abandoned, almost until our own time.^[12]

vowels with ב
Tiberian equivalent	qamaṣ[13]	paṯaḥ, (səġūl)	ṣerê[14]	shewā mobile (šĕwā naʻ)[15][16]	ḥōlam[17]	ḥiraq	šūraq, qubbūṣ
value	/oː/	/æ/	/e/	/æ/	/o/	/i/	/u/

Distinguishing Features

• There are double pronunciations for all six bÉ™gadkÉ™pat/bagadkapat letters (Hebrew: בג"ד כפ"ת):
  • The phoneme gímel/ÄŸimal (Hebrew: ×’Ö¼) with the dāḡēš/dageÅ¡ is pronounced in the Yemenite Jewish tradition as the English "j" in the word "Jack" . Thus, the verse וּמִי, גּוֹי גָּדוֹל (Deut. 4:8) is realized as, u'mi, ÄŸoi ÄŸaḏol ([u'mi dÊ’oi dÊ’aðol]) (as in Peninsular Arabic ج ÄŸÄ«m /dÍ¡Ê’/).^[18]
  • gímel/gimal (Hebrew: ×’) without dāḡēš/dageÅ¡ is pronounced غ /É£/ like Arabic Ä¡ayn.
  • dāleṯ/dal (Hebrew: ד) without dāḡēš/dageÅ¡ is pronounced Ø° /ð/ as the "th" in "this". Thus, the word "one" in Shema Yisrael is always pronounced eḥaḏ ([eħað]).^[19]
  • The pronunciation of tāv/taw (Hebrew: ת) without dāḡēš/dageÅ¡ as Ø« /θ/ is as the "th" sound in "thick" or "thank" (shared by other Mizrahi Hebrew dialects such as Iraqi). Thus, Sabbath day is pronounced in Yemenite Hebrew, Yom ha-Shabboth ([yom ha-ʃaboθ]).^[20]
• Vāv/Waw (Hebrew: ו) is pronounced /w/ as the English "w" (as also in Iraqi Hebrew and Ùˆ in Arabic).
• Emphatic and guttural letters have nearly the same sounds, and are produced from deep in the throat, as in Arabic.
  • The voiceless pharyngeal fricative of ḥêṯ/ħet (Hebrew: ×—) is equivalent to the Arabic character Ø­ /ħ/, with a slight aspirated sound, but never like the "ch" in Bach.
  • The phoneme ʻáyin/зajin (Hebrew: ×¢) is identical to the Arabic ع /Ê•/, and is a voiced pharyngeal fricative. (The Sefardic pronunciation of ×¢, however, is of a weaker nature).
• The Hebrew phoneme /q/ (Hebrew: ק) (qof) is pronounced by the Yemenites (excluding the Jews from Shar'ab) as a voiced /g/, as in "go," (as in Peninsular Arabic Ù‚ gāf /g/) and is in keeping with their tradition (assuming it to be correct) that a different phonetic sound is given for gímel/gimal (see supra).
• The phoneme resh (Hebrew: ר), or what is also known as the Hebrew rhotic consonant /r/, is pronounced in Yemenite Jewish tradition as an alveolar trill, rather than the uvular trill [Ê€], and is identical to Arabic ر rāʾ, and follows the conventions of old Hebrew.^[21]

Vowels

• Qāmaá¹£ gāḏôl/Qamac qadol is pronounced /ɔː/, as in Ashkenazi Hebrew. The Yemenite pronunciation for Qamats gadol (קמץ גדול) and Qamats qatan (קמץ קטן) is identical (see infra.).
• There is no distinction between the vowels paṯaḥ/pataħ and səḡôl/segol all being pronounced /æ(ː)/, like the Arabic fatḥa (a feature also found in old Babylonian Hebrew, where a single symbol was used for all three).^[9] A Å¡É™wâ nāʻ/Å¡wa naз, however, is identical to a חטף פתח and חטף סגול.
• Final hê/hej with mappîq/mefiq (a dot in the centre) has an aspirated sound, generally stronger sounding than the regular hê/hej. Aleph (אַלַף) with a dagesh (a dot) - a rare occurrence - is pronounced with a glottal stop, e.g., the word וַיָּבִיאּוּ in Genesis 43:26.^[22] Conversely, some words in Hebrew which are written with the final hê ending (without the mappîq) are realized by a secondary glottal stop, meaning, they are abruptly cut short, as when one holds his breath.^[23]
• A semivocalic sound is heard before paṯaḥ gānûḇ/pataħ ganuv (paṯaḥ coming between a long vowel and a final guttural): thus ruaħ (spirit) sounds like rúwwaḥ and sijaħ (speech) sounds like síyyaḥ. (This is shared with other Mizrahi pronunciations, such as the Syrian.)

Yemenite pronunciation is not uniform, and Morag has distinguished five sub-dialects, of which the best known is probably Sana'ani, originally spoken by Jews in and around Sana'a. Roughly, the points of difference are as follows:

• In some dialects, ḥōlem/ħolam (long "o" in modern Hebrew) is pronounced /øː/ (anywhere from non-rhotic English "er" to German o-umlaut), while in others it is pronounced /eː/ like ṣêrệ/cerej. (This last pronunciation is shared with Lithuanian Jews.)
• Some dialects (e.g. Sharab) do not differentiate between bêṯ/bet with dāḡēš/dageÅ¡ and without. This is in accordance with most of Mizrahi Hebrew.
• Sana'ani Hebrew primarily places stress on the penultimate syllable, as in Ashkenazi Hebrew.

Qamats Gadol & Qamats Qatan

The Yemenites in their reading practices continue the orthographic conventions of the early grammarians, such as Abraham ibn Ezra and Aaron Ben-Asher. One basic rule of grammar states that every word which has a long vowel sound, that is, one of either five vowel sounds whose mnemonics are "pītūḥei ḥötham" (i.e. ḥiraq, šūraq, ṣeré, ḥölam and qamaṣ), whenever there is written beside one of these long vowel sounds a meteg (or what is also called a ga’ayah) and which is denoted by a small vertical line below the word (such as shown here זָ_|כְרוּ), it indicates that the vowel (in this case, qamaṣ) must be drawn out with a prolonged sound. For example, ōōōōōō, instead of ō, (e.g. zoː— kh^ǝ ru). In the Sephardic tradition, however, the practice is different altogether, insofar that they will also alter the phonetic sound of the long vowel qamaṣ whenever the vowel appears alongside a meteg (i.e. a small vertical line), giving to it the sound of "a", as in cat, instead of "ōōōōō." Thus, for the verse in Hebrew: כָּל עַצְמוֹתַי תֹּאמַרְנָה (Psalm 35:10), the Sephardic Jews will pronounce the word כָּל as "kal" (e.g. kal ʕaṣmotai, etc.), instead of kol ʕaṣmotai as pronounced by both Yemenite and Ashkenazi Jewish communities.^[24]

The meteg, or ga’ayah, has actually two functions: (1) It extends the sound of the vowel; (2) It makes any Å¡ewa that is written immediately after the vowel a mobile Å¡ewa, meaning, the Å¡ewa itself takes on the sound of a reduced vowel in Germanic languages, equivalent to <É™>, or "a" in the word "about." For example: Å¡oː m^ǝ ru= (שָׁמְרו), yei r^ǝ du= (יֵרְדו), yei d^ǝ ‘u= (יֵדְעו), ʔö m^ǝ rim= (אוֹמְרים), šö m^ǝ rim= ( ×©××•Ö¹×žÖ°×¨×™×), sÄ« s^ǝ ra= (סִיסְרא), Å¡Å« v^ǝ kha= (שׁוּבְך) and tÅ« v^ǝ kha= (טוּבְך), et al.

The Qamats qatan is realized as the non-extended "o"-sound in the first qamats (qamaṣ) in the word, חָכְמָה ⇒ ḥokhma (wisdom).

The Yemenite qamaá¹£ ⟨  Ö¸ âŸ©, represented in the transliterated texts by the diaphoneme /oː/, is pronounced as the English "a"-sound in "all" or as in "halt", or "caught," and this phoneme is always the same, whether for a long or short vowel, with the exception that the long vowel sound is always prolonged.

Strict Application of Mobile Shewā

Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook and Rabbi Jacob Saphir have praised the Yemenites in their correct pronunciation of the Hebrew language.^[25] To this day they read the biblical lections and liturgies according to what is prescribed for Hebrew grammar, being meticulous to pronounce the mobile šĕwā Hebrew: שוא נע in each of its changing forms. While most other communities will also adhere to the rule of mobile šĕwā whenever two šĕwās are written one after the other, as in Hebrew: יִכְתְּבוּ, most have forgotten its other usages.

Mobile shĕwā

Aharon Ben-Asher, in his treatise on the proper usage of Hebrew vowels and trope symbols, writes on the šĕwā: "[It is] the servant of all the letters in the entire Scriptures, whether at the beginning of the word, or in the middle of the word, or at the end of the word; whether what is pronounced by the tongue or not pronounced, for it has many ways… However, if it is joined with one of four [guttural] letters, א ח ה ע, its manner [of pronunciation] will be like the manner of the vowel of the second letter in that word, such as: בְּֽהֹנוֹת ידיהם ורגליהם (Jud. 1:7) = b^ohonoth; מתי פתים תְּֽאֵהֲבוּ פתי (Prov. 1:22) = t^ei’eihavu; עיניו לְֽחֵלְכָה יצפנו (Ps. 10:8) = l^eiḥeiləkhah; שריה רְֽעֵלָיָה מרדכי (Ezra 2:2) = r^eiʻeiloyoh."^[26]

Mobile shewa (shĕwā-jiʻya)

Regarding the mobile Å¡Ä•wā and its usage amongst Yemenite Jews, Israeli grammarian, Shelomo Morag, wrote:^[27] "The pronunciation of the Å¡Ä•wā mobile preceding א, ×”, ×—, ×¢, or ר in the Yemenite tradition is realized in accordance with the vowel following the guttural; quantitatively, however, this is an ultra-short vowel. For example, a word such as Hebrew: וְחוּט is pronounced w^uḥuá¹­. A Å¡Ä•wā preceding a yōḏ is pronounced as an ultra-short ḥīreq: the word Hebrew: בְּיוֹם is pronounced bⁱyōm. This is the way the Å¡Ä•wā is known to have been pronounced in the Tiberian tradition."

Other examples of words where the mobile šĕwā in the same word will take-up the phonetic sound of the vowel assigned to the adjacent guttural letter,^[28] or where a mobile šĕwā preceding the letter yod (י) will take up the phonetic sound of the yod, can be seen in the following:

• (Gen. 48:21) Hebrew: וְהֵשִׁיב = w^eiheishiv
• (Gen. 49:30) Hebrew: בַּמְּעָרָה = bam^oÊ»oroh
• (Gen. 50:10) Hebrew: בְּעֵבֶר = b^eiÊ»eiver
• (Exo. 7:27) Hebrew: וְאִם = wⁱ’im
• (Exo. 20:23) Hebrew: מִזְבְּחִי = mizbⁱḥī
• (Deut. 11:13) Hebrew: וְהָיָה = w^ohoyoh
• (Psalm 92:1-3)

מִזְמוֹר שִׁיר לְיוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת. טוֹב לְהֹדוֹת לַה' וּלְזַמֵּר לְשִׁמְךָ עֶלְיון. לְהַגִּיד בַּבֹּקֶר חַסְדֶּךָ וֶאֱמוּנָתְךָ בַּלֵּילוֹת

(vs. 1) lⁱyöm -- (vs. 2) l^ohödöth -- (vs. 3) l^ahaÄŸÄ«d

The above rule applies only to when one of the four guttural letters (אחהע), or a yod (י) or a resh (ר) follows the mobile šĕwā, but does not apply to the other letters which, in their case, the mobile šĕwā is always read as a short-sounding pataḥ.

