Editing Modern Hebrew phonology (section)

==Consonants==
The following table lists the consonant phonemes of Israeli Hebrew in [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]] transcription:{{sfnp|Dekel|2014|p=8}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
!
! colspan="2" | [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! colspan="2" | [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! colspan="2" | [[Palato-alveolar consonant|Palato-<br />alveolar]]
! colspan="2" | [[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! colspan="2" | [[Velar consonant|Velar]]/<br />[[Uvular consonant|uvular]]
! colspan="2" | [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! [[Stop consonant|Stop]]
| style="border-right: 0; width: 1.5em;" | {{IPA link|p}}
| style="border-left: 0; width: 1.5em;" | {{IPA link|b}}
| style="border-right: 0; width: 1.5em;" | {{IPA link|t}}
| style="border-left: 0; width: 1.5em;" | {{IPA link|d}}
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| style="border-right: 0; width: 1.5em;" | {{IPA link|k}}
| style="border-left: 0; width: 1.5em;" | {{IPA link|ɡ}}
| style="border-right: 0; width: 1.5em;" | {{IPA link|ʔ}}<sup>2</sup>
| style="border-left: 0; width: 1.5em;" |
|-
! [[Affricate consonant|Affricate]]
| colspan="2" |
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPA link|ts}}
| style="border-left: 0;" |
| style="border-right: 0; width: 1.5em;" |{{IPA link|tʃ}}<sup>4</sup>*
| style="border-left: 0; width: 1.5em;" |{{IPA link|dʒ}}*
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
|-
! [[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPA link|f}}
| style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPA link|v}}
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPA link|s}}
| style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPA link|z}}
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPA link|ʃ}}
| style="border-left: 0;" |{{IPA link|ʒ}}*
| colspan="2" |
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPA link|χ}}<sup>1</sup>
| style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPA link|ʁ}}<sup>3</sup>
| style="border-right: 0;" | {{IPA link|h}}<sup>2</sup>
| style="border-left: 0;" |
|-
! [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| style="border-right: 0;" |
| style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPA link|m}}
| style="border-right: 0;" |
| style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPA link|n}}
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
|-
! [[Approximant consonant|Approximant]]
| colspan="2" |
| style="border-right: 0;" |
| style="border-left: 0;" | {{IPA link|l}}
| colspan="2" |
| style="border-right: 0; width: 1.5em;" |
| style="border-left: 0; width: 1.5em;" | {{IPA link|j}}
| style="border-right: 0;" |
| style="border-left: 0;" |{{IPA link|w}}*
| colspan="2" |
|}
:<nowiki>*</nowiki> Phoneme was introduced through [[loanword]]s.
:<sup>1</sup> {{sfnp|Dekel|2014|p=8}}{{sfnp|Laufer|1999|p=98}} In modern Hebrew {{IPA|/ħ/}} for ח has merged with {{IPA|/x/}} (which was traditionally used only for fricative כ) into {{IPA|/χ/}}. Some older [[Mizrahi Jews|Mizrahi]] speakers still separate these (as explained above).{{sfnp|Dekel|2014|p=8}} {{IPA|/χ/}} is often realized as a [[voiceless uvular trill]] {{IPA|[ʀ̥]}}.{{sfnp|Laufer|1999|p=98}}<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gafter |first1=Roey J. |title=Trilling as a sociolinguistic variable: Ethnicity and variation in the Hebrew dorsal fricatives |journal=Sociolinguistic Studies |date=10 February 2021 |volume=14 |issue=4 |doi=10.1558/sols.39210 |issn=1750-8649}}</ref>
:<sup>2</sup> The glottal consonants tend to be elided,<ref name="brill"/> which is most common in unstressed syllables. In informal speech, elision may occur in stressed syllables as well, whereas in careful or formal speech, glottals may be retained in all positions. In modern Hebrew {{IPA|/ʕ/}} for ע has been absorbed by {{IPA|/ʔ/}}, which was traditionally used only for {{Script/Hebrew|א}}. Again, some speakers still separate these.{{sfnp|Dekel|2014|p=8}}
:<sup>3</sup> {{IPA|/ʁ/}} is usually pronounced as a uvular approximant {{IPAblink|ʁ̞}}, and sometimes as a uvular trill {{IPAblink|ʀ}}, alveolar trill {{IPAblink|r}} or alveolar flap {{IPAblink|ɾ}}, depending on the background of the speaker.<ref name="brill">{{Cite journal |last1=Asherov |first1=Daniel |last2=Cohen |first2=Evan-Gary |year=2019 |title=A phonetic description of Modern Hebrew consonants and vowels |journal=Brill's Annual of Afroasiatic Languages & Linguistics |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=2–12, 17 |doi=10.1163/18776930-01101002 |issn=1876-6633}}</ref>
:<sup>4</sup> While the phoneme {{IPA|/tʃ/}} {{Script/Hebrew|צ׳}} was introduced through borrowings,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Bolozky|first=Shmuel|date=1997|title=Israeli Hebrew phonology|url=https://works.bepress.com/shmuel_bolozky/38/download/|journal=Israeli Hebrew Phonology}}</ref> it can appear in native words as a sequence of {{IPA|/t/}} {{Script/Hebrew|ת}} and {{IPA|/ʃ/}} {{Script/Hebrew|שׁ}} as in {{lang|he|rtl=yes|תְּשׁוּקָה}} {{IPA|/tʃuˈka/}}.

