[Avodah] [Areivim] Oh, Oy, Ow

[Micha Berger]

On Fri, Jun 10, 2011 at 06:35:00PM +0100, Allan Engel wrote:
: I didn't make myself clear enough, it's not two syllables, but
: a contraction of those two vowel sounds. So If you form your mouth to
: make a qametz and then segue into a shuruk, and contract the two sounds
: quickly, you get the sound of an 'american' cholam.

What seque? That was my whole point about trying to say a stretched out
cholam -- there is no piece that sounds like a qamatz or a shuruq. At
no time to you make two sounds contracted quickly.

I would say the American cholam is an Israeli cholam plus a "w".

And an Israeli cholam is a single sound, no more divisible than a chiriq.

As for the chiriq question... It's really an unemphasized vowel degrading
a schwa -- we just happen to pronounce half our chiriq's like sheva's. Much
like the final vowel in the Yiddish "Shabbes".

:-)BBii!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             If a person does not recognize one's own worth,
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