Hebrew Accents again

[SCSaunders]

Very cool. Thanks for taking the time to post these links. I'm interested in the accents' grammatical-cuing (got maqqeph on my mind). An ear for the liturgical chanting may come in time.

[bkMitchell]

... I'm interested in the accents' grammatical-cuing (got maqqeph on my mind)...

Technically, the 'Maqqeph' is not an accent however, the 'Maqqeph' does relate to the system of accents in so much as when two or more words are connect by Maqqeph in general those words are treated as if they were one word and the individual words are relinquishment of their accents, leaving one accent for one new compound hyphenated word. I have attached BW user bobvenem's Graphic Search Engine search files on the Maqqeph below:

Maqqeph.qf

Double Maqqeph.qf

Okay here are some free online resources for the grammatical/syntactical uses of the accents:


Davis, Author: The Hebrew accents of the twenty-one Books of the Bible ([K"A Sefarim]) with a new introduction (1900)http://www.archive.org/details/hebre...soft00daviuoft



Wickes, William
A treatise on the accentuation of the twenty-one so-called prose books of the Old Testament (1887)http://www.archive.org/details/treat...cent00wickuoft



Wickes, William
A treatise on the accentuation of the three so-called poetical books on the Old Testament, Psalms, Proverbs, and Job, with an appendix containing the treatise, assigned to R. Jehuda Ben-Bil'am, on the same subject, in the original Arabic (1881)
http://www.archive.org/details/treat...poet00wickuoft

Grace and Peace

[SCSaunders]

Thanks for all the links and the clarity on maqqeph. You've saved me from sounding like a grammatical hillbilly at some future geek enclave; which is going to happen sooner than you might think, the wife is planning a "nerd party." I've been told I have walk through that valley of the shadow of staring the second hand all night. I've been expressly denied the lifeline of escaping to a all-bad-guys-must-die-violently flick at the local palladium.

I had just discovered the Davis pdf; but the others are new to me. Downloading now.

What I'd like to be able to "see" as I'm reading the text, the RHB for example, is something along the lines of what this guy did with his "logical diagram," aka clausal structure layout.

Thanks again. Will definitively be consulting those pdfs.

SCSaunders

[bkMitchell]

...What I'd like to be able to "see" as I'm reading the text, the RHB for example, is something along the lines of what this guy did with his "logical diagram," aka clausal structure layout...

In that case you might be interested in the following links:
http://lc.bfbs.org.uk/e107_files/downloads/cstrees.pdf
http://pages.cs.brandeis.edu/~marc/misc/proceedings/lrec-2006/pdf/6_pdf.pdf
http://lc.bfbs.org.uk/e107_files/dow.../masoretes.pdf

However, the book Chanting the Hebrew Bible: The Art of Cantillation, also deals with syntax issues and diagrams sentences according to Michael Perlman's syntactic analysis. It also provides ample examples of how the accents can change the meaning of the sentence and words.

On, page 25 of the above mentioned work Joshua R. Jacobson gives the following example of how Gen 24:34 meaning could be change by different accents:

(a)With a major disjunctive accent on עֶ֔בֶד:
A, servant said, "I am Abraham."

(b)With a major disjunctive accent on אַבְרָהָ֑ם
Abraham's servant said, "It is I."

(c) with a major disjunctive accent on וַיֹּאמַ֑ר
וַיֹּאמַ֑ר עֶ֥בֶד אַבְרָהָ֖ם אָנֹֽכִי׃ (Gen 24:34 WTT)
He said, " I am Abraham's servent."

Jacobson's book greatly helped me understand how accents can affect translation/interpretation, for example noticed how three translations using the same Hebrew text can come out with a different interpretation based on how they read the accents:

1. "A Syrian ready to perish was my father," (Deu 26:5 KJV)
   
2. "A wandering Aramean was my father"(Deu 26:5 JPS 1917)
   
3. "An Aramean tried to kill my father"(Seder)

So, which interpretation are you going to accept? This where knowledge of the accents come in handy.


Another Book of interest is that by BibleWorks user James D.D Price
The Syntax of Masoretic Accents in the Hebrew Bible, should also be of interest.

POST SCRIPT:
Let, me be clear. I am not suggesting that you master how to chant the HebrewBible, rather I am recommend that you work on developing an 'ear' for the accents and their patterns. I think just as it is difficult to learn Hebrew words without knowing how to pronounce them, so is with the accents. In English we may not really need to know the " . " is pronounced as period, but we do know how the silence at the end of sentence sounds when there is a period. When a "?" mark is used we know that the last word of a sentence may have a rising intonation, or a falling intonation. Think about the word "really" depeneding on how it is intoned it could have the nuance of disbelief, surprise, interest, or boredom even. This is where I think having an ear for the accents helps in understanding how they change meaning and nuance in Hebrew.

[SCSaunders]

Very well said. Very well reasoned. You got me thinking. Maybe a battleship can U-turn inside a harbor.

I do listen to Hebrew audio as I read. I currently listen to these. You can find them, as I'm sure you know, at many, many links.

I've been interested in these and these, but the funds just aren't there yet. No big. It'll happen.

However, like I said, you got me thinking - you've made a great case. I've downloaded those pdfs and will very much consider the two book recommendations.

Once again, thanks for taking the time. I do want to learn all of this and you're bringing me closer to that goal.

Thanks!

[bkMitchell]

I am sure funds are tight, but when ever your have the funds I really do recommend the item at your 2nd link; Rabbi Shlomo Bertonov reading of the entire Tanakh. It is in a clear modern Israeli accent.

On, the other hand, the 1st link you posted has perfectly good free audio from Abraham Shmuelof! He was born an Israeli Jew but later converted and became a Greek Catholic priest. He record both the Tanakh and the NT in his really cool sounding Sephardi Hebrew. He even pronounces the ayins differently than his alephs(something few people do these days). It is of great interest to me that an Orthodox site (mechon-mamre) would post his audio! You can find out more information on Mr. Shmuelof here: link.

The Academy of Ancient Languages also host files of his recordings.

Thank you SCSaunders I am really enjoying this conversation!

[SCSaunders]

...Thank you SCSaunders I am really enjoying this conversation!

Same here!