The Vowel System Preserved in the Yemenite Tradition

Geographically isolated for centuries, the Yemenite Jews constituted a peculiar phenomenon within Diaspora Jewry. In their isolation they preserved specific traditions of both Hebrew and Aramaic. These traditions, transmitted from generation to generation through the teaching and reciting of the Bible, post-Biblical Hebrew literature (primarily the Mishnah), the Aramaic Targums of the Bible, and the Babylonian Talmud, are still alive.^[29] They are manifest in the traditional manner of reading post-Biblical Hebrew practised by most members of the community. The Yemenite reading traditions of the Bible are now based on the Tiberian text and vocalization,^[29] as proofread by the masorete, Aaron ben Asher, with the one exception that the vowel sǝġūl is pronounced as a pataḥ, since the sǝġūl did not exist in the Babylonian orthographic tradition to which the Jews of Yemen had previously been accustomed. In what concerns Biblical orthography, with the one exception of the sǝgūl, the Yemenite Jewish community does not differ from any other Jewish community.^[29]

Although the vast majority of post-Biblical Hebrew and Aramaic words are pronounced the same way, or nearly the same way, by all of Israel's diverse ethnic groups, including the Jews of Yemen, there are still other words whose phonemic system differs greatly from the way it is used in Modern Hebrew, the sense here being the tradition of vocalization of selective Hebrew words found in the Mishnah and Midrashic literature, or of Aramaic words found in the Talmud, and which tradition has been meticulously preserved by the Jews of Yemen. The following diagrams show a few of the more conspicuous differences in the Yemenite tradition of vocalization and which Israeli linguist, Shelomo Morag, believes reflects an ancient form of vocalizing the texts, and was once known and used by all Hebrew speakers.^[30]

Yemenite Hebrew Trans- literation Modern Hebrew Trans- literation אַוֵּיר[31] aw[ei]r אַוִּיר av[i]r אֵי אִפְשָׁר[32] ay [i]f- shoːr אִי אֶפְשָׁר ē [e]f- shar אֵינוּ[33] [ei].nū אֵינוֹ [ei].nō אִתְאֲמַר[34] ’i[θ]- ămær אִיתְּמַר[35] ’itmar בֵּיעוּר חָמֵץ[36] b[ei].ʻūr ḥoːmeṣ בִּיעוּר חָמֵץ b[i].ʻūr ħamets בן תֻּרְדְּיוֹן[37] ben Tur- d^iyön בן תְּרַדְיוֹן ben Ter- [a]diōn בָּצֵל[38] boːṣ[ei]l בָּצָל ba[ts]al בִּרְיָה[39] b[i]r.yoː בְּרִיָּה br[i].ya בָּתֵּי כְּנָסִיּוֹת[40] boːt[ei] kənoː- siyö[θ] בָּתֵּי כְּנֵסִיּוֹת bat[ei] knei- siyōt גֻּבְרָא[41] [dʒ]uv.roː גַּבְרָא [g]av.ra

Yemenite Hebrew Trans- literation Modern Hebrew Trans- literation גַּטּ[42] [dʒ]æṭ גֵּט [g]et גְּייָס[43] [dʒ]^īyoːs גַּייִס [g]ayīs גִּיעְגּוּעִין[44] [dʒ]īʕ- [dʒ]ū.ʕīn גַּעְגּוּעִין [g]a'a- [g]ū.'īn גְּנָאי[45] [dʒ]ǝnɔɪ̯ גְּנַאי [g]na[ai] דְּבֵּילָה[46] dǝb[ei]loː דְּבֵילָה d'[v]ela דְּבָק[47] dǝvoːq דֶּבֶק devek דור הַפַּלָּגָה[48] dōr ha- pæloːġoː דור הַפְּלָגָה dōr ha- plaga דְּכַתִיב[49] dǝ[χ]æ- [θ]īv דִּכְתִיב di[χ].tīv הַאיְדַּנָא[50] h[ai]- dænoː הַאִידְּנָא ha.'[i]d- na הוּרְדּוּס[51] Hūr.dūs הוֹרְדוֹס Hōr.dōs הִלְכּוֹת פסח[52] hil.kö[θ] pesaḥ הִלְכוֹת פסח hil.[χ]ōt pesa[ħ]

Yemenite Hebrew Trans- literation Modern Hebrew Trans- literation הִעְמִיד hi[ʕ]- mī[ð] הֶעֱמִיד he- [ʕ]emīd וִהְוִי דן[53] wih.wī doːn וֶהֱוֵי דן ve.he- v[ei] dan וְכַתִיב[54] wa.[χ]æ- [θ]īv וּכְתִיב ū[χ].tīv זְכוֹכִית[40][55] zə[χ]ö- [χ]ī[θ] זְכוּכִית zə[χ]ū- [χ]īt זָכִיּוֹת[56] zoː[χ]ī- yö[θ] זָכֻיּוֹת za[χ]u- yōt זְפָק[57] zǝfoːq זֶפֶק zefek חוֹמַשׁ בראשית[58] ḥö- mæsh bǝr[ei]- shī[θ] חוּמַּשׁ בראשית [ħ][u]- mash breishīt חֲלָזוֹן[40] ḥăloːzön חִלָּזוֹן [ħ]ilazōn חַשְׁמוּנַּאי[51] Ḥæsh- m[u]n- n[ai] חַשְׁמוֹנָאִי [ħ]ash- m[o]n[ai]

Notes on transliteration: In the Yemenite Jewish tradition, the vowel qamaá¹£ ⟨  Ö¸ âŸ©, is pronounced as the English "a"-sound in "all" or as in "halt", or "caught," and is signified by the diaphoneme /oː/. The Hebrew character Tau (Hebrew: ת), without a dot of accentuation, is realized by the symbol /θ/ and is pronounced as the English "th"-sound in "thank-you." The Hebrew character Gimal (Hebrew: ×’Ö¼), with a dot of accentuation, is signified by the diaphoneme /dÊ’/, and has the phonetic sound made by the English "j", as in "joy." The Hebrew word גנאי (in the above middle column, and meaning "a thing detestable"), is written in Yemenite Jewish tradition with a vowel qamaá¹£ beneath the Hebrew: × , but since it is followed by the letters אי it produces the sound of the diphthong "oy", as in "boy" or in "loin," and is realized by the diaphoneme ɔɪ.^[59] The vowel ḥolam in the Yemenite dialect is written here with the German phoneme /ö/, as in nördlich. Another peculiarity with the Yemenite dialect is that the vast majority of Yemenite Jews (excluding the Jews of Sharab in Yemen) will replace /q/, used here in transliteration of texts, with the phonetic sound of [É¡].

Yemenite Hebrew Trans- literation Modern Hebrew Trans- literation חֲתִיכָּה[60] ḥă[θ]Ä«koː חֲתִיכָה [ħ]atÄ«[χ]a טְלִית[61] ṭǝlÄ«[θ] טַלִּית talÄ«t טמאין מַדְרֵס[62] á¹­amei'in ma- [ð]reis טמאין מִדְרָס á¹­amei'in midras יְהֶא[63] yǝhæ יְהֵא yǝh[ei] יְכוּלִים[64] yǝ[χ]Å«lÄ«m יְכוֹלִים yǝ[χ]ō- lÄ«m יְרוּשְׁלְמִי[65] yerÅ«sh- lǝmÄ« יְרוּשַׁלְמִי yerÅ«- shalmÄ« יָרָק[66] yoːroːq יֶרֶק yerek כּוּמָר[67] kÅ«moːr כּוֹמֶר kōmer כּוֹתָל[68] kö[θ]oːl כּוֹתֶל kōtel ×›Ö´Ö¼×™ הַאיֵ גְּוַנָא[69] kÄ« hay[ei] [dÊ’]ǝ- wænoː ×›Ö´Ö¼×™ הַאי גַּוְנָא kÄ« hai [g] avna כל דצריך לְפַסַּח יֵיתֵי וִיפַסַּח[70] yei[θ]ei wÄ«fæssæḥ כל דצריך לפסח יֵיתֵי וְיִפְסַח yeitei veyif- sa[ħ]

Yemenite Hebrew Trans- literation Modern Hebrew Trans- literation כָּרֵיתוֹת[71] koːr[ei]- [θ]ö[θ] כְּרִיתוּת kǝrÄ«tÅ«t כִּשְׁהוּא / כִּשְׁהֶן[72] kish.hÅ« / kish.hæn כְּשֶׁהוּא / כְּשֶׁהֶן kǝshehÅ« / kǝshehen לְאַפַּוְקֵי[73] lǝ’æpaÊŠ- q[ei] לְאַפּוּקֵי lǝ’apÅ«- k[ei] לְבַטַּל[74] lǝvæṭṭæl לְבַטֵּל lǝvattel לִגְמַרֵי[75] liÄ¡.mærei לִגַמְרֵי ligam.rei לִידָה[76] li[ð]oː לֵידָה l[ei]da לוֹלָב[77] lōloːv לוּלָב lÅ«lav לֵישַׁב בסוכה[78] l[ei]shæv לֵישֵׁב בסוכה l[ei]- sh[ei]v לִמּוֹל את הבן[79] limmöl e [θ] haben לָמוּל את הבן lamÅ«l et haben לְמַחוֹת[80] lÉ™mæ- ḥḥō[θ] לִמְחוֹת lim.[ħ]ōt לְמַעַט lÉ™mæ- [Ê•]æṭ לְמַעֵט lÉ™ma[Ê•]et לְפִיכָּךְ[81] lÉ™fÄ«koː[χ] לְפִיכָךְ lÉ™fÄ«[χ]a[χ]

Yemenite Hebrew Trans- literation Modern Hebrew Trans- literation לְקָרַב / לְרַחַק[82] lÉ™qoːræv / lÉ™ræḥæq לְקָרֵב / לְרַחֵק lÉ™ka- r[ei]v / lÉ™ra[ħ]ek לִשְׁאַל[83] שאלה lish’æl לִשְׁאֹל שאלה lish’ol לְשַׁקַּר[84] lÉ™shæ- qqær לְשַׁקֵּר lÉ™shak[ei]r לְתַכֶּן עולם lÉ™[θ]ækæn [Ê•] Åloːm לְתַקֵּן עולם lÉ™tak[ei]n [Ê•] Ålam מְבוּקְשׁוֹ[85] mÉ™vÅ«q.shö מְבוּקָּשׁוֹ mÉ™vÅ«- kkashō מה אִכְּפַת[86] mæ ’ik- fæ[θ] מה אִכְפַּת ma ’i[χ].pat מה היום מִיָּמִים[87] mæ hæyöm mÄ«yoːmÄ«m מה יום מִיּוֹמַיִם ma yōm mÄ«yōmayÄ«m מְזָמְנִין[88] mÉ™zoːm.nÄ«n מְזַמְּנִין mÉ™zam.nÄ«n מִחֲזִי[89] כמבשל miḥăzÄ« מִיחְזֵי כמבשל mi[ħ].z[ei] מְחָנְפִים[90] mǝḥoːn.fÄ«m מַחֲנִיפִים ma[ħ]ă- nifÄ«m מִיּוֹשֵׁב[91] mÄ«yösh[ei]v מְיוּשָּׁב mÄ«yÅ«shav

It is to be noted that in the Yemenite tradition, the plural endings on the words זָכִיּוֹת ( merits), מַלְכִיּוֹת (kingdoms), גָּלִיּוֹת (exiles), טעִיּוֹת ( errors), טרפִיּוֹת (defective animals) and עֵדִיּוֹת (testimonies), all differ from the way they are vocalized in Modern Hebrew. In Modern Hebrew, these words are marked with a shuraq, as follows: זָכֻיּוֹת - מַלְכֻיּוֹת - גָּלֻיּוֹת - טעֻיּוֹת - טרפֻיּוֹת - עֵדֻיּוֹת. Although the word Hebrew: מַלְכֻיוֹת (kingdoms) in Daniel 8:22 is vocalized malkhuyöth, as it is in Modern Hebrew, Shelomo Morag thinks that the Yemenite tradition reflects a phonological phenomenon known as dissimilation, whereby similar consonants or vowels in a word become less similar.^[92] Others explain the discrepancy as being in accordance with a general rule of practice, prevalent in the 2nd century CE, where the Hebrew in rabbinic literature was distinguished from that of Biblical Hebrew, and put into an entire class and category of its own, with its own rules of vocalization (see infra).

The Hebrew noun חֲתִיכָּה (ḥăṯīkkah), in the upper left column, is a word meaning "slice/piece" (in the absolute state), or חֲתִיכַּת בשר ("piece of meat") in the construct state. The noun is of the same metre as קְלִיפָּה (qǝlipah), a word meaning "peel," or the "rind" of a fruit. Both the kaph and pe in these nouns are with a dagesh. However, the same roots applied to different meters, serving as gerunds, as in "slicing/cutting" [meat] and "peeling" [an apple], the words would respectively be חֲתִיכָה (ḥăṯīḫah) and קליפָה (qǝlīfah), without a dagesh in the Hebrew characters Kaph and Pe (i.e. rafe letters), such as when the verb is used with the preposition "after": e.g. "after peeling the apple" = אחרי קליפת התפוח, or "after cutting the meat" = אחרי חתיכת הבשר.