For many young speakers, [[obstruent]]s assimilate in voicing. Voiceless obstruents (stops/affricates {{IPA|/p, t, ts, tʃ, k/}} and fricatives {{IPA|/f, s, ʃ, χ/}}) become voiced ({{IPA|[b, d, dz, dʒ, ɡ, v, z, ʒ, ʁ]}}) when they appear immediately before voiced obstruents, and vice versa. For example:

* {{lang|he|rtl=yes|לִסְגֹּר}} {{IPA|/lisˈɡoʁ/}} > {{IPA|[lizˈɡoʁ]}} ('to close'), {{IPA|/s/}} > {{IPA|[z]}}
* {{lang|he|rtl=yes|זְכוּת}} {{IPA|/zχut/}} > {{IPA|[sχut]}} ('a right'), {{IPA|/z/}} > {{IPA|[s]}}
* {{lang|he|rtl=yes|חֶשְׁבּוֹן}} {{IPA|/χeʃˈbon/}} > {{IPA|[χeʒˈbon]}} ('a bill'), {{IPA|/ʃ/}} > {{IPA|[ʒ]}}
* {{lang|he|rtl=yes|מַדְפֶּסֶת}} {{IPA|/madˈpeset/}} > {{IPA|[matˈpeset]}} ('a printer'), {{IPA|/d/}} > {{IPA|[t]}}
* {{lang|he|rtl=yes|אַבְטָחָה}} {{IPA|/avtaˈχa/}} > {{IPA|[aftaˈχa]}} ('security'), {{IPA|/v/}} > {{IPA|[f]}}

{{IPA|/n/}} is pronounced {{IPAblink|ŋ}} before velar consonants.{{sfnp|Dekel|2014|p=9}}

