View source for Begadkefat

{{short description|Phonological pattern in Hebrew}}
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{{Special characters|Hebrew}}
'''Begadkefat''' (also '''begedkefet''') is the phenomenon of [[lenition]] affecting the non-[[emphatic consonant|emphatic]] [[stop consonant]]s of [[Biblical Hebrew]] and [[Aramaic]] when they are preceded by a vowel and not [[gemination|geminated]]. The name is also given to similar cases of spirantization of post-vocalic plosives in other [[language]]s; for instance, in [[Jerba Berber]].<ref>See for instance: [[Werner Vycichl]], "Begadkefat im Berberischen", in: [[James Bynon|James]] and [[Theodora Bynon]] (eds.), ''Hamito-Semitica'', London 1975, pp. 315-317.</ref>

The phenomenon's name comprises these six consonants with haphazard [[vowel]]s for pronunciation: BeGaDKePaT. The Hebrew term {{lang|he|rtl=yes|בֶּגֶ״ד כֶּפֶ״ת}} ([[Modern Hebrew]] {{IPA|/ˌbeɡedˈkefet/}}) denotes the letters themselves (rather than the phenomenon of spirantization). If a begadkefat is at the beginning of a word and is preceded by a word ending in an open syllable, then there is no [[dagesh]].

Begedkefet spirantization developed during the Biblical Hebrew period due to Aramaic influence. Its time of emergence can be found by noting that the [[Old Aramaic]] phonemes {{IPAslink|θ}}, {{IPAslink|ð}} disappeared in the [[7th century BC]].<ref>Dolgopolsky 1999, p. 72.{{Citation not found|date=January 2018}}</ref> During this period all six plosive/fricative pairs were [[allophone|allophonic]].

In [[Modern Hebrew]], three of the six letters, {{Script/Hebrew|ב}} (bet), {{Script/Hebrew|כ}} (kaf) and {{Script/Hebrew|פ}} (pe) each still denotes a [[stop consonant|stop]]–[[fricative consonant|fricative]] variant pair; however, in Modern Hebrew these variants are no longer purely allophonic (see [[#In Modern Hebrew|below]]). Although [[orthography|orthographic variants]] of {{Script/Hebrew|ג}} ([[gimel]]), {{Script/Hebrew|ד}} ([[daleth]]) and {{Script/Hebrew|ת}} ([[taw]]) still exist, these letters' pronunciation always remains acoustically and phonologically indistinguishable.<ref group=note>In modern Hebrew, the letter gimel modified by the diacritic [[geresh]] – {{Script/Hebrew|ג׳}} – is pronounced as the [[affricate consonant|affricate]] {{IPAblink|dʒ}}; this, however, denotes a separate [[phoneme]], not connected to the phenomenon of spirantization: compare e.g. {{Script/Hebrew|גז}} {{IPA|/'''ɡ'''ez/}} ("[[wool|fleece]]") ←→ {{Script/Hebrew|ג׳ז}} {{IPA|/'''dʒ'''ez/}} ("[[jazz]]"); {{Script/Hebrew|חג}} {{IPA|/χa'''ɡ'''/}} ("[[holiday]]") ←→ {{Script/Hebrew|חג׳}} {{IPA|/χa'''dʒ'''/}} ("the [[Hajj]]"). Conversely, dalet and tav with a geresh – {{Script/Hebrew|ד׳}} and {{Script/Hebrew|ת׳}} – respectively do denote the fricatives {{IPAblink|ð}} and {{IPAblink|θ}}, however never as sounds in Hebrew words or even [[loanword]]s, but are rather used exclusively for the [[wikt:Hebraize|hebraization]] of foreign language texts or the transliteration of foreign names. Also these modern Hebrew variants have nothing to do with the phenomenon of spirantization.</ref>

In [[Ashkenazi Hebrew]] and in [[Yiddish]] borrowings from it, {{Script/Hebrew|ת}} without dagesh still denotes a fricative variant, which is pronounced {{IPAblink|s}}, which diverged from Biblical/Mishnaic {{IPAblink|θ}}.