Yemenite Hebrew Trans- literation Modern Hebrew Trans- literation מים פוּשָׁרין[93] mayÄ«m fÅ«shoːrÄ«n מים פּוֹשְׁרִין mayÄ«m pōsh.rÄ«n מֵיעוּט[94] m[ei][Ê•]Å«á¹­ מִיעוּט mÄ«[Ê•]Å«t מכאן וְאִילַּךְ[95] mikæn w^i’ī- llæ[χ] מכאן וְאֵילַךְ mikan vǝ [ei]- la[χ] מְכִילְּתָא mǝ[χ]Ä«- llǝ[θ]oː מְכִילְתָּא mǝ[χ]Ä«lta מִלְוָה[96] milwoː מִלְוֶה milveh מְלָחֵם בַּרְזֶל[97] mǝloː- ḥ[ei]m bærzæl מַלְחֵם בַּרְזֶל mal- [ħ][ei]m barzel מלכות הָרִשְׁעָה mæl[χ]Å«[θ] hoː- rish[Ê•]oː מלכות הָרְשָׁעָה mal[χ]Å«t harǝ- sha[Ê•]a מְנוּדָּה[98] mǝnÅ«ddoː מְנוּדֶה mǝnÅ«deh מֵעוֹמֵד[99] m[ei]- [Ê•]öm[ei]d מְעוּמָּד mǝ[Ê•]Å«- mmad מַעְרָבִית[100] mæ[Ê•]- roːvÄ«[θ] מַעֲרָבִית ma[Ê•]ă- ravit מַעְשַׂר[101] בהמה mæ[Ê•]- sær bǝheimoː מַעֲשֵׂר בהמה ma[Ê•]ă- s[ei]r bǝhemah

Yemenite Hebrew Trans- literation Modern Hebrew Trans- literation מִקְוָה[102] miqwoː מִקְוֶה mikveh מַקְפִיד[103] mæq.fī[ð] מַקְפִּיד mak.pīd מְקַרֶּא את ההלל[104] mǝqærræ e[θ] &c. מַקְרִיא את ההלל makrī et &c. מְרוֹסָס[105] mǝrösoːs מְרֻסָּס mǝrussas מַרְחֵץ[106] (בֵּית הַמַּרְחֵץ) mær- ḥ[ei]ṣ מֶרְחָץ (בֵּית הַמֶּרְחָץ) mer[ħ]ats מְרַחְשְׁוָן[107] mǝræḥ- shǝwoːn מַרְחֶשְׁוָן mar- [ħ]esh- van מִשּׁוֹם[108] mishöm מִשּׁוּם mishūm מִשְׁכּוֹן mishkön מַשְׁכּוֹן mashkōn מְשַׁכַּחַת[109] עָוֹן mǝshækæ- ḥæ[θ] &c. מַשְׁכַּחַת עָוֹן mashka[ħ]at &c. מְתַלְּעִין[110] mǝ[θ]æ- llǝ[ʕ]īn מַתְלִיעִים matli- [ʕ]īm מִתְּקָן[111] mittǝqoːn מְתוּקָּן mǝtukan נֶאֱמָר næ'ămoːr נֶאֱמַר ne'ĕmar נִהְנָה, נִהְנִין[112] nih.noː, nih.nīn נֶהֱנָה, נֶהֱנִין nehĕna, nehĕnīn

Yemenite Hebrew Trans- literation Modern Hebrew Trans- literation נוֹיִ סוכה[113] nöyī sūkkoː נוֹי סוכה nɔɪ sūkkah נוּלָּד[114] nūlloː[ð] נוֹלַד nōlad נוּצָּר[115] nūṣṣoːr נוֹצַר nōtsar נִכְנָס[116] ni[χ].noːs נִכְנַס ni[χ].nas נָמוֹךְ noːmö[χ] נָמוּךְ namū[χ] נִמּוֹס nimmös נִימוּס nimmūs נְפָט[117] nəfoːṭ נֵפְט neft נִצְטַעַר[118] niṣṭæ- [ʕ]ær נִצְטַעֵר ni[ts]ta- [ʕ][ei]r נִקְרַאַת[119] niqræ- ʔæ[θ] נִקְרֵאת nikr[ei]t נִתְגַּיַיר[120] ni[θ][dʒ]æ- yær נִתְגַּיֵּיר nit.gayer סְבַרָא sǝværoː סְבָרָא sǝvara סַגֵי[121] sæġ[ei] סַגִי sa[g]ī סוֹמֶא[122] sömæ סוּמָא sūma סוּרַג[123] sūræġ סוֹרֶג sōre[g] סְעוֹדָה[124] sǝ[ʕ]ö- [ð]oː סְעוּדָה sǝ[ʕ]ū- dah סְקֵילָה[125] sǝq[ei]loː סְקִילָה skīlah

In the Talmud (Ḥullin 137b; Avodah Zarah 58b), the Sages of Israel had a practice to read words derived from the Scriptures in their own given way, while the same words derived from the Talmud or in other exegetical literature (known as the Midrash) in a different way: "When Isse the son of Hinei went up [there], he found Rabbi Yoḥanan teaching [a certain Mishnah] to the creations, saying, raḥelim (i.e. רחלים = the Hebrew word for "ewes"), etc. He said to him, 'Teach it [by its Mishnaic name = רחלות], raḥeloth!' He replied, '[What I say is] as it is written [in the Scriptures]: Ewes (raḥelim), two-hundred.' (Gen. 32:15) He answered him, 'The language of the Torah is by itself, and the language employed by the Sages is by itself!'" (לשון תורה לעצמה, לשון חכמים לעצמן).^[126]

This passage from the Talmud is often quoted by grammarians of Yemenite origin to explain certain "discrepancies" found in vocalization of words where a comparable source can be found in the Hebrew Bible, such as the Yemenite tradition in rabbinic literature to say Hebrew: מַעְבִּיר (maʻbīr),^[127] rather than Hebrew: מַעֲבִיר (maʻăvīr) – although the latter rendering appears in Scripture (Deuteronomy 18:10), or to say Hebrew: זִיעָה (zīʻah), with ḥīraq,^[128] rather than, Hebrew: זֵיעָה (zeiʻah), with ṣerê, although it too appears in Scripture (Genesis 3:19), or to say Hebrew: ברכת המזון (birkhath ha-mazon) (= kaph rafe), rather than as the word "blessing" in the construct state which appears in the Scriptures (Genesis 28:4, et al.), e.g. birkath Avraham (ברכת אברהם), with kaph dagesh. Others, however, say that these anomalies reflect a tradition that antedates the Tiberian Masoretic texts.^[129][130]

Yemenite Hebrew Trans- literation Modern Hebrew Trans- literation עוּנְשִׁין[131] [ʕ]ūn- shīn עוֹנָשִׁים [ʕ]ōna- shīm עֲזֶרֶת הנשים[132] [ʕ]ăzæ- ræ[θ] &c. עֶזְרַת הנשים [ʕ]ez.rat &c. עַל שׁוֹם[63] [ʕ]æl shöm עַל שׁוּם [ʕ]al shūm עִנְוְתָנוּתוֹ[133] [ʕ]inwǝ- [θ]oː- nū[θ]ö עַנְוְתָנוּתוֹ [ʕ]an- vetanūtō עֲקִידַת יצחק[134] [ʕ]ăqī- [ð]æ[θ] Yiṣ.ḥoːq עֲקֵידַת יצחק [ʕ]ăk[ei]- dat Yits- [ħ]ak עַרָּבִים זה לזה[135] [ʕ]ærroː- vīm &c. עֲרֵבִים זה לזה [ʕ]aravīm &c. עַרְבִּית[136] [ʕ]ær- bī[θ] עַרְבִית [ʕ]arvīt פַזְמוּן[137] fæz.mūn פִּזְמוֹן piz.mōn פָּחוּת מכזית[138] poːḥū[θ] &c. פָּחוֹת מכזית pa[ħ]ōt &c. פַּטְרָיוֹת pæ- ṭroːyö[θ] פִּטְרִיּוֹת pitriyōt פָסוּק foːsūq פָּסוּק pasūk

Yemenite Hebrew Trans- literation Modern Hebrew Trans- literation פִּרְיָה וְרִבְיָה[139] piryoː wǝriv.yoː פְּרִיָּה וּרְבִיָּה pǝriyyah u'rǝviyya פִּרְצוּף[140] pirṣūf פַּרְצוּף par[ts]ūf פֵּרַק f[ei]ræq פֶּרֶק perek פָרָשָׁה[141] foːroːshoːʔ פָּרָשָׁה parashah פָּרָשַׁת-הָעֲבוֹר[142] poːroː- shæ[θ] hoː- [ʕ]ăvör פרשת-העִבּוּר parashat ha- [ʕ]ibbūr פִּתְקִין[143] pi[θ].qīn פְּתָקִים pǝtakīm צְבָע[144] ṣǝvoː[ʕ] צֶבַע [ts]eva[ʕ] צַדּוּקִים[145] ṣæddūqīm צְדוֹקִים [ts]'dōkīm צִפּוֹרַיִם[146] ṣipörræyyīm צִפּוֹרִים [ts]ipōrīm קְבָע[147] qǝvoː[ʕ] קֶבַע keva קוּנְטְרִס qūn.ṭris קוּנְטְרֵס kūn.tres קָטְנִית, קָטְנָיוֹת[148] qoːṭnī[θ] / qoːṭ- noːyö[θ] קִטְנִית, קִטְנִיּוֹת kit.n[i]t / kit.niyōt קִיבַּל[149] qībbæl קִיבֵּל kibbel קֵיסַם[150] q[ei]sæm קִיסָם k[i]sam קֶלֶף[151] qælæf קְלָף k'laf

Yemenite Hebrew Trans- literation Modern Hebrew Trans- literation קְפִידָה[152] qǝf[i][ð]oː קְפֵידָה k'f[ei]dah קֻרְדּוֹם qurdöm קַרְדּוֹם kardōm קִרְיַת שְׁמַע[153] qiryæ[θ] shǝma[Ê•] קְרִיַּת שמע kriyat shǝma קָרְקֳבָּן[154] qoːrqoːboːn קוּרְקְבָן kÅ«rkǝvan קַרְקָע[155] qær- qoː[Ê•] קַרְקַע karka[Ê•] ר' חַלְפְּתָא[156] RibbÄ« Ḥæl- pǝ[θ]oː ר' חֲלַפְתָּא RabbÄ« [ħ] Äƒlaf- ta ר' יוֹסֵי הַגָּלִילִי[157] RibbÄ« Yö- s[ei] hæ- [dÊ’]oːlÄ«lÄ« ר' יוֹסִי הַגְּלִילִי RabbÄ« YōsÄ« ha- [g]lÄ«lÄ« רב הַאיֵי גאון Roːv Hæ- y[ei] &c. רב הַאי גאון Rav Hai &c. רִבִּי[158] RibbÄ« רַבִּי RabbÄ« רוח שָׁטוּת[159] rÅ«waḥ shoː- á¹­Å«[θ] רוח שְׁטוּת rÅ«wa[ħ] sh't[u]t רוֹמֵי[160] Röm[ei] רוֹמִי Rōm[i] רְמָז[161] rǝmoːz רֶמֶז remez שְׁאֵין[162] sh’[ei]n שֶׁאֵין she- ’[ei]n

In Yemenite tradition, many words in both Biblical and Mishnaic Hebrew which are written with the final hê ending (without the mappîq) are realized by a secondary glottal stop, meaning, they are abruptly cut short, as when one holds his breath. Shelomo Morag who treats upon this peculiarity in the Yemenite tradition of vocalization brings down two examples from the Book of Isaiah, although by no means exclusive, where he shows the transliteration for the words תִּפָּדֶה in Isaiah 1:27 and וְנֵלְכָה in Isaiah 2:5, and which are both given the diaphoneme /Ê”/ showing an abrupt ending, as in tippoːdä (Ê”) and wǝnel^ăχoː(Ê”) respectively.^[163] The word פָרָשָׁה (Bible Codex^[164]) in the upper-middle column is pronounced in the same way, e.g. foːroːshoːʔ.