===Illustrative words===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; margin-right:2em; display:inline-table;"
! colspan="2" | Letter
! colspan="3" | Example word
|-
! IPA
! Hebrew
! IPA
! Hebrew
! English
|-
| {{IPA|/p/}}
| {{Script/Hebrew|פּ}}
| {{IPA|/ˈpe/}}
| {{lang|he|rtl=yes|פֶּה}}
| mouth
|-
| {{IPA|/m/}}
| {{Script/Hebrew|מ}}
| {{IPA|/ma/}}
| {{lang|he|rtl=yes|מָה}}
| what
|-
| {{IPA|/f/}}
| {{Script/Hebrew|פ}}
| {{IPA|/oˈfe/}}
| {{lang|he|rtl=yes|אוֹפֶה}}
| baker
|-
| {{IPA|/t/}}
| {{Script/Hebrew|ת, ט}}
| {{IPA|/ˈtan/}}
| {{lang|he|rtl=yes|תַּן}}
| jackal
|-
| {{IPA|/ts/}}
| {{Script/Hebrew|צ}}
| {{IPA|/ˈtsi/}}
| {{lang|he|rtl=yes|צִי}}
| fleet
|-
| {{IPA|/s/}}
| {{Script/Hebrew|ס, שׂ}}
| {{IPA|/ˈsof/}}
| {{lang|he|rtl=yes|סוֹף}}
| end
|-
| {{IPA|/n/}}
| {{Script/Hebrew|נ}}
| {{IPA|/ˈnes/}}
| {{lang|he|rtl=yes|נֵס}}
| miracle
|-
| {{IPA|/tʃ/}}
| {{Script/Hebrew|צ׳, תשׁ}}
| {{IPA|/tʃuˈka/}}
| {{lang|he|rtl=yes|תְּשׁוּקָה}}
| passion
|-
| {{IPA|/ʃ/}}
| {{Script/Hebrew|שׁ}}
| {{IPA|/ʃaˈna/}}
| {{lang|he|rtl=yes|שָׁנָה}}
| year
|-
| {{IPA|/j/}}
| {{Script/Hebrew|י}}
| {{IPA|/ˈjom/}}
| {{lang|he|rtl=yes|יוֹם}}
| day
|-
| {{IPA|/k/}}
| {{Script/Hebrew|כּ, ק}}
| {{IPA|/ˈkol/}}
| {{lang|he|rtl=yes|כֹּל}}
| all
|-
| {{IPA|/χ/}}
| {{Script/Hebrew|כ, ח}}
| {{IPA|/eχ/}}
| {{lang|he|rtl=yes|אֵיךְ}}
| how
|-
| {{IPA|/ħ/}}
| {{Script/Hebrew|ח}}
| {{IPA|/ˈħam/}}
| {{lang|he|rtl=yes|חַם}}
| hot
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; display:inline-table;"
! colspan="2" | Letter
! colspan="3" | Example word
|-
! IPA
! Hebrew
! IPA
! Hebrew
! English
|-
| {{IPA|/ʔ/}}
| {{Script/Hebrew|א, ע}}
| {{IPA|/ʁeʔaˈjon/}}
| {{lang|he|rtl=yes|רֵאָיוֹן}}
| interview
|-
| {{IPA|/b/}}
| {{Script/Hebrew|בּ}}
| {{IPA|/ˈben/}}
| {{lang|he|rtl=yes|בֵּן}}
| son
|-
| {{IPA|/v/}}
| {{Script/Hebrew|ב, ו}}
| {{IPA|/ˈnevel/}}
| {{lang|he|rtl=yes|נֵבֶל}}
| harp
|-
| {{IPA|/d/}}
| {{Script/Hebrew|ד}}
| {{IPA|/ˈdelek/}}
| {{lang|he|rtl=yes|דֶּלֶק}}
| fuel
|-
| {{IPA|/z/}}
| {{Script/Hebrew|ז}}
| {{IPA|/ze/}}
| {{lang|he|rtl=yes|זֶה}}
| this
|-
| {{IPA|/l/}}
| {{Script/Hebrew|ל}}
| {{IPA|/ˈlo/}}
| {{lang|he|rtl=yes|לֹא}}
| no
|-
| {{IPA|/dʒ/}}
| {{Script/Hebrew|ג׳}}
| {{IPA|/dʒiˈʁafa/}}
| {{lang|he|rtl=yes|גִּ׳ירָפָה}}
| giraffe
|-
| {{IPA|/ʒ/}}
| {{Script/Hebrew|ז׳}}
| {{IPA|/ˈbeʒ/}}
| {{lang|he|rtl=yes|בֵּז׳}}
| beige
|-
| {{IPA|/w/}}
| {{Script/Hebrew|ו}}
| {{IPA|/ˈpinɡwin/}}
| {{lang|he|rtl=yes|פִּינְגְּוִין}}
| penguin
|-
| {{IPA|/ɡ/}}
| {{Script/Hebrew|ג}}
| {{IPA|/ɡam/}}
| {{lang|he|rtl=yes|גַּם}}
| also
|-
| {{IPA|/ʁ/}}
| {{Script/Hebrew|ר}}
| {{IPA|/ˈʁoʃ/}}
| {{lang|he|rtl=yes|רֹאשׁ}}
| head
|-
| {{IPA|/ʕ/}}
| {{Script/Hebrew|ע}}
| {{IPA|/ʕim/}}
| {{lang|he|rtl=yes|עִם}}
| with
|-
| {{IPA|/h/}}
| {{Script/Hebrew|ה}}
| {{IPA|/ˈhed/}}
| {{lang|he|rtl=yes|הֵד}}
| echo
|}