The only pronunciation tradition to preserve and distinguish all begadkefat letters is [[Yemenite Hebrew]]. However, in Yemenite Hebrew, gimel with dagesh is a [[voiced postalveolar affricate]] {{IPAblink| d͡ʒ}} under the influence of [[Judeo-Yemeni Arabic]]; it diverged from [[Mishnaic Hebrew]] {{IPAblink|ɡ}}.

==Orthography==
The phenomenon is attributed to the following allophonic consonants:

{|class=wikitable
! rowspan=2 colspan=2|
! colspan=2| Plosives
! colspan=2| Spirants
! colspan=2| Hebrew Notes
|-
! Hebrew
! Syriac
! Hebrew
! Syriac
! Biblical,<br />Mishnaic
! Standard<br />Israeli
|-
! rowspan=2| [[Bet (letter)|Bet]]
! Letter
| style="font-size:140%; text-align: center;" |<big>{{Script/Hebrew|בּ}}</big>
| style="font-size:140%; text-align: center;" |<big>{{lang|syr|ܒ݁}}</big>
| style="font-size:140%; text-align: center;" |<big>{{Script/Hebrew|ב}}</big>
| style="font-size:140%; text-align: center;" |<big>{{lang|syr|ܒ݂}}</big>
| [β]
| [v]
|-
!IPA
| style="text-align: center;" colspan=2 | {{IPAblink|b}}
| style="text-align: center;" colspan=2 | {{IPAblink|β}}
| colspan=2| -
|-
! rowspan=2| [[Gimel]]
! Letter
| style="font-size:140%; text-align: center;" |<big>{{Script/Hebrew|גּ}}</big>
| style="font-size:140%; text-align: center;" |<big>{{lang|syr|ܓ݁}}</big>
| style="font-size:140%; text-align: center;" |<big>{{Script/Hebrew|ג}}</big>
| style="font-size:140%; text-align: center;" |<big>{{lang|syr|ܓ݂}}</big>
| [ɣ]
| [ɡ]
|-
! IPA
| style="text-align: center;" colspan=2 |  {{IPAblink|ɡ}}
| style="text-align: center;" colspan=2 |  {{IPAblink|ɣ}}
| colspan=2| -
|-
! rowspan=2| [[Dalet]]
! Letter
| style="font-size:140%; text-align: center;" |<big>{{Script/Hebrew|דּ}}</big>
| style="font-size:140%; text-align: center;" |<big>{{lang|syr|ܕ݁}}</big>
| style="font-size:140%; text-align: center;" |<big>{{Script/Hebrew|ד}}</big>
| style="font-size:140%; text-align: center;" |<big>{{lang|syr|ܕ݂}}</big>
| [ð]
| [d]
|-
! IPA
| style="text-align: center;" colspan=2 |  {{IPAblink|d}}
| style="text-align: center;" colspan=2 |  {{IPAblink|ð}}
| colspan=2| -
|-
! rowspan=2| [[Kaph]]
! Letter
| style="font-size:140%; text-align: center;" |<big>{{Script/Hebrew|כּ}}</big>
| style="font-size:140%; text-align: center;" |<big>{{lang|syr|ܟ݁}}</big>
| style="font-size:140%; text-align: center;" |<big>{{Script/Hebrew|כ}}</big>
| style="font-size:140%; text-align: center;" |<big>{{lang|syr|ܟ݂}}</big>
| [x]
| {{IPAblink|χ}}
|-
! IPA
| style="text-align: center;" colspan=2 |  {{IPAblink|k}}
| style="text-align: center;" colspan=2 |  {{IPAblink|x}}
| colspan=2| -
|-
! rowspan=2| [[Pe (Semitic letter)|Pe]]
! Letter
| style="font-size:140%; text-align: center;" |<big>{{Script/Hebrew|פּ}}</big>
| style="font-size:140%; text-align: center;" |<big>{{lang|syr|ܦ݁}}</big>
| style="font-size:140%; text-align: center;" |<big>{{Script/Hebrew|פ}}</big>
| style="font-size:140%; text-align: center;" |<big>{{lang|syr|ܦ݂}}</big>
| [ɸ]
| {{IPAblink|f}}
|-
! IPA
| style="text-align: center;" colspan=2 |  {{IPAblink|p}}
| style="text-align: center;" colspan=2 |  {{IPAblink|ɸ}}
| colspan=2| -
|-
! rowspan=2| [[Taw]]
! Letter
| style="font-size:140%; text-align: center;" |<big>{{Script/Hebrew|תּ}}</big>
| style="font-size:140%; text-align: center;" |<big>{{lang|syr|ܬ݁}}</big>
| style="font-size:140%; text-align: center;" |<big>{{Script/Hebrew|ת}}</big>
| style="font-size:140%; text-align: center;" |<big>{{lang|syr|ܬ݂}}</big>
| [θ]
| [t]
|-
! IPA
| style="text-align: center;" colspan=2 |  {{IPAblink|t}}
| style="text-align: center;" colspan=2 |  {{IPAblink|θ}}
| colspan=2| -
|}