Yemenite Hebrew Trans- literation Modern Hebrew Trans- literation שְׁאִם[128] sh’im שֶׁאִם she’[i]m שְׁבוֹת[165] shǝvö[θ] שְׁבוּת shǝvūt שְׁבָח[166] shǝvoːḥ שֶׁבַח sheva[ħ] שַׁחְרִית[136] shæḥ- rī[θ] שַׁחֲרִית sha[ħ]ărit שַׁיֵיךְ[167] shæ- y[ei][χ] שַׁיָּךְ shay- ya[χ] שִׁינָה[168] shīnoː שֵׁינָה sh[ei]nah שֵׁיעוּר[94] sh[ei]- [ʕ]ūr שִׁיעוּר sh[i][ʕ]ūr שֶׁיַּעְרִיב[169] שמשו shäyæ[ʕ]- rīv &c. שֶׁיַּעֲרִיב שמשו sheya[ʕ]ărīv שְׁיַרֵי הדם[170] sh^iyær[ei] hædoːm שִׁירֵי הדם sh[i]r[ei] hadam שֶׁלְּ... שֶׁלַּ... שֶׁלִּ... שֶׁלָּ...[171] shäll[ǝ] שֶׁל shel שֵׁם הֲוִיָּה[172] sh[ei]m hăwiyyoː שם הֲוָיָ"ה shem havayah

Yemenite Hebrew Trans- literation Modern Hebrew Trans- literation שָׁעַת[173] shoː[ʕ]æ[θ]- שְׁעַת shǝ[ʕ]at- שְׁפוּד[174] shǝfū[ð] שִׁפּוּד shipūd שְׂרַגָּא[175] sǝræ[dʒ]oː שְׁרָגָא shra[g]a שִׁרְטוּט[176] shirṭūṭ שִׂרְטוּט sirtūt שְׁתָיָה[177] (אבן שתיה) shǝ[θ]oːyoː שְׁתִיָּה (אבן שתיה) sh'tiyah תְּחָיַת המתים[178] tǝḥoːyæ[θ] hæ- m[ei][θ]īm תְּחִיַת המתים tǝ[ħ]iyat ha- m[ei]tīm תְּלָאי[179] tǝlɔɪ̯ תְּלַאי tǝl[ai] תִּלְמוֹד לוֹמַר[180] tilmö[ð] lömær תַּלְמוּד לוֹמַר talmūd lōmar תְּנוֹ רַבָּנַן[181] tǝnö ræbboːnæn תָּנוּ רַבָּנָן tanū rabbanan תֻּרְנְגוֹל[182] turnǝġöl תַּרְנְגוֹל tarnǝ[g]ōl תֻּשְׁבְּחוֹת[183] דוד בן ישי tushbǝḥö[θ] &c. תִּשְׁבְּחוֹת tishbǝ[ħ]ōt תִּשְׁרִי[184] tishrī תִּשְׁרֵי tishr[ei]

Excursus: The preposition (Hebrew: שֶׁלְּ... שֶׁלַּ... שֶׁלִּ... שֶׁלָּ ...), translated as < of > or <belonging to> in English, is unique in the Yemenite Jewish tradition. The Hebrew preposition is always written with the noun, joined together as one word, and the lamed is always accentuated with a dagesh. For example, if the noun, מלך ⇒ king, would normally have been written with the definite article "the," as in הַמֶּלֶךְ ⇒ the king, and the noun was to show possession, as in the sentence: "the palace of the king," the definite article "the" (Hebrew: ה) is dropped, but the same vowel pataḥ of the definite article is carried over to the lamed, as in שֶׁלַּמֶּלֶךְ, instead of של המלך. The vowel on the lamed will sometimes differ, depending on what noun comes after the preposition. For example, the definite article "the" in Hebrew nouns which begin with aleph or resh and sometimes ayin, such as in הָאָדָם and in הָרִאשׁוֹן, or in הָעוֹלָם, is written with the vowel qamaṣ – in which case, the vowel qamaṣ is carried over to the lamed, as in שֶׁלָּאָדָם and in שֶׁלָּרִאשׁוֹן and in שֶׁלָּעוֹלָם. Another general rule is that whenever a possessive noun is written without the definite article "the", as in the words, "a king's sceptre," or "the sceptre of a king" (Heb. מלך), the lamed in the preposition is written with the vowel shǝwa (i.e. mobile shǝwa), as in שרביט שֶׁלְּמֶּלֶךְ, and as in, "if it belongs to Israel" ⇒ אם הוא שֶׁלְּיִשְׂרַאֵל. Whenever the noun begins with a shǝwa, as in the proper noun Solomon (Heb. שְׁלֹמֹה) and one wanted to show possession, the lamed in the preposition is written with a ḥiraq, as in (Song of Solomon 3:7): מטתו שֶׁלִּשְׁלֹמֹה ⇒ "Solomon's bed", or as in עונשם שֶׁלִּרְשָׁעִים ⇒ "the punishment of the wicked", or in חבילה שֶׁלִּתְרוּמָה ⇒ "a bundle of heave-offering."^[185]

Another rule of practice in Hebrew grammar is that two shǝwas <חְ> are never written one after the other at the beginning of any word; neither can two ḥaṭaf pataḥs <חֲ> or two ḥaṭaf sǝġūls <חֱ> be written at the beginning of a word one after the other. The practical implication arising from this rule is that when there is a noun beginning with a ḥaṭaf pataḥ, as in the word, חֲבִרְתָּהּ ⇒ “her companion”, and one wishes to add thereto the preposition “to” – as in, “to her companion” ⇒ לַחֲבִרְתָּהּ, the lamed is written with the vowel pataḥ, instead of a shǝwa (i.e. a mobile shǝwa), seeing that the shǝwa at the beginning of a word and the ḥaṭaf pataḥ, as well as the ḥaṭaf sǝġūl, are all actually one and the same vowel (in the Babylonian tradition), and it is as though he had written two shǝwas one after the other. Likewise, in the possessive case, “belonging to her companion” ⇒ שֶׁלַּחֲבִרְתָּהּ, the lamed in the preposition של is written with the vowel pataḥ.

Hebrew vernacular

The Leiden MS. of the Jerusalem Talmud is important in that it preserves some earlier variants to textual readings of that Talmud, such as in Tractate Pesaḥim 10:3 (70a), which brings down the old Palestinian-Hebrew word for charoseth (the sweet relish eaten at Passover), viz. dūkeh (Hebrew: דוכה), instead of rūbeh/rabah (Hebrew: רובה), saying with a play on words: “The members of Isse's household would say in the name of Isse: Why is it called dūkeh? It is because she pounds [the spiced ingredients] with him.” The Hebrew word for "pound" is dakh (Heb. דך), which rules out the spelling of " rabah " (Heb. רבה), as found in the printed editions. Today, the Jews of Yemen, in their vernacular of Hebrew, still call the charoseth by the name dūkeh.^[186]

Other quintessential Hebrew words which have been preserved by the Jews of Yemen is their manner of calling a receipt of purchase by the name, roʔoːyoː (Hebrew: רְאָיָה), rather than the word " qabbalah " that is now used in Modern Hebrew.^[187] The weekly biblical lection read on Sabbath days is called by the name seder (Hebrew: סדר), since the word parashah (Hebrew: פרשה) has a completely different meaning, denoting a Bible Codex containing the first Five Books of Moses (plural: codices = פרשיות).^[188]

Charity; alms (Hebrew: מִצְוָה, miṣwoː), so-called in Yemenite Jewish parlance,^[189] was usually in the form of bread, collected in baskets each Friday before the Sabbath by those appointed over this task for distribution among the needy, without them being brought to shame. The same word is often used throughout the Jerusalem Talmud, as well as in Midrashic literature, to signify what is given out to the poor and needy.^[190] Today, in Modern Hebrew, the word is seldom used to imply charity, replaced now by the word, ts’dakah (Heb. צְדָקָה). In contrast, the word צדקה amongst Jews in Sana’a was a tax levied upon Jewish householders, particular those whose professions were butchers, and which tax consisted of hides and suet from butchered animals, and which things were sold on a daily basis by the Treasurer, and the money accruing from the sale committed to the public fund for the Jewish poor of the city, which money was distributed to the city's poor twice a year; once on Passover, and once on Sukkot.^[191] The fund itself was known by the name toːḏeir (Hebrew: תָּדֵיר), lit. "the constant [revenues]."^[192]

Although Jews in Yemen widely made-use of the South-Arabic word mukhwāṭ (Arabic: المُخْوَاط‎) for the “metal pointer” (stylus) used in pointing at the letters of sacred writ, they also knew the old Hebrew word for the same, which they called makhtev (Hebrew: מַכְתֵּב).^[193] The following story is related about this instrument in Midrash Rabba: “Rabban [Shimon] Gamliel says: ‘Five-hundred schools were in Beter, while the smallest of them wasn’t less than three-hundred children. They used to say, ‘If the enemy should ever come upon us, with these metal pointers (Hebrew: מַכְתֵּבִין) we’ll go out against them and stab them!’…”^[194]

In other peculiar words of interest, they made use of the word, shilṭön (Hebrew: שִׁלְטוֹן), for “governor” or “king,” instead of “government,” the latter word now being the more common usage in Modern Hebrew;^[195] kothev (Hebrew: כּוֹתֵב), for “scrivener”, or copyist of religious texts, instead of the word “sofer” (scribe);^[196] ṣibbūr (Hebrew: צִבּוּר), for "a quorum of at least ten adult males," a word used in Yemen instead of the Modern Hebrew word, minyan;^[197] ḥefeṣ (Hebrew: חֵפֶץ), a noun meaning “desirable thing,” was used by them to describe any “book” (especially one of a prophylactic nature), although now in Modern Hebrew it means “object”;^[198] fiqfūq (Hebrew: פִקְפוּק) had the connotation of “shock,” “violent agitation,” or “shaking-up,” although today, in Modern Hebrew, it has the meaning of “doubt” or “skepticism”;^[199] the word, harpathqei (Hebrew: הַרְפַּתְקֵי), was used to describe “great hardships,” although in Modern Hebrew the word has come to mean “adventures.”^[200] The word fazmūn (Hebrew: פַזְמוּן), any happy liturgical poem, such as those sung on Simhat Torah, differs from today’s Modern Hebrew word, pizmon (Hebrew: פִּזְמוֹן), meaning, a “chorus” to a song.^[201] Another peculiar aspect of Yemenite Hebrew is what concerns denominative verbs. One of the nouns used for bread (made of wheat) is himmuṣ (Hebrew: הִמּוּץ), derived from the blessing that is said whenever breaking bread, המוציא [לחם מן הארץ] = He that brings forth [bread from the earth].^[202] Whenever they wanted to say its imperative form, “break bread!”, they made use of the denominative verb hammeṣ! (Hebrew: הַמֵּץ). Similarly, the noun for the Third Sabbath meal was qiyyūm (Hebrew: קְיּוּם), literally meaning “observance,” in which they made use of the denominative verb, tǝqayyem (Hebrew: תְּקַיֵּם מענא) = Will you eat with us (the Third Sabbath meal)?, or, נְקַיֵּם = Let us eat (the Third Sabbath meal),^[203] or, qiyam (Hebrew: קִיַּם) = He ate (the Third Sabbath meal).^[204]

