Editing Hanukkah (section)

=== Alternative spellings ===
[[File:Hanukkah.png|thumb|Spelling variations due to transliteration of Hebrew ''Ḥet Nun Vav Kaf Hey'']]
In [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], the word Hanukkah is written {{Script/Hebrew|חֲנֻכָּה}} or {{Script/Hebrew|חֲנוּכָּה}} ({{transliteration|he|Ḥănukā}}). It is most commonly [[transliteration|transliterated]] to English as ''Hanukkah'' or ''{{transliteration|he|Chanukah}}''. The spelling ''Hanukkah'', which is based on using characters of the English alphabet as symbols to re-create the word's correct spelling in Hebrew,<ref name=forward>{{cite web|url=https://forward.com/opinion/148856/yes-virginia-hanukkah-has-a-correct-spelling/|title=Yes, Virginia, Hanukkah Has a Correct Spelling|date=30 December 2011 }}</ref> is the most common<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://time.com/3636698/right-spelling-hanukkah-chanukah-hannukah/|title=Is There a Right Way to Spell Hanukkah? Chanukah? Hannukah?|magazine=Time}}</ref> and the preferred choice of [[Merriam–Webster]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Hanukkah|title=Definition of HANUKKAH|website=www.merriam-webster.com|date=5 December 2023 }}</ref> ''[[Collins English Dictionary]]'', the ''[[Hart's Rules|Oxford Style Manual]]'', and the style guides of ''[[The New York Times]]'' and ''[[The Guardian]]''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/mind-your-language/2012/dec/07/hanukah-chanukah-chutzpah-embrace-yiddish|title=Hanukah or Chanukah? Have the chutzpah to embrace Yiddish|first=Harriet|last=Powney|date=7 December 2012|newspaper=the Guardian}}</ref> The sound represented by ''Ch'' ({{IPAblink|χ}}, similar to the [[Scots language|Scottish]] pronunciation of ''[[loch]]'') is not native to the [[English language]].<ref>Its use in transliteration of Hebrew into English is based on influences of Yiddish and German, particularly since transliteration into German tended to be earlier than transliteration into English. See {{slink|Romanization of Hebrew|How to transliterate}}.</ref> Furthermore, the letter ''[[heth|ḥeth]]'' ({{Script/Hebrew|ח|rtl=yes}}), which is the first letter in the Hebrew spelling, is pronounced differently in modern Hebrew ([[voiceless uvular fricative]]) from in classical Hebrew ([[voiceless pharyngeal fricative]] {{IPAblink|ħ}}), and neither of those sounds is unambiguously representable in English spelling. However, its original sound is closer to the English ''H'' than to the Scottish ''Ch'', and ''Hanukkah'' more accurately represents the spelling in the Hebrew alphabet.<ref name=forward/> Moreover, the 'kaf' consonant is [[geminate]] in classical (but not modern) Hebrew. Adapting the classical Hebrew pronunciation with the geminate and pharyngeal {{transliteration|he|Ḥeth}} can lead to the spelling ''Hanukkah'', while adapting the modern Hebrew pronunciation with no gemination and uvular {{transliteration|he|Ḥeth}} leads to the spelling {{transliteration|he|Chanukah}}.<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 1, 2011 |title=Hebrew Alphabet |url=https://hebrewsyntax.org/bbh2/bbh2_supplement.pdf |access-date=November 25, 2023 |page=2}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Which Is Correct: Hanukkah or Chanukah? {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/story/which-is-correct-hanukkah-or-chanukah |access-date=2023-11-25 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=How Do You Spell Hanukkah? |url=https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/how-do-you-spell-hanukkah/ |access-date=2023-11-25 |website=My Jewish Learning |language=en-US}}</ref>