In [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] [[Ktiv menuqad|writing with niqqud]], a dot in the center of one of these letters, called [[dagesh]] <span style="direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:bidi-override">(&nbsp;ּ&nbsp;)</span>, marks the plosive articulation:
* at the beginning of a word{{#tag:ref|In Hebrew texts that are not modern, begedkefet letters at the beginning of a word ''preceded by a vowel'' are sometimes written without a dagesh and therefore pronounced as fricatives, e.g. "{{Script/Hebrew|אֲשֶׁר־בּוֹ פְרִי־עֵץ}}" ({{IPA|/aʃer bo '''f'''ri ʕets/}}, [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] 1, 29), but not always – e.g. "{{Script/Hebrew|עֹשֶׂה פְּרִי}}" ({{IPA|/ʕose '''p'''ri/}}, Genesis 1, 11 and 1, 12).<ref>{{bibleref|Gen|1|HE}}, Mechon Mamre.</ref> This is governed by the stress and [[Hebrew cantillation|cantillation]] mark of the preceding word, but the detailed rules are beyond the scope of this article.|group=note}} or after a consonant (in which cases it is termed "dagesh qal"<ref group=note>In modern Hebrew [[ktiv menuqad]], the dagesh qal is marked also in the three begedkefet letters which can no longer denote a fricative variant – {{Script/Hebrew|[[ג]]}} ({{IPAblink|ɡ}}), {{Script/Hebrew|[[ד]]}} ({{IPAblink|d}}) and {{Script/Hebrew|[[ת]]}} ({{IPAblink|t}}) – conserving the [[Masoretes|masoretic]] [[niqqud]] tradition.</ref>),
* when the sound is – or was historically – [[gemination|geminated]] (in which case it is termed "dagesh ẖazaq", a mark for historical gemination in most other consonants of the language as well), and
* in some modern Hebrew words independently of these conditions (see below).

A line (similar to a [[Macron (diacritic)|macron]]) placed above it, called "[[rafe]]" <span style="direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:bidi-override">(&nbsp;<big>ֿ</big>&nbsp;)</span>, marks in Yiddish (and rarely in Hebrew) the fricative articulation.

==In Modern Hebrew==
As mentioned above, the fricative variants of {{IPAblink|ɡ}}, {{IPAblink|d}} and {{IPAblink|t}} no longer exist in modern Hebrew.  (However, Hebrew ''does'' have the [[guttural R]] consonant {{IPAslink|ʁ}} which is the voiced counterpart of {{IPAslink|χ}} and sounds similar to [[Mizrahi Hebrew]]'s fricative variant of {{IPAblink|ɡ}} ḡimel as well as [[Arabic]]'s غ ġayn, both of which are {{IPA|[{{IPAplink|ɣ}}~{{IPAplink|ʁ}}]}}. Modern Hebrew ר resh can still sporadically be found standing in for this phoneme, for example in the Hebrew rendering of [[Raleb Majadele|Raleb (Ghaleb) Majadele]]'s name.)  The three remaining pairs {{IPAslink|b}}~{{IPAslink|v}}, {{IPAslink|k}}~{{IPAslink|χ}}, and {{IPAslink|p}}~{{IPAslink|f}} still sometimes [[Alternation (linguistics)|alternate]], as demonstrated in [[inflection]]s of many [[Semitic root|root]]s in which the roots' meaning is retained despite variation of begedkefet letters' [[manner of articulation]], e.g.,