References

1. Judaeo-Yemenite Studies - Proceedings of the Second International Congress, Ephraim Isaac & Yosef Tobi (ed.), Introduction, Princeton University 1999, p. 15
2. Responsa Yitzhak Yeranen, part iv, Bnei Barak 1991, page 80, by Rabbi Hayim Yitzhak Barda, who quotes R. Meir Mazuz, saying: "The Yemenites are very stringent and well-versed, and are punctilious in their [usage of the] language, and they support the enunciation of the Ashkenazim" (translated from the Hebrew).
3. Rav Kook's Orah Mishpat question regarding Kiryat Sh'ma "וביחוד למי שמשנה ממבטא התימני המוחזק אצלם מדורות הראשונים שהוא המדויק שבמבטאים כמפורסם שבודאי אסור לעשות כן".
4. "מסורות הגייה ושליטת העברית בקרב יהודי תימן" in Rabbi Yosef Qafih's Collected Papers, volume 2, pages 943-946 (Hebrew). Following is a relevant portion thereof: טענה זו אמנם אפשרית באופן תיאורי ואפשר להשליכה לא רק כאן אלא גם בכל מקום אחר, אלא שהיא מצד מהותה טענה מאוד תלוּשה וזקוּקה היא לבסיס כל שהוּא שתחול עליו, אחרת, הרי היא נשארת מרחפת ללא תנוחה ודינה להתנדף ולהעלם, כי כל ממש אין בה. כל שכן כאשר אנו מוצאים כדמות ראיה לאידך גיסא, כלומר, במצאנו בניב העברית של יהוּדי תימן דבר שאינו בשפת הסביבה, יש בכך משוּם הוכחה שמסורת זו שמרה על כלילוּתה וסגוּלותיה הייחוּדית. ננסה להדגים בשני מישורים, במישור הסימניות, כלומר, האותות, ובמישור התנוּעות. האות פ הדגוּשה, הברה זו אינה מצוּיה בשפה הערבית ואין דוברי הערבית מסכּינים לבטאה, וכאשר מזדמנת להם אות זו במלים משפה זרה, מחליפים אותה באות ב. ואילוּ היהוּדים מבטאים אותה בקלוּת ומבחינים היטב בינה לבין כל הברה אחרת הדומה לה, כדרך שהם מבחינים היטב בשאר כל אותות בגד כפת הדגוּשות והרפוּיות. שניה לה האות ב הרפוּיה. גם הברה זו אינה מצוּיה בשפה הערבית ויהוּדי תימן מבטאים אותה בקלוּת וּללא כל מאמץ, ואילוּ הערבים כאשר מזוּמנת להם הברה זו בציטוט משפה זרה מבטאים אותה כאות פ הרפוּיה המצוּיה בלשונם — כי לא הסכּינוּ לה. שתי אלה ודומיהם שׂמים לאַל לדעתי את הטענה, כי הבחנת יהוּדי תימן בין ג רפוּיה ודגוּשה באה להם מן הערבית, למרות שבעלי טענה זו אין להם תחליף ייחוּדי להברות אלה, כי אילוּ היה ממש בטענת ההשפּעה הערבית, איכה נשתמרוּ להם ליהודי תימן הברות עבריות יחוּדיות אלה, אמור מעתה מציאוּתם של הברות בלעדיות כגון אלה מקשים ומכבידים על תחוּלתה של טענת ההשפּעה הזרה.
5. S. Morag, 'Pronunciations of Hebrew', Encyclopaedia Judaica XIII, 1120-1145
6. Elisha Qimron, The Hebrew of the Dead Sea Scrolls, Harvard Semitic Studies 29, 1986:29. However, the precise pronunciation of the phoneme /s/ in the Dead Sea Scrolls requires a reexamination of Hebrew, Punic, and Greek.
7. The Targum of Isaiah – with supralinear punctuation (ed. J.F. Stenning), Oxford 1949, Introduction (pp. ix–x)
8. Shivtiel Book – Studies in the Hebrew Language and in the Linguistic Traditions of the Jewish Communities (ed. Isaac Gluska & Tsemaḥ Kessar), Tel-Aviv 1992, p. 239 (in article by Yehuda Ratzaby who quotes from Kitāb al-Ānwār, ed. Leon Nemoy (edition 30), New York 1939, p. 135).
9. Siddur Tefillat Kol Pe, vol. 1 (forward written by Shalom Yitzhak Halevi), Jerusalem 1960, p. 11 (Hebrew)
10. On the interchange of Ḥolem and Ṣere, Geoffrey Khan of the University of Cambridge wrote in his article, Vocalization, Babylonian (p. 956): “The Karaite al-Qirqisānī, writing in the 10th century C.E., states that some Jews of Iraq said קָדֵישׁ qåḏēš instead of קָדוֹשׁ qåḏōš ‘holy’ due to influence from the language of the ‘Nabaṭ’ (i.e., the Aramaic speaking population of Iraq). Compare: al-Qirqisānī, Kitāb al-’Anwār w-al-Marāqib, ed. Nemoy 1939:II 140.”
11. Shelomo Morag, Ha-Ivrit she-be-fi Yehude Teman (Hebrew as pronounced by Yemenite Jews), Academy of the Hebrew Language: Jerusalem 1963, pp. 92-99; 119-120 (Hebrew)
12. Shelomo Morag, The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen, in article: Notes on the Vowel System of Babylonian Aramaic as Preserved in the Yemenite Tradition, Tel-Aviv 2001, p. 197 (end of note 1) ISBN 965-7247-00-4
13. The Yemenite pronunciation of this vowel is like the Ashkenazic pronunciation thereof or like the ḥolam in the Sefardic pronunciation (Rabbi Kapach, Collected Papers volume 2, page 931). According to an ancient Judeo-Arabic work on Hebrew grammar, Maḥberet Ha-Tīğān, the sound of the qamaṣ is made by "clinching the mouth and holding it." See: Maḥberet Kitrei Ha-Torah (ed. Yoav Pinhas Halevi), chapter 5, Benei Barak 1990, p. 19 (Hebrew). In the Babylonian supralinear punctuation there is no separate symbol for the shĕwā qamaṣ; rather, the one symbol as shown here is used for both the qamaṣ and the shĕwā qamaṣ (ḥataf qamaṣ).
14. The Yemenite pronunciation of this vowel is like the Sephardic pronunciation thereof (Rabbi Kafih, Collected Papers volume 2, page 931 "צֵירִי, כבמבטא הספרדי"); it lacks an exact English equivalent.
15. This symbol is used strictly as a mobile Shewā (Heb. שוא נע), unlike the Shewā quiescens (Heb. שוא נח) which has no symbol in the Babylonian supralinear punctuation. The mobile Shewā as a symbol is used to differentiate in eight major grammatical entities in Hebrew prescriptive linguistics. For example, whenever a Shewā appears at the beginning of a word, it renders the vowel a mobile vowel, as in the Hebrew word "floating" (meraḥef / מְרַחֵף), or as in לְפָנָי (lefanai) or שְׁמַע (shema) (Deut. 6:4); or whenever a diacritical vertical line known as a Ji'ya / גִּעְיָא (lit. "bleating" or "bellowing") would normally appear next to a Shewā. For example, in the words הַֽמְקַנֵּ֥א אַתָּ֖ה לִ֑י, (Num. 11:29), the Shewā beneath the Hebrew character mim becomes a mobile Shewā because of the Ga'ya (meteg, or small vertical line) beneath the Hebrew character he. In all these cases the Shewā gives an audible sound to the letter, as in a short "a" or short "e", and is not mute. Likewise, whenever a Shewā appears in the middle of a word and the letter has a diacritical point within it (i.e., dagesh), as in the pe of מִפְּנֵיכֶם (Lev. 18:24), it too will become a mobile Shewā (na / נָע) - with some exceptions, e.g., the word אֶתּרוֹג according to the Yemenite tradition - as will a word that has two Shewā's written one after the other, as in the word רַעְמְסֵס (Exo. 12:37), or in the word ּוַיִּשְׁמְעו (Gen. 3:8), etc. the first Shewā is resting (mute), while the second Shewā is a mobile Shewā. Another instance of where the Shewā becomes mobile is when it comes directly after a long vowel sound, such as the long vowel of either yod or ḥiraq, as in יְחִֽידְֿךָ (Gen. 22:2), giving it the sound of yeḥīdh^əkha, etc., or as in the long vowel of waw or ḥolam, as in the words הוֹלְכִֿים, יוֹדְֿעִים, מוֹכְֿרִים, נוֹפְֿלִים, לוֹמְדִֿים, and יֹאכְֿלוּ, etc. (hōl^əkhīm, yōd^əʻīm, mōkh^ərīm, nōf^elīm, lōm^edhīm and yōkh^elū), or as in the verse שֹׁפְטִים וְשֹׁטְרִים תִּתֶּן לְךָ (Deut. 16:18), "shōfəṭīm wa-shōṭərīm titen ləkha." The symbol is also used in the Babylonian supralinear punctuation to denote a Shewā and Pataḥ that are written together in the Tiberian vowel system, or a Shewā and Segūl that are written together in the Tiberian vowel system, as in the words אֲנִי and אֱמֶת. See: Maḥberet Kitrei Ha-Torah (ed. Yoav Pinhas Halevi), chapter 5, Benei Barak 1990, pp. 20, 22-23, 31 (Hebrew). See also נקוד, טעמים ומסורת בתימן by Rabbi Yosef Qafih in Collected Papers, volume 2, page 931.
16. Israeli grammarian, Shelomo Morag, has written more extensively about the mobile Shewā, saying: "[In the Babylonian tradition], the sign of the šĕwā is used only as an indication of the mobile šĕwā (Heb. שוא נע), whereas the šĕwā quiescens (Heb. שוא נח) is not indicated at all. This method is the most common in Yemenite manuscripts which are punctuated in the Babylonian system, and it goes without saying that there is an advantage in it, since it invariably acquaints the reader with the šĕwā’s innate nature, whether it is a šĕwā quiescens or a mobile šĕwā. Thus, for example, we see that the šĕwā is mobile in the letter mim (מ) of the intensive (middle) form of the [active] verb construction, piʻel (Heb. פִּעֵל), in a word such as 'הַמְּכַבֶּה' [= ‘he that extinguishes’] (Mishnah Shabbat 7:2)." Meaning, one sign distinguishes it from the šĕwā quiescens. See: Mishnah - Seder Mo'ed - with a commentary by Maimonides in Arabic, Yemenite MS., edited by Yehuda Levi Nahum, Holon 1975, p. 19 (Hebrew); The 'šĕwā' in the Traditional Yemenite Pronunciation of Hebrew, Jerusalem 1957 (Hebrew). Note that the spelling "הַמְּכַבַּה" (with the דגש) is in accordance with the vowelization of Rabbi Yosef 'Amar, in his edition of the Babylonian Talmud vocalized in the Yemenite pronunciation, s.v., Shabbat 29b and 73a; תלמוד בבלי בניקוד תימני, מסכת שבת, דף כט ב ודף עג א. However, "הַמְכַבֶּה אֶת הַנֵּר" (Shabbath 2:5) appears (without the דגש in המכבה) in שיח ירושלם חלק ראשון (fourth edition 5761, p. קכ) and תכלאל שיבת ציון (part 1, 5712, p. קו) alike.
17. Abraham Z. Idelsohn (1882 – 1938) wrote in his momentous work, Phonographierte Gesänge und Aussprachsproben des Hebräischen der jemenitischen, persischen und syrischen Juden, Vienna 1917, concerning the differences in pronunciation between the Jews of Ṣanʻā’ and the Jews of the provinces in Yemen: "…The difference subsists in the vowel [ḥolam] וֹ, [which] in Ṣanʻā’ is äu <like in Häuser, very close to oy in Yiddish, without accentuating too much the "i" of "oy">, [and] in the Provinces is ä <like in mächtig, or the French è, like the first "e" when saying Esther in Hebrew>. Furthermore, the consonant [‘ayin] "ע" [in] Ṣanʻā’ = ‘, [but in the] Provinces is י (yod) <transcription of ij with the "j" audible>; also א and ע they pronounce the same way. (Analogies can also be found in the Yemenite Arabic). Moreover, the [dotted] גּ in Ṣanʻā’ is dj <pronounced like the French "j" which is like the English "g" in Geneva>, [but] in the provinces it is like "g" <as in "go">."
18. Rabbi Saadia Gaon in his commentary on Sefer Yetzirah (2:2) strongly rejected to this manner of pronunciation for the gímel with dageš and thinks it is a mere corruption, saying rather that it should be pronounced as a hard "g" as in "go." Rabbi Saadia Gaon's opinion, however, follows the tradition of the Jews and Arabs in his native Egypt, while the Yemenite pronunciation of the gímel with dageš follows a custom more closely related to the dialect of Arabic spoken in the land of Israel whenever pronouncing "jeem" (ج‍,ج), the Arabic equivalent of gímel. See: Yosef Qafih's edition of Sefer Yetzirah, Jerusalem 1972, p. 75.
19. The rules of enunciation when reciting the Shema is to extend the phonetic sound of the phoneme "daleth" in the word eḥaḏ, and which can only be done had the phoneme been a "th" sound as in "this," or "that". Cf. Babylonian Talmud, Berakhot 13b: "Symmachus said: 'Anyone who extends his enunciation of eḥaḏ (Hebrew: אֶחָדֿ) [in the recital of the Qiryath Shema], the days and years of his life shall also be extended.' Rav Aha the son of Yaaqov interjected, 'He referred there to the [letter] daleth..."; See Maimonides, Mishne Torah (Hil. Qiryath Shema 2:9).
20. The "tāv" raphe in Ashkenazi traditions is realized as "s", as in Shabbos.
21. Based on Rabbi Saadia Gaon's Judeo-Arabic commentary on "Sefer Hayetzirah" (chapter 4, paragraph 3), wherein he describes the phonetic sounds of the 22 characters of the Hebrew alphabet and classifies them in groups based on their individual sounds: "Aleph ( ×), hé (×”), ḥet (×—), ‘ayin (×¢) are [guttural sounds] produced from the depth of the tongue with the opening of the throat, but bet (ב), waw (ו), mim (מ), pé (פ) are [labial sounds] made by the release of the lips and the end of the tongue; whereas gimal (×’), yōd (×™), kaf (×›), qōf (ק) are [palatals] separated by the width of the tongue [against the palate] with the [emission of] sound. However, daleth (ד), á¹­et (ט), lamad (ל), nÅ«n (× ), tau (ת) are [linguals] separated by the mid-section of the tongue with the [emission of] sound; whereas zayin (×–), samakh (ס), á¹£adi (צ), resh (ר), shin (ש) are [dental sounds] produced between the teeth by a tongue that is at rest."
22. As is heard in the recording of Aharon Amram's cantillation (mms://media.jvod.info/Nosach/Aharon_Amram/PARACHA/1_10_7_miketz.mp3 [which begins with verse 24]).
23. Shelomo Morag, The Hebrew of the Jews of Yemen ( ×”עברית שבפי יהודי תימן), Academy of the Hebrew Language: Jerusalem 1963, pp. 4–5 (Hebrew). In two of the examples brought down by Shelomo Morag, he shows where the readings for תִּפָּדֶה in Isaiah 1:27 and וְנֵלְכָה in Isaiah 2:5, are both with an abrupt ending, as in tippoːdä (Ê”) and wǝnel^ăxoː(Ê”) respectively.
24. Meir Mazuz, in article: Clarification Regarding the Accent of Letters and Dots, whether as the Sephardic or Ashkenazi Jews (בירור בענין מבטא האותיות והנקודות, אם כמו הספרדים או כמו האשכנזים), published in Responsa Yitzhak Yeranen, part iv, section 9, Bnei Barak 1991, page 73, by Rabbi Hayim Yitzhak Barda.
25. Preface to Siddur Tefillat Kol Pe (ed. Rabbi Avraham al-Nadaf), Tel-Aviv 1960, pp. 7-8 (Hebrew); Jacob Saphir, Iben Safir (vol. 1), Lyck 1866, pp. 53b-54a (in PDF pp. 121-122) (Hebrew)
26. Aharon Ben-Asher, Sefer midiqduqei ha-ṭaʻamim, p. 12 (p. 53 in PDF). In the original Hebrew: סדר שוא, המשרתת לכל האותיות בכל המקרא בראש התיבה ובאמצע התיבה ובסוף התיבה ואשר תצא בלשון ואשר לא תצא. כי הרבה דרכים יש לה[...] אבל אם תצטרף עם אחד מן ארבעה אותיות אחה"ע יהיה דרכה על דרך נִקּוד האות השני שבתיבה, כמו בְּֽהֹנות ידיהם ורגליהם (שופטים א', ז,) עד מתי פתים תְּֽאֵהבו פתי (משלי א', כ"ב) עיניו לְֽחֵלכה יצפנו (תהלים י', ח') שריה רִֽעֵליה מרדכי (עזרא ב', ב,).
27. Shelomo Morag, The Samaritan and Yemenite Tradition of Hebrew (published in: The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen - ed. Yosef Tobi), Tel-Aviv 2001, pp. 220-221
28. The four guttural letters, according to Rabbi Saadia Gaon (882-942 CE) in his Judeo-Arabic commentary on Sefer Hayeṣirah (chapter 4, paragraph 3), and Yonah ibn Ǧanāḥ (c. 990 – c. 1050) in his Sefer HaRiqmah, are aleph (א), hé (ה), ḥet (ח) and ‘ayin (ע), and which sounds are produced from the depth of the tongue with the opening of the throat.
29. The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen (ed. Yosef Tobi), in Article entitled: Notes on the Vowel System of Babylonian Aramaic as Preserved in the Yemenite Tradition, Shelomo Morag, Tel-Aviv, 2001, p. 181. ISBN 965-7247-00-4
30. Shelomo Morag, The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen (ed. Yosef Tobi), in Article entitled: Notes on the Vowel System of Babylonian Aramaic as Preserved in the Yemenite Tradition, Tel-Aviv 2001, p. 183. ISBN 965-7247-00-4
31. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 20, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Mishnah (Oholoth 4:1), et al.; Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, p. 6, s.v. אַוֵּיר.
32. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 6, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Ta'anith 3b, et al.
33. Divrei Shalom Ḥakhamim (Memorial book in honor of Rabbi Shalom Yitzhak Halevi), ed. Avner Yitzhak Halevi, Jerusalem 1993, p.220 § 13 (Hebrew); Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 1, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Mishnah (Shevi'it 7:1), et al.
34. Shelomo Morag, The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen (ed. Yosef Tobi), in Article entitled: Notes on the Vowel System of Babylonian Aramaic as Preserved in the Yemenite Tradition, Tel-Aviv 2001, p. 184
35. Sometimes written in defective scriptum, אִתְּמַר.
36. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 4, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Mishnah (Pesaḥim 2:1), Pes. 21a, et al.
37. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 16, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Avodah Zarah 18a, et al.
38. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 20, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Niddah 17a, et al. The plural of this word is בְּצָלִים.
39. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 5, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Sukkah 53a, et al.; cf. Shelomo Morag, The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen (ed. Yosef Tobi), Tel-Aviv 2001, p.222.
40. Talmud Bavli Menuqad, Yosef Amar Halevi, vol. 6, Jerusalem, 1980, s.v. Megillah 6a, et al.
41. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 1, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Berakhoth 31b, et al.
42. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 10, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Gittin 2a, et al.
43. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 4, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Mishnah (Pesahim 3:7), written in margin; Yebamoth 122b, et al.
