“Vocalizing” – Phonetic Lesson.
Free Heblish Challenge – January 2010 – Training – Day 5:
Hi!
Why “Hi” and not “Shalom“?
Because I wanted to show you that here in Israel in a casual setting, like between friends and family, we usually say “hi” instead of “shalom.” “Hi, shalom” and sometimes even “ahalan” (which is an Arab word) are common ways to say hello in Israel.
Day 5… that’s great!
In our previous lesson we talked about the sound of the vowels E and I. If you don’t remember or you missed that lesson, please go back read and listen to the videos of Lesson 4. It is necessary for all our lessons.
Today’s menu: Vowels A, O & U and their sounds
Today, let’s continue with our subject “Vocalizing,” and we’ll learn how to pronounce the last three Heblish vowels. We’ll also see where to put the accent in the words we’ve learned so far.
Some of you have asked to “hear” how I pronounce the Hebrew words. You can find a link to that video in the end of the lesson.
A
Every time you read an “a” in our Heblish words, you should pronounce it like the “a” sound in “father, la (the note), balloon” and also “star”.
It is not like the “a” of “air, bad, sand, mail” or “cat”.
When you say “a” in Heblish, your mouth should be open: like when you say “aaah” at the doctor’s office… Well, “aa” would be pretty good… 😉
Watch this short video on YouTube: The sound of the vowel A (16 seconds)
Now, after you have heard the sound of this letter, here are the words you’ve learned with “a,” and how each word should be accented.
The bold vowels represent the “a” sound and the underline represents the accent.
– Lehitraot (goodbye)
– Laila tov (goodnight)
– Toda (thanks or thank you)
– Malon (hotel)
– Shalom (hello) and
– Bevakasha (please).
O
Every time you read an “o” in our Heblish words, you should pronounce it like the “o” in “boy, or, New York, Obama” or “phone”.
It is not like the “o” of “lesson, London” or “freedom,” because you are swallowing the “o” for these words.
Watch this short video on YouTube: The sound of the vowel O (14 seconds)
Up to this point we have learned some words using “o,” and now we’ll see how each word should be accented.
The bold vowels represent the “o” sound and the underline represents the accent.
– Tov (good)
– Shalom (hello)
– Lehitraot (goodbye)
– Boker (morning)
– Toda (thanks)
– Eifo (where)
– Malon (hotel), and
– Telephone (telephone).
U
Every time you read a “u” in our Heblish words, you should read it like the “u” of “Cuba, request,” or “rule”, and also “zoo” and “Jew“.
It is not like the “u” of “discuss, sub, Saturday” or “return”.
Watch this short video on YouTube: The sound of the vowel U (20 seconds)
Up to this point we have learned only one word using “u”:
– Sherutim (toilet, bathroom).
Here is the video I promised you in the beginning of the lesson.
You did it!
You have learned all five of the Heblish vowels and you have seen that we always use the same sound for a specific vowel.
Now you can pronounce almost every word in Hebrew, and there is still time left over to sit and plan your weekend…. 😉
Attention: Please remember, there are no lessons posted on holidays, yours or mine. As Monday, January 18, 2010 is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, there will be no lesson on that day.
Don’t miss our next lesson, on Thursday, January 21; it is VERY important lesson!
So….. lehitraot in lesson 6!