{|cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 style="white-space:nowrap; border-style:none"
|colspan=3|in [[verb]]s:
|-
|{{•}}{{Script/Hebrew|בוא ← תבוא}}||<span style="margin-left:5px;margin-right:5px;">{{IPA|/'''b'''o/ → /taˈ'''v'''o/}}</span>||("come" ([[Imperative mood|imperative]]) → "you will come"),
|-
|{{•}}{{Script/Hebrew|שבר ← נשבר}}||<span style="margin-left:5px;margin-right:5px;">{{IPA|/ʃaˈ'''v'''aʁ/ → /niʃˈ'''b'''aʁ/}}</span>||("broke" ([[Transitive verb|transitive]]) → "broke" ([[Intransitive verb|intransitive]]),
|-
|{{•}}{{Script/Hebrew|כתב ← יכתוב}}||<span style="margin-left:5px;margin-right:5px;">{{IPA|/'''k'''aˈtav/ → /ji'''χ'''ˈtov/}}</span>||("he wrote" → "he will write"),
|-
|{{•}}{{Script/Hebrew|זכר ← יזכור}}||<span style="margin-left:5px;margin-right:5px;">{{IPA|/zaˈ'''χ'''aʁ/ → /jizˈ'''k'''oʁ/}}</span>||("he remembered" → "he will remember"),
|-
|{{•}}{{Script/Hebrew|פנית ← לפנות}}||<span style="margin-left:5px;margin-right:5px;">{{IPA|/'''p'''aˈnit/ → /li'''f'''ˈnot/}}</span>||("you (''f.'') turned" → "to turn"),
|-
|{{•}}{{Script/Hebrew|שפטת ← לשפוט}}||<span style="margin-left:5px;margin-right:5px;">{{IPA|/ʃaˈ'''f'''atet/ → /liʃˈ'''p'''ot/}}</span>||("you (''f.'') judged" → "to judge "),
|-
|colspan=3|or in [[noun]]s:
|-
|{{•}}{{Script/Hebrew|ערב ← ערביים}}||<span style="margin-left:5px;margin-right:5px;">{{IPA|/ˈeʁe'''v'''/ → /aʁˈ'''b'''ajim/}}</span>||("evening" → "twilight"),
|-
|{{•}}{{Script/Hebrew|מלך ← מלכה}}||<span style="margin-left:5px;margin-right:5px;">{{IPA|/ˈmele'''χ'''/ → /malˈ'''k'''a/}}</span>||("king" → "queen"),
|-
|{{•}}{{Script/Hebrew|אלף ← אלפית}}||<span style="margin-left:5px;margin-right:5px;">{{IPA|/ˈele'''f'''/ → /alˈ'''p'''it/}}</span>||("a thousand" → "a thousandth"),
|}
however, in Modern Hebrew, stop and fricative variants of {{Script/Hebrew|[[ב]]}}{{rtl}}, {{Script/Hebrew|[[כ]]}} and {{Script/Hebrew|[[פ]]}} are distinct phonemes, and there are [[minimal pair]]s:
{|cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 style="white-space:nowrap; border-style:none"
|{{•}}{{Script/Hebrew|אִפֵּר – אִפֵר}}||<span style="margin-left:5px;margin-right:5px;">{{IPA|/iˈ'''p'''eʁ/}} – {{IPA|/iˈ'''f'''eʁ/}}</span>||("applied make up" – "tipped ash"),
|-
|{{•}}{{Script/Hebrew|פִּסְפֵּס – פִסְפֵס}}||<span style="margin-left:5px;margin-right:5px;">{{IPA|/'''p'''isˈ'''p'''es/}} – {{IPA|/'''f'''isˈ'''f'''es/}}</span>||("striped" – "missed"),
|-
|{{•}}{{Script/Hebrew|הִתְחַבֵּר – הִתְחַבֵר}}||<span style="margin-left:5px;margin-right:5px;">{{IPA|/hitχaˈ'''b'''eʁ/}} – {{IPA|/hitχaˈ'''v'''eʁ/}}</span>||("connected" – "made friends (with)"),
|-
|{{•}}{{Script/Hebrew|הִשְׁתַּבֵּץ – הִשְׁתַּבֵץ}}||<span style="margin-left:5px;margin-right:5px;">{{IPA|/hiʃtaˈ'''b'''ets/}} – {{IPA|/hiʃtaˈ'''v'''ets/}}</span>||("got integrated" – "was shocked"),