44. Cf. Rashi, Babylonian Talmud, Yebamot 62b, s.v. והנושא בת אחותו, who writes the word in plene scriptum, with a yod after the gimel.
45. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 1, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Berakhot 33b, et al.; Tsemaḥ Kessar, Oral and Written Traditions of the Mishnah: Morphology of the Noun in the Yemenite Tradition, Jerusalem 2001, pp. 304–305, ISSN 0333-5143
46. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 2, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Mishnah (Shabbath 16:3), et al.
47. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 2, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Mishnah (Shabbath 8:4), et al., which has the connotation of "glue." Cf. Isaiah 41:7, לַדֶּבֶק, which word differs and means in its context, "it is good for fastening."
48. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 15, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Sanhedrin 109a, et al.
49. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 15, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Sanhedrin 105a, et al.
50. Divrei Shalom Ḥakhamim (Memorial book in honor of Rabbi Shalom Yitzhak Halevi), ed. Avner Yitzhak Halevi, Jerusalem 1993, p. 220 § 14 (Hebrew); Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 5, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Yoma 19b; ibid., vol. 4, Pesaḥim 7a, et al.
51. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 14, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Baba Bathra 3b, et al.
52. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 6, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Megillah 32a (end), et al.
53. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 16, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Mishnah (Avoth 1:6), et al. For example, וִהְוִי זהיר בדבריך, in Mishnah Avoth 1:9.
54. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 4, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Pesaḥim 5a, et al.
55. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Habavli Hamenuqad, vol. 2, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Shabbat 14b; the same vocalization is found for this word in Job 28:17, in the Codex proofread by Aaron ben Asher, known now universally as the Leningrad Codex.
56. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 5, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Yoma 86b, et al.
57. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 18, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Ḥullin 56b, et al.
58. Tsemaḥ Kessar, Vocalized Words Based on the Tradition of Yemen: Article published in book, Le'rosh Yosef (ed. Yosef Tobi), Jerusalem 1995, p. 120, note 59, ISBN 965-7004-01-2. In the plural, חוֹמַשׁ מן הַחוּמְשִׁין (a codex of the codices).
59. Shelomo Morag, The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen (ed. Yosef Tobi), in Article entitled: Notes on the Vowel System of Babylonian Aramaic as Preserved in the Yemenite Tradition, Tel-Aviv 2001, p. 184
60. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 6, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Betza 17a, et al. The Hebrew word חֲתִיכָּה (ḥăṯīkkah) is the noun, "piece" (in the absolute state), or חֲתִיכַּת בשר ("piece of meat") in the construct state. The word is of the same metre as קליפּה (qǝlipah), the noun for "peel," or the "rind" of a fruit. Both the kaf and pe in these words are accentuated with a dot (dagesh). However, when these same words are used as a verb, showing action, as in "cutting a piece" or in "peeling an apple," the words take on a different form, and would respectively be חֲתִיכָה (ḥăṯīḫah) and קליפָה (qǝlīfah), without dots of accentuation in the Hebrew characters kaf and pe (i.e. rafe letters), such as when the verb is used with the preposition "after": e.g. "after peeling the apple" = אחרי קליפת התפוח, or "after cutting the meat" = אחרי חתיכת הבשר.
61. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 13, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Baba Metzi'a 30b (end), et al.
62. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 2, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Mishnah (Shabbath 6:4), et al.
63. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 6, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Megillah 6a, et al.
64. Divrei Shalom Ḥakhamim (Memorial book in honor of Rabbi Shalom Yitzhak Halevi), ed. Avner Yitzhak Halevi, Jerusalem 1993, p. 220 § 13 (Hebrew); Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 1, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Berakhoth 17b (Mishnah), et al.
65. Divrei Shalom Ḥakhamim (Memorial book in honor of Rabbi Shalom Yitzhak Halevi), ed. Avner Yitzhak Halevi, Jerusalem 1993, p.220 § 13 (Hebrew).
66. The vocalization changes only when ירק is written in the construct state: e.g. יֶרֶק הַשָׂדֶה (yereq-hasadeh) [Numbers 22:4], or יֶרֶק עשב (yereq ʻesev) [Genesis 1:30].
67. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 11, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Kiddushin 20b, et al.
68. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 14, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Baba Bathra 5a, et al. Plural: כּוֹתָלֵי בית המדרש, rather than כּוֹתְלֵי בית המדרש; construct state: כּוֹתַל חָצֵר. Although in the Scriptures the vocalization is different, this system follows what is commonly used for the Hebrew used in rabbinic literature.
69. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 13, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Baba Metzi'a 30b, et al.
70. Tiklāl Etz Ḥayim (ed. Shimon Tzalah), vol. 2, Jerusalem 1971, s.v. אגדתא דפסחא, pp. 52a–b.
71. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 19, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Kareithoth 2a, et al.
72. Divrei Shalom Ḥakhamim (Memorial book in honor of Rabbi Shalom Yitzhak Halevi), ed. Avner Yitzhak Halevi, Jerusalem 1993, p. 220 § 12 (Hebrew); Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 1, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Berakhoth 35a, et al.
73. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 15, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Sanhedrin 51a, et al. Divrei Shalom Ḥakhamim (Memorial book in honor of Rabbi Shalom Yitzhak Halevi), ed. Avner Yitzhak Halevi, Jerusalem 1993, p. 221 (Hebrew). Unique to Yemenite Jewish pronunciation of Aramaic words is the derived stem infinitives like qattawle (קְטַולֵי), which are always pronounced with a diphthong aw before the character “waw”, such as: לְמַעַוְטֵי, לְאַדְלַוְקֵי, לְבַשַּׁוְלֵי, לַאֲפַוְיֵי ,לְאַטְמַוְנֵי (lǝ’aṭmawne, la’afawye, lǝvashawle, lǝ’adlawqe, lǝma‘awṭe). In all cases the "aw" is signified by the diaphoneme aʊ. See Shelomo Morag, The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen (ed. Yosef Tobi), Tel-Aviv 2001, p. 141. ISBN 965-7247-00-4
74. Divrei Shalom Ḥakhamim (Memorial book in honor of Rabbi Shalom Yitzhak Halevi), ed. Avner Yitzhak Halevi, Jerusalem 1993, p. 218 § 2 (Hebrew)
75. Divrei Shalom Ḥakhamim (Memorial book in honor of Rabbi Shalom Yitzhak Halevi), ed. Avner Yitzhak Halevi, Jerusalem 1993, p.220 § 13 (Hebrew); Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 12, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Baba Kama 35b, et al.
76. Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, p. 143 (Hebrew); cf. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 2, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Shabbath 31b (Mishnah), בְּשָׁעַת לִידְתָּן, et al.
77. Plural: לוֹלָבִּים.
78. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 4, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Pesaḥim 7b, et al.; Tsemaḥ Kessar, Vocalized Words Based on the Tradition of Yemen: Article published in book, Le'rosh Yosef (ed. Yosef Tobi), Jerusalem 1995, p. 111.
79. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 2, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Mishnah (Shabbath 19:4), et al.
80. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 16, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Avodah Zarah 18a, et al. The conventions for Yemenite Hebrew require that the Hebrew character ḥet (ח) be stressed in this one word.
81. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 8, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Kethuboth 2a, et al.
82. The full infinitive form of a verbs "to draw near" and "to distance."
83. The difference between lish'al (לִשְׁאַל) and lish'ol (לִשְׁאֹל) is that the former is used for a question, whereas the latter is used for borrowing an object.
84. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 8, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Kethuboth 27b, et al.
85. Zechariah Al-Dhahiri, Sefer Ha-MÅ«sar (ed. Mordechai Yitzhari), Benei Barak 2008 (Hebrew)
86. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 13, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Baba Metzi'a 40a, et al.; cf. Shelomo Morag, The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen (ed. Yosef Tobi), in Article entitled: Notes on the Vowel System of Babylonian Aramaic as Preserved in the Yemenite Tradition, Tel-Aviv 2001, p. 255.
87. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 13, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Baba Metzi'a 59b (in glosses), et al.
88. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 1, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Mishnah (Berakhoth 7:2), et al.
89. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 1, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Berakhoth 17b, et al. The ḥet in מִחֲזִי is also stressed in the Yemenite tradition, as in מִחֲזִי כיוהרא (ibid.).
90. Shelomo Morag, The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen (ed. Yosef Tobi), Tel-Aviv 2001, p. 205. The same metre is used for other words: e.g. מְחָטְפִין , מְזָלְפִין, etc.
91. Shelomo Morag, The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen (ed. Yosef Tobi), Tel-Aviv 2001, p. 48.
92. Shelomo Morag, The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen (ed. Yosef Tobi), Tel-Aviv 2001, p. 111 (ISBN 965-7247-00-4) (Hebrew/English).
93. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 13, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Baba Metzi'a 29b, et al.
94. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 14, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Baba Bathra 14a, et al.
95. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 15, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Sanhedrin 16b, et al.
96. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 11, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Kiddushin 47a, et al. For example: מִלְוָה להוצאה ניתנה, "A loan is given with the intent of it being expendable."
97. Shelomo Morag, The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen (ed. Yosef Tobi), in Article entitled: Notes on the Vowel System of Babylonian Aramaic as Preserved in the Yemenite Tradition, Tel-Aviv 2001, pp. 205–206
98. Adjective, "ostracized," in this vowel assignment is for either male or female; מְנוּדָּה לרב מְנוּדָּה לתלמיד. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 6, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Moed Qatan 16a, et al.
99. Shelomo Morag, The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen (ed. Yosef Tobi), Tel-Aviv 2001, p.48.
100. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 17, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Zevaḥim 53a (top), et al.
101. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 5, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Rosh Hashanah 8a
102. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 20, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Mishnah (Miqwa'oth 7:1); ibid., vol. 5, Yoma 85b, et al. Only in the construct state, as in מִקְוֵה המים or מִקְוֵה ישראל is it miqwei (e.g. miqwei hamayim) [Genesis 1:10].
103. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 4, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Mishnah (Pesaḥim 3:2); Shelomo Morag, The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen (ed. Yosef Tobi), Tel-Aviv 2001, p. 57
104. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 5, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Sukkah 38b, et al.
105. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 2, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Shabbath 80b, et al.
106. Shelomo Morag, The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen (ed. Yosef Tobi), in Article entitled: Notes on the Vowel System of Babylonian Aramaic as Preserved in the Yemenite Tradition, Tel-Aviv 2001, p. 255
107. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 5, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Rosh Hashana 11b, et al.
108. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 20, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Mishnah (Kelim 23:2); ibid., vol. 15, Sanhedrin 103a, et al.
109. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 16, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Mishnah (Avoth 2:2), et al.
110. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 19, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Middoth 35a (in margin), et al. The same metre is used for other words: e.g. מְתַלְּשִׁין; cf. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 5, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Yoma 66a.
111. Such as in the expression: מִתְּקָן על ידי האור, Lit. “It is made ready through fire (being prepared by fire; readied)”; The transitive verb of ready, or To cause to be ready. Had it been מתוקן, the sense would have been: “It was made ready through fire.”
112. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 13, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Mishnah (Baba Metzi'a 4:7), et al.
113. Shelomo Morag, The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen (ed. Yosef Tobi), in Article entitled: Notes on the Vowel System of Babylonian Aramaic as Preserved in the Yemenite Tradition, Tel-Aviv 2001, p. 222 (3:3).
114. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 2, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Mishnah (Shabbath 19:5), et al. The Yemenite tradition of vocalization in this word is found also in the Tiberian Masoretic text in two places: I Chronicles 3:5 and ibid., 20:8, נוּלְּדוּ. In both cases, the waw is written with a shuraq instead of a ḥōlam.
115. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 16, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Mishnah (Avoth 5:22), et al.; Shelomo Morag, The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen (ed. Yosef Tobi), Tel-Aviv 2001, p. 255.
116. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 5, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Mishnah (Yoma 3:4); ibid., vol. 19, Bekhoroth 21b, et al. This verb conjugation (נִכְנָס = entered), the simple passive stem (Heb. nif'al), is marked by a permanent form, with the vowel qamaṣ appearing regularly in the last syllable. Other examples: נזכָּר, etc. See Shelomo Morag, The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen, Tel-Aviv 2001, p. 250.
117. The noun, petroleum (Oleum petrae); cf. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 2, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Shabbath 26a, et al. According to Shelomo Morag, this is a frequently recurring pattern of nouns in the Yemenite tradition whose counterpart in the Tiberian tradition is usually marked by a sǝġūl, or what are known as "segolate nouns" (see The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen (ed. Yosef Tobi), in Article entitled: The Samaritan and Yemenite Traditions of Hebrew: Points of Contact, Tel-Aviv 2001, p. 222, § 3.2. ISBN 965-7247-00-4 )
118. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 6, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Megillah 16a (end), et al.
119. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 5, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Yoma 16ab, et al. See also ibid., vol. 6, s.v. Megillah 2a, מגילה נִקְרַאַת (The Scroll of Esther is read, etc.)
120. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 7, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Yevamoth 47a, et al.
121. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 8, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Kethuboth 95b (end), et al.
122. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 6, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Ḥaggiga 2a, et al.; Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, p. 192.
123. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 5, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Yoma 16a, et al.
124. Divrei Shalom Ḥakhamim (Memorial book in honor of Rabbi Shalom Yitzhak Halevi), ed. Avner Yitzhak Halevi, Jerusalem 1993, p.220 § 13 (Hebrew); Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 5, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Yoma 75b, et al.
125. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 15, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Sanhedrin 49b, et al.
126. Shelomo Morag, The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen (ed. Yosef Tobi), Tel-Aviv 2001, p. 48
127. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 2, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Mishnah (Shabbath 21:3); ibid., vol. 6, Megillah 6b, אין מַעְבִּירין על המצות, et al. See past-tense of the verb in Yosef Amar Halevi, ibid., vol. 12, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Mishnah (Baba Kama 8:6), et al.
128. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 4, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Pesaḥim 24b, et al.
129. Divrei Shalom Ḥakhamim (Memorial book in honor of Rabbi Shalom Yitzhak Halevi), ed. Avner Yitzhak Halevi, Jerusalem 1993, Introduction on the Vowel Points, pp. 217 – 218.
130. Shelomo Morag, The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen, Tel-Aviv 2001, p. 30. ISBN 965-7247-00-4
131. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 15, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Sanhedrin 43b (end), et al.
132. Courtyard of the women. See Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, p. 204, s.v. עֲזֶרֶת.
133. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 2, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Shabbath 31a, et al.
134. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 5, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Rosh Hashanah 16a (end), et al.
135. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 15, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Sanhedrin 27b (end), et al.
136. Talmud Bavli Menuqad, Yosef Amar Halevi, vol. 10, Sotah 42a (end), Jerusalem 1980, as in: "The morning and evening prayer," תפלת שחרית וערבית.
137. Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, p. 221.
138. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 4, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Pesaḥim 46a, et al.; Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, p. 222.
139. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 7, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Yebamoth 63a; vol. 15 (ibid.) Sanhedrin 59b (top), et al.; Shelomo Morag, The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen (ed. Yosef Tobi), in Article entitled: The Samaritan and Yemenite Traditions of Hebrew: Points of Contact, Tel-Aviv 2001, p. 222, § 3.4 ISBN 965-7247-00-4
140. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 16, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Avodah Zarah 42b, et al.
141. Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, p. 230, s.v. פָרָשָׁה. In Yemenite Jewish tradition, the sense here is to the Bible Codex itself, rather than to the weekly Torah lections read on Sabbath days, which in Yemenite parlance is called seder (סדר).
142. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 1, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Berakhoth 29b, et al.
143. Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, p. 233, s.v. פתקין (Hebrew)
144. The noun, paint; cf. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 19, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Mishnah Arakhin 6:5, et al. According to Shelomo Morag, this is a frequently recurring pattern of nouns in the Yemenite tradition whose counterpart in the Tiberian tradition is marked by a sǝġūl, or what are known as "segolate nouns" (see The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen (ed. Yosef Tobi), in Article entitled: The Samaritan and Yemenite Traditions of Hebrew: Points of Contact, Tel-Aviv 2001, p. 222, § 3.2. ISBN 965-7247-00-4 )
145. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 20, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Niddah 33b (end), et al.
146. The great metropolis of Galilee during the Second Temple period. Thus is the vocalization of the word in the Facsimile of a Yemenite Mishnah MS., with Yemenite vocalization (סדרי המשנה נזיקין, קדשים, טהרות), ed. Shelomo Morag, Makor: Jerusalem 1970, s.v. Mishnah Arakhin 9:6; Compare Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 19, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Arakhin 32a, who assigns the vowels צִפָּרִין (ṣipoːrīn) for the same word, and who perhaps hadn't seen the earlier Yemenite rendition of this place name.
147. As in: עֲשֵׂה תּוֹרָתָךְ קְבָע (Make your study of the Torah a permanent matter); see Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 2, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Shabbath 82a, הנכנס לסעודת קְבָע , et al.
148. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 13, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Baba Metzi'a 107a, et al.
149. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 6, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Megillah 32a, et al. Even though the vowel arrangement in the Book of Esther is קִיבֵּל, Mishnaic Hebrew differs in Yemenite tradition.
150. Shelomo Morag, The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen,Tel-Aviv 2001, p. 250, ISBN 965-7247-00-4; Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 15, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Sanhedrin 64a (end)
151. Tsemaḥ Kessar, Oral and Written Traditions of the Mishnah: Morphology of the Noun in the Yemenite Tradition, Jerusalem 2001, pp. 153–154, ISSN 0333-5143
152. Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, p. 250, s.v. קְפִידָה.
153. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 1, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Berakhoth 21a (in glosses), et al.; Shelomo Morag, The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen (ed. Yosef Tobi), in Article entitled: The Samaritan and Yemenite Traditions of Hebrew: Points of Contact, Tel-Aviv 2001, p. 222, § 3.4 ISBN 965-7247-00-4
154. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 18, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Ḥullin 56a (in glosses), et al.
155. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 14, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Baba Bathra 77b, et al.
156. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 12, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Baba Kama 70a (end), et al. The same pronunciation is given for ר' יוסי בר' חַלְפְּתָא.
157. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 4, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Pesaḥim 28a (end), et al.
158. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 16, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Avodah Zarah 17a (end), et al.
159. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 10, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Sotah 3a, et al. Yehuda Ratzaby makes note of the fact that there were some in Yemen who, when reading this word in rabbinic literature, would pronounce it שֵׁטוּת, while yet others would say שְׁטוּת (see Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews, Tel-Aviv 1978, p. 24 in Introduction, note 5).
160. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 6, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Megillah 6b, et al.
161. The noun, "allusion; intimation; hint." For example: רְמָז רָמַז לוֹ (Megillah 16b). Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 6, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Megillah 16b; vol. 7 (ibid.) Yebamot 21a, et al.
162. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 19, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Arakhin 30a, et al.; Divrei Shalom Ḥakhamim (Memorial book in honor of Rabbi Shalom Yitzhak Halevi), ed. Avner Yitzhak Halevi, Jerusalem 1993, p.220 § 12 (Hebrew). Although the Tiberian Masoretic text for the same word in Psalm 146:3 has assigned the vowels שֶׁאֵין, just as it is pronounced in Modern Hebrew, we nevertheless still find in the Tiberian Masoretic text a similar practice as found in the Yemenite tradition where the shin at the beginning of a word has the vowel šĕwā, as in שְׁהֶם, in Ecclesiastes 3:18.
163. Shelomo Morag, The Hebrew of the Jews of Yemen ( ×”עברית שבפי יהודי תימן), Academy of the Hebrew Language: Jerusalem 1963, pp. 4–5 (Hebrew).
164. In Modern Hebrew, the word "parashah" means the weekly biblical lection read on each Sabbath day, but in the Yemenite Jewish tradition the word means "Bible Codex."
165. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 2, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Shabbath 94b (Mishnah), et al. The word shǝvoth (Heb. שבות) means those types of labour on the Sabbath day which are proscribed (forbidden) by a rabbinic edict.
166. Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, p. 267, s.v. שְׁבָח.
167. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 12, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Baba Kama 15a, et al.
168. For example, במיעוט שִׁינָה. See Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. ?, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. ? ?, et al.
169. Divrei Shalom Ḥakhamim (Memorial book in honor of Rabbi Shalom Yitzhak Halevi)(דברי שלום חכמים), ed. Avner Yitzhak Halevi, Jerusalem 1993, p. 218
170. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 16, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Mishnah (Eduyoth 2:8), et al.
171. The preposition "of" in Hebrew. In the Yemenite Jewish tradition, the Hebrew preposition is always written with the noun, joined together as one word, and the "lamed" is always accentuated with a dagesh. For example, if the noun (מלך = king) would normally have been written with the definite article "the," as in הַמֶּלֶךְ (the king), and the noun was to show possession, as in the sentence: "the palace of the king," the definite article "the" (Hebrew: ה) is dropped, but the same vowel pataḥ of the definite article is carried over to the lamed, as in שֶׁלַּמֶּלֶךְ, instead of של המלך. The vowel on the lamed will sometimes differ, depending on what noun comes after the preposition. For example, the definite article "the" in Hebrew nouns which begin with aleph or resh, such as in הָאָדָם and in הָרִאשׁוֹן, is always written with the vowel qamaṣ – in which case, the vowel qamaṣ is carried over to the lamed, as in שֶׁלָּאָדָם and in שֶׁלָּרִאשׁוֹן. Another general rule is that whenever a possessive noun is written without the definite article "the", as in the words, "a king's scepter," or "the sceptre of a king" (Heb. מלך), the lamed in the preposition is written with the vowel shǝwa, as in שרביט שֶׁלְּמֶּלֶךְ. Whenever the noun begins with a shǝwa, as in the proper noun Solomon (Heb. שְׁלֹמֹה) and one wanted to show possession, the lamed in the preposition is written with a ḥiraq, as in (Song of Solomon 3:7): "Solomon's bed," = מטתו שֶׁלִּשְׁלֹמֹה. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 15, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Sanhedrin 104b, et al.; Shelomo Morag, The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen, Tel-Aviv 2001, p. 256 ISBN 965-7247-00-4
172. Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, p. 63, s.v. הֲוִיָּא (2).
173. For example: בְּשָׁעַת דָּחְקוֹ (bǝshoːʻath doːḥqö), and not בִּשְׁעַת דָּחֳקוֹ (bishʻat daḥăko)
174. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 6, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Betzah 28b, et al.
175. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 15, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Sanhedrin 77a, et al.
176. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 6, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Megillah 16b, et al.
177. Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, p. 289, s.v. שְׁתָיָה.
178. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 15, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Sanhedrin 90a, et al. The difference between תְּחָיַת המתים and תְּחִיַית מתים is that, in the first case, the word תְּחָיָה is a noun and, when used in the construct state, revolves around the dead being brought back to life again; the dead themselves being resurrected. However, in the second case, the word תְּחִיָה is a verb and, when used in the construct state, it has the sense of the dead causing others to live.
179. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 2, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Shabbath 78a (end), et al.
180. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 5, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Rosh Hashanah 16b, et al.
181. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 4, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Pesaḥim 66a, et al.
182. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 2, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Mishnah (Shabbath 18:2), et al.
183. Baladi-rite Siddur, Morning Prayer on Sabbath day, in liturgy: Nishmath kol ḥai; In the Morning Prayer for weekdays and Sabbath days, in Yishtabaḥ, the vowel assignment for the same word is: תֻּשְׁבָּחוֹת.
184. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 19, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Bekhoroth 38b, et al.
185. Yosef Amar Halevi, Talmud Bavli Menuqad, vol. 15, Jerusalem 1980, s.v. Sanhedrin 104b, et al.; Shelomo Morag, The Traditions of Hebrew and Aramaic of the Jews of Yemen, Tel-Aviv 2001, p. 256 ISBN 965-7247-00-4
186. Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, s.v. דּוּכֵּהּ (p. 54).
187. Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, s.v. רְאָיָה (p. 255).
188. Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, s.v. פָרָשָׁה (p. 230); see also Zekhor Le'Avraham (ed. Uzziel Alnaddaf), Jerusalem 1992, p. 27, note 115.
189. S.D. Goitein, Hebrew Elements in the Spoken Language of the Jews of Yemen, pub. by Leshonenu III, Jerusalem 1931; reprinted in: Shelomo Dov Goitein, The Yemenites – History, Communal Organization, Spiritual Life (Selected Studies), editor: Menahem Ben-Sasson, Jerusalem 1983, p. 279, s.v. מצווה; ibid., p. 214. ISBN 965-235-011-7 ; Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, s.v. מִצְוָה (p. 167).
190. Cf. Leviticus Rabba, section 34: כל עמא יפלגון מצוה = "let every person distribute charity."
191. Amram Qorah, Sa’arat Teiman, Jerusalem 1988, p. 113; in 1954 edition, p. 132 (in PDF); Shelomo Dov Goitein, The Yemenites – History, Communal Organization, Spiritual Life (Selected Studies), editor: Menahem Ben-Sasson, Jerusalem 1983, pp. 278–279, s.v. צדקה. ISBN 965-235-011-7
192. Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, s.v. תָּדֵיר (p. 291).
193. Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, s.v. מַכְתֵּב (p. 158). Cf. Mishnah Kelim 16:8; Midrash HaGadol (on Deuteronomy 28:52).
194. Midrash Rabba (Lamentations Rabba 2:5); Jerusalem Talmud, Taanit 4:5 (24b), with slight variations. Cf. Rashi's commentary on Mishnah Avot 5:6, where he says of the word והמכתב, "the stylus of a scrivener, grafie in the foreign tongue, with which He engraved the Ten Commandments that were given to Moses. That same stylus was created of old."
195. Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, s.v. שִׁלְטוֹן (p. 278).
196. Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, s.v. כּוֹתֵב (p. 127).
197. Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, s.v. צִבּוּרִים (p. 233).
198. Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, s.v. חֵפֶץ (p. 101).
199. Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, s.v. פִקְפוּק (p. 228).
200. Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, s.v. הַרְפַּתְקֵי (pp. 72– 3).
201. Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, s.v. פַזְמוּן (p. 221).
202. Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, s.v. הִמּוּץ (p. 67).
203. Shelomo Dov Goitein, The Yemenites – History, Communal Organization, Spiritual Life (Selected Studies), editor: Menahem Ben-Sasson, Jerusalem 1983, p. 279. ISBN 965-235-011-7
204. Yehuda Ratzaby, Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (אוצר לשון הקדש שלבני תימן), Tel-Aviv 1978, s.v. קִיַּם (p. 247).