===Historical sound changes===
Standard Israeli Hebrew (SIH) phonology, based on the [[Sephardic Hebrew]] pronunciation tradition, has a number of differences from [[Biblical Hebrew]] (BH) and [[Mishnaic Hebrew]] (MH) in the form of splits and mergers.<ref>[[Robert Hetzron]]. (1987). Hebrew. In ''The World's Major Languages'', ed. [[Bernard Comrie]], 686–704. Oxford: [[Oxford University Press]]. {{ISBN|0-19-520521-9}}.</ref>
* BH/MH {{IPAslink|t}} and {{IPAslink|tˤ}} merged into SIH {{IPA|/t/}}.
* BH/MH {{IPAslink|k}} and {{IPAslink|q}} merged into SIH {{IPA|/k/}}.
* BH/MH {{IPAslink|ʕ}} and {{IPAslink|ʔ}} generally merge into SIH {{IPA|/ʔ/}} or became silent, but the distinction is maintained in the speech of older Sephardim and is reintroduced in the speech of some other speakers.
* BH/MH {{IPAslink|p}} had two allophones, {{IPA|[p]}} and {{IPAblink|ɸ}}, which split into separate phonemes {{IPA|/p/}} and {{IPA|/f/}} in SIH.
* BH/MH {{IPAslink|b}} had two [[allophone]]s, {{IPA|[b]}} and {{IPAblink|β}}. The {{IPA|[β]}} allophone merged with {{IPAslink|w}} into SIH {{IPA|/v/}}. A new phoneme {{IPA|/w/}} was introduced in [[loanword]]s (see [[Waw (letter)#Vav as consonant|Hebrew ''vav'' as consonant]]), so SIH has phonemic {{IPA|/b, v, w/}}.
* BH/MH {{IPAslink|k}} had two allophones, {{IPA|[k]}} and {{IPAblink|x}}. The {{IPA|[k]}} allophone merged with {{IPAslink|q}} into SIH {{IPA|/k/}}, while the {{IPA|[x]}} allophone merged with {{IPAslink|ħ}} into SIH {{IPA|/χ/}}, though a distinction between {{IPA|/χ/}} and {{IPA|/ħ/}} is maintained in the speech of older Sephardim.
* BH/MH {{IPAblink|θ}}, {{IPAblink|ð}} and {{IPAblink|ɣ}} merged into their plosive counterparts, {{IPAslink|t}}, {{IPAslink|d}} and {{IPAslink|ɡ}}.
* BH/MH {{IPAslink|sˤ}} de-pharyngealized and affricated to SIH {{IPAslink|t͡s}}.
* BH/MH {{IPAslink|r}} backed to SIH {{IPAslink|ʁ}}, the former pronunciation is still used by Sephardi and Mizrahi speakers.

====Spirantization====
The consonant pairs {{IPAblink|b}}–{{IPAblink|v}} (archaically {{IPAblink|β}}), {{IPAblink|k}}–{{IPAblink|χ}} (archaically {{IPAblink|x}}), and {{IPAblink|p}}–{{IPAblink|f}} (archaically {{IPAblink|ɸ}}) were historically [[Allophone|allophonic]], as a consequence of a phenomenon of [[lenition|spirantization]] known as ''[[begadkefat]]'' under the influence of the [[Aramaic language]] on BH/MH. In Modern Hebrew, the above six sounds are phonemic.

The full inventory of Hebrew consonants which undergo and/or underwent spirantization are:

{|class=wikitable style="white-space:nowrap; text-align:center"
!colspan=2| [[Letter (alphabet)|Letter]]
!colspan=2| Begadkefat
|-
! Name
! Hebrew
! Biblical /<br />Mishnaic
! Modern /<br/>Israeli
|-
| [[Bet (letter)|Bet]]
| <big>{{Script/Hebrew|ב}}</big>
| {{IPAblink|b}}–{{IPAblink|β}}
| {{IPAblink|b}}–{{IPAblink|v}}
|-
| [[Gimel]]
| <big>{{Script/Hebrew|ג}}</big>
| {{IPAblink|ɡ}}–{{IPAblink|ɣ}}
| {{IPAblink|ɡ}}
|-
| [[Dalet]]
| <big>{{Script/Hebrew|ד}}</big>
| {{IPAblink|d}}–{{IPAblink|ð}}
| {{IPAblink|d}}
|-
| [[Kaph]]
| <big>{{Script/Hebrew|כ}}</big>
| {{IPAblink|k}}–{{IPAblink|x}}
| {{IPAblink|k}}–{{IPAblink|χ}}
|-
| [[Pe (Semitic letter)|Pe]]
| <big>{{Script/Hebrew|פ}}</big>
| {{IPAblink|p}}–{{IPAblink|ɸ}}
| {{IPAblink|p}}–{{IPAblink|f}}
|-
| [[Taw]]
| <big>{{Script/Hebrew|ת}}</big>
| {{IPAblink|t}}–{{IPAblink|θ}}
| {{IPAblink|t}}
|}

However, the above-mentioned allophonic alternation of BH/MH {{IPAblink|t}}–{{IPAblink|θ}}, {{IPAblink|d}}