Aleph

Aleph originally represented the glottal stop ( [ ʔ ] ), usually transliterated as ʾ (U+02BE) " modifier letter right half ring ", a character of the Unicode Spacing Modifier Letters range, based on the Greek spiritus lenis . The Phoenician letter gave rise to the Greek Alpha (Α), being re-interpreted to express not the glottal consonant but the accompanying vowel , and hence the Latin A and Cyrillic А .

Aleph is the first letter of the Semitic abjads , including Phoenician 'Ālep , Hebrew 'Ālef א , Aramaic Ālap , Syriac ʾĀlap̄ ܐ , and Arabic Alif ا . The Phoenician letter is derived from an Egyptian hieroglyphs which depicts an ox's head and gave rise to the Greek Alpha (Α), being re-interpreted to express not the glottal consonant but the accompanying vowel , and hence the Latin A and Cyrillic А . In phonetics, aleph / ˈ ɑː l ɛ f / originally represented the glottal stop ( [ ʔ ] ), often transliterated as U+02BE   ʾ MODIFIER LETTER RIGHT HALF RING , based on the Greek spiritus lenis ʼ , for example, in the transliteration of the letter name itself, ʾāleph . Oldest alphabet found in Egypt

First letter of many Semitic alphabets For other uses, see Aleph (disambiguation) and Alef (disambiguation) . Aleph (or Alef or Álefe , transliterated ʾ ) is the first letter of the Semitic abjads , including Phoenician ʾālep 𐤀 , Hebrew ʾālef א , Aramaic ʾālap 𐡀 , Syriac ʾālap̄ ܐ , and Arabic alif ا . It also appears as South Arabian 𐩱, and Ge'ez ʾälef አ . These letters are believed to have derived from an Egyptian hieroglyph depicting an ox's head. The Phoenician variant gave rise to the Greek alpha ( Α ), being re-interpreted to express not the glottal consonant but the accompanying vowel , and hence the Latin A and Cyrillic А . In phonetics , aleph / ˈ ɑː l ɛ f / originally represented the onset of a vowel at the glottis . In Semitic languages, this functions as a weak consonant allowing roots with only two true consonants to be conjugated in the manner of a standard three consonant Semitic root. In most Hebrew dialects as well as Syriac, the glottal onset represented by aleph is an absence of a true consonant although a glottal stop ( [ ʔ ] ), which is a true consonant, typically occurs as an allophone. In Arabic, the alif has the glottal stop pronunciation when occurring initially. In text with diacritical marks, the pronunciation as a glottal stop is usually indicated by a special marking, hamza in Arabic and mappiq in Tiberian Hebrew. (Although once thought to be the original pronunciation of aleph in all cases where it behaves as a consonant, a consistent glottal stop appears to have been absent in ancient Semitic languages such as Akkadian and Ugaritic besides being absent in Syriac and Hebrew.) Occasionally, the aleph was also used to indicate an initial unstressed vowel before certain consonant clusters, without functioning as a consonant itself, the prosthetic (or prothetic) aleph . In later Semitic languages, aleph could sometimes function as a mater lectionis indicating the presence of a vowel elsewhere (usually long). The period at which use as a mater lectionis began is the subject of some controversy, though it had become well established by the late stage of Old Aramaic (ca. 200 BCE). Aleph is often transliterated as U+02BE   ʾ MODIFIER LETTER RIGHT HALF RING , based on the Greek spiritus lenis ʼ ; for example, in the transliteration of the letter name itself, ʾāleph . Studies in Hebrew and Aramaic Orthography .

First letter of many Semitic abjads "Alef" redirects here. Aleph (or alef or alif , transliterated ʾ ) is the first letter of the Semitic abjads , including Phoenician ʾālep 𐤀, Hebrew ʾālef א, Aramaic ʾālap 𐡀, Syriac ʾālap̄ ܐ, Arabic ʾalif ا, and North Arabian 𐪑. It also appears as South Arabian 𐩱 and Ge'ez ʾälef አ. These letters are believed to have derived from an Egyptian hieroglyph depicting an ox's head to describe the initial sound of *ʾalp , the West Semitic word for ox (compare Biblical Hebrew אֶלֶף ‎ ʾelef , "ox" ). The Phoenician variant gave rise to the Greek alpha ( Α ), being re-interpreted to express not the glottal consonant but the accompanying vowel , and hence the Latin A and Cyrillic А . Phonetically , aleph originally represented the onset of a vowel at the glottis . In Semitic languages, this functions as a prosthetic weak consonant, allowing roots with only two true consonants to be conjugated in the manner of a standard three consonant Semitic root. In most Hebrew dialects as well as Syriac, the aleph is an absence of a true consonant, a glottal stop ( [ ʔ ] ), the sound found in the catch in uh - oh . In Arabic, the alif represents the glottal stop pronunciation when it is the initial letter of a word. In texts with diacritical marks, the pronunciation of an aleph as a consonant is rarely indicated by a special marking, hamza in Arabic and mappiq in Tiberian Hebrew. In later Semitic languages, aleph could sometimes function as a mater lectionis indicating the presence of a vowel elsewhere (usually long). When this practice began is the subject of some controversy, though it had become well established by the late stage of Old Aramaic (ca. 200 BCE). Aleph is often transliterated as U+02BE   ʾ MODIFIER LETTER RIGHT HALF RING , based on the Greek spiritus lenis ʼ ; for example, in the transliteration of the letter name itself, ʾāleph . Biblical Archaeology Review . 36 (2): 40– 53. Studies in Hebrew and Aramaic Orthography .

First letter of many Semitic abjads "Alef" redirects here. Aleph (or alef or alif , transliterated ʾ ) is the first letter of the Semitic abjads , including Phoenician ʾālep 𐤀, Hebrew ʾālef א ‎, Aramaic ʾālap 𐡀, Syriac ʾālap̄ ܐ, Arabic ʾalif ا ‎, and North Arabian 𐪑. It also appears as South Arabian 𐩱 and Ge'ez ʾälef አ. These letters are believed to have derived from an Egyptian hieroglyph depicting an ox's head to describe the initial sound of *ʾalp , the West Semitic word for ox (compare Biblical Hebrew אֶלֶף ‎ ʾelef , "ox" ). The Phoenician variant gave rise to the Greek alpha ( Α ), being re-interpreted to express not the glottal consonant but the accompanying vowel , and hence the Latin A and Cyrillic А and possibly the Armenian letter Ա . Phonetically , aleph originally represented the onset of a vowel at the glottis . In Semitic languages, this functions as a prosthetic weak consonant, allowing roots with only two true consonants to be conjugated in the manner of a standard three consonant Semitic root. In most Hebrew dialects as well as Syriac, the aleph is an absence of a true consonant, a glottal stop ( [ ʔ ] ), the sound found in the catch in uh - oh . In Arabic, the alif represents the glottal stop pronunciation when it is the initial letter of a word. In texts with diacritical marks, the pronunciation of an aleph as a consonant is rarely indicated by a special marking, hamza in Arabic and mappiq in Tiberian Hebrew. In later Semitic languages, aleph could sometimes function as a mater lectionis indicating the presence of a vowel elsewhere (usually long). When this practice began is the subject of some controversy, though it had become well established by the late stage of Old Aramaic (ca. 200 BCE). Aleph is often transliterated as U+02BE   ʾ MODIFIER LETTER RIGHT HALF RING , based on the Greek spiritus lenis ʼ ; for example, in the transliteration of the letter name itself, ʾāleph . Biblical Archaeology Review . 36 (2): 40– 53. Studies in Hebrew and Aramaic Orthography .