Further reading

• S. Morag, 'Pronunciations of Hebrew', Encyclopaedia Judaica XIII, 1120–1145
• Morag, Shelomo (1963). Ha-Ivrit she-be-fi Yehude Teman (Hebrew as pronounced by Yemenite Jews). Jerusalem: Academy of the Hebrew Language.
• Yeivin, I., The Hebrew Language Tradition as Reflected in the Babylonian Vocalization: Jerusalem 1985 (Hebrew)
• מסורות ×”×’×™×™×” ושליטת העברית בקרב יהודי תימן (Hebrew) in Rabbi Yosef Qafih's Collected Papers, volume 2, pages 943-946.
• מלמדי תינוקות ודרכי הלימוד (Hebrew), beginning on page 50 in Halichoth Teiman (1963).
• נקוד, טעמים ומסורת בתימן (Hebrew) in Rabbi Yosef Qafih's Collected Papers, volume 2, pages 931-936.
• אלף בי (Hebrew): A popular Yemenite alaph bei book.
• השירה והלחנים בתפילת יהודי תימן (Hebrew) in Rabbi Yosef Qafih's Collected Papers, volume 2, pages 958-960.
• Shelomo Dov Goitein, The Yemenites – History, Communal Organization, Spiritual Life (Selected Studies), editor: Menahem Ben-Sasson, Jerusalem 1983, pp. 269–287. ISBN 965-235-011-7
• Sáenz-Badillos, Angel (1996). A History of the Hebrew Language. trans. John Elwolde. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-55634-1.

External links

• Pronunciation Chart, Pronunciation Chart (continued)
• Torah reading with Targum Onkelos, read by Yemenite elder, Mori Shalom Cohen
• Aleph be recording (published by http://www.temoni.org/?p=3652).
• Aharon Amram - Recordings:
  • Tunes of Yemen for Android 2.2 and up (discography from CDs at http://www.aharonamram.com/).
    • Cantillation of שביעי in Parshat Miketz (published by http://www.nosachteiman.co.il/?CategoryID=584&ArticleID=3729).
    • Reading of Psalm 119 (published by http://www.nosachteiman.co.il/?CategoryID=725&ArticleID=3078).
    • Yemenite reading of the complete Hallel (published by http://www.nosachteiman.co.il/?CategoryID=725&ArticleID=1532).
    • Piyyutim for Simchat Torah disc 1.
    • Megillat Eichah (portions thereof published by http://www.nosachteiman.co.il/?CategoryID=731&ArticleID=1115):
      • Chapter 2
      • Chapter 4
      • Chapter 5
    • Purim song: שמח דודי ביום פורים (published by http://www.nosachteiman.co.il/?CategoryID=874&ArticleID=2740).
  • שבח אשיר
• Rabbi Yosef 'Amar - Recordings and Work:
  • הקלטת וידאו משנת תשכ"ו - אופן טעמי המקרא, וכן קטעי הדגמה לאופן הקריאה בתורה
  • דוגמה לקריאות מהתנ"ך
  • קטע ממסכת ברכות
  • קטע ממסכת כלים
  • Babylonian Talmud vowelized according to the tradition of the Jews of Yemen
    • הקדמה, סימני הניקוד, מבוא, מסורת תימן של לשון התלמוד ועוד
    • כל מסכת מגילה מתוך התלמוד הבבלי בניקוד תימני להורדה (from "Nosach Teiman")
    • מסכת מכות - פרק ראשון מתוך התלמוד הבבלי בניקוד תימני להורדה (from "Nosach Teiman")
• הרב רצון ערוסי - Recordings:
  • סעודת מצווה חתן וכלה בנוסח יהודי תימן
  • קינון והספד תימני
  • ברכת חמה
  • גמרא בצוותא עם חברי כולל יום השישי
• Vocabulary of Yemenite Pronunciations, David Ben-Abraham, 2005
• On the Hebrew Language of Yemen, 2005 (mostly unreferenced)
• Rabbi Evin Sapir's Account of Yemenite Hebrew (in Hebrew); free translation at http://www.chayas.com/evinsapir.doc
• Vocalization of Hebrew Alphabet: A non-Yemenite's efforts at imitation of Sana'ani Yemenite Pronunciation of Hebrew.