|}
and consider, e.g.:
{|cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 style="border-style:none"
|style="vertical-align:top; padding-right:3px"|{{•}}&nbsp;&nbsp;||{{Script/Hebrew|לככב}} "to star", whose common pronunciation {{IPA|/le'''k'''aˈ'''χ'''ev/}} preserves the [[manner of articulation]] of each [[Kaph|kaf]] in the word it is [[morphological derivation|derived]] from: {{Script/Hebrew|כּוֹכָב}} {{IPA|/'''k'''oˈ'''χ'''av/}} "a star" (first stop, then [[Fricative consonant|fricative]]), as opposed to the [[linguistic prescription|prescribed]] pronunciation {{IPA|/le'''χ'''aˈ'''k'''ev/}}, which regards the variation in pronunciation of kaf {{IPAslink|χ}} ←→ {{IPAslink|k}} as allophonic and determines its manner of articulation according to historical phonological principles; or:
|-
|style="vertical-align:top; padding-right:3px"|{{•}}&nbsp;&nbsp;||similarly, {{Script/Hebrew|לרכל}} "to gossip", whose prescribed pronunciation {{IPA|/leʁaˈkel/}} is [[Colloquialism|colloquially]] rejected, commonly pronounced {{IPA|/leʁaˈχel/}}, preserving the fricative manner of articulation in related nouns (e.g. {{Script/Hebrew|רכילות}} {{IPA|/ʁeχiˈlut/}} "gossip", {{Script/Hebrew|רכלן}} {{IPA|/ʁaχˈlan/}} "gossiper").
|}
This phonemic divergence is due to a number of factors, amongst others:
*due to loss of consonant gemination in modern Hebrew, which formerly distinguished the stop members of the pairs from the fricatives when intervocalic – e.g. in the [[inflection]]s:
:{|cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 style="white-space:nowrap; border-style:none"
|{{•}}{{Script/Hebrew|קפץ ← קיפץ}}||<span style="margin-left:5px;">{{IPA|/kaˈ'''f'''ats/ → /kiˈ'''p'''ets/}},</span> historically <span style="margin-right:5px;">{{IPA|/ki'''p'''ˈ'''p'''ets/}}</span>||("jumped" → "hopped"),
|-
|{{•}}{{Script/Hebrew|שבר ← שיבר}}||<span style="margin-left:5px;">{{IPA|/ʃaˈ'''v'''ar/ → /ʃiˈ'''b'''er/}},</span> historically <span style="margin-right:5px;">{{IPA|/ʃi'''b'''ˈ'''b'''er/}}</span>||("broke" → "shattered"),
|-
|{{•}}{{Script/Hebrew|שכן ← שיכן}}||<span style="margin-left:5px;">{{IPA|/ʃaˈ'''χ'''an/ → /ʃiˈ'''k'''en/}},</span> historically <span style="margin-right:5px;">{{IPA|/ʃi'''k'''ˈ'''k'''en/}}</span>||("resided" → "housed"),
|}
*due to the introduction, through [[loanword|foreign borrowings]], of:
:{{•}}syllable-initial {{IPAslink|f}} (e.g. {{Script/Hebrew|פברק}} {{IPA|/'''f'''ibˈʁek/}} "fabricated"),
:{{•}}non-syllable-initial {{IPAslink|p}} (e.g. {{Script/Hebrew|הפנט}} {{IPA|/hi'''p'''ˈnet/}} "hypnotized")
:{{•}}non-syllable-initial {{IPAslink|b}} (e.g. {{Script/Hebrew|פברק}} {{IPA|/fi'''b'''ˈʁek/}} "fabricated"), ג׳וֹבּ {{IPA|/dʒo'''b'''/}} "job", {{Script/Hebrew|קוּבּ}} {{IPA|/ku'''b'''/}} "cubic meter", {{Script/Hebrew|פָּאבּ}} {{IPA|/pa'''b'''/}} "pub").

Even aside from borrowings or lost gemination, common Israeli pronunciation sometimes violates the original [[phonology|phonological]] principle "stop variant after a consonant; fricative after a vowel", although this principle is still [[linguistic prescription|prescribed]] as standard by the [[Academy of the Hebrew Language]], e.g.:
* The words {{Script/Hebrew|מעבורת}} ([[ferry]]) and {{Script/Hebrew|מעברות}} ([[Ma'abarot|refugee absorption camps]]), whose respective prescribed pronunciation is <span style="white-space:nowrap">{{IPA|/maʕˈ'''b'''oʁet/}}</span> and {{IPA|/maʕ'''b'''aˈʁot/}}, are commonly pronounced {{IPA|/ma.aˈ'''b'''oʁet/}} and {{IPA|/ma.a'''b'''aˈʁot/}}, replacing the consonant ({{IPAslink|ʕ}}) with a vowel ({{IPAslink|ä|a}}), but still preferring the stop variant {{IPAslink|b}} to its fricative counterpoint {{IPAslink|v}}.
* Similarly, the words {{Script/Hebrew|העפלה}} ([[Aliyah Bet]], called the Ha'apala which designates the covert Jewish immigration to British Palestine, 1934–1948) and {{Script/Hebrew|מעפילים}} (the immigrants of this immigration), whose respective prescribed pronunciation is {{IPA|/haʕ'''p'''aˈla/}} and {{IPA|/maʕ'''p'''iˈlim/}}, are commonly pronounced {{IPA|/ha.a'''p'''aˈla/}} and {{IPA|/ma.a'''p'''iˈlim/}}, again replacing the consonant ({{IPAslink|ʕ}}) with the vowel ({{IPAslink|ä|a}}), but still preferring the stop {{IPAslink|p}} to the fricative {{IPAslink|f}}.
* Conversely, words like {{Script/Hebrew|להכחיש}} (to deny) or {{Script/Hebrew|מכחול}} (paintbrush), whose respective prescribed pronunciation is {{IPA|/leha'''χ'''ˈħiʃ/}} and {{IPA|/mi'''χ'''ˈħol/}}, are commonly pronounced {{IPA|/leha'''k'''ˈχiʃ/}} and {{IPA|/mi'''k'''ˈχol/}}, preferring the stop {{IPAslink|k}} to the fricative {{IPAslink|χ}}, although following vowels (respectively {{IPAslink|ä|a}} and {{IPAslink|i}}), due to the shifting of the original semitic pronunciation of the letter {{Script/Hebrew|ח}} ([[heth]]) from {{IPAslink|ħ}} to {{IPAslink|χ}}, rendering it identical to common Israeli pronunciation of the fricative variant of the letter {{Script/Hebrew|כ}}.

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
* {{Cite GHG|12}}, {{Cite GHG|13|notitle=1}}, {{Cite GHG|21|notitle=1}}

{{Hebrew language}}

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[[Category:Linguistic morphology]]
[[Category:Hebrew language]]
[[Category:Aramaic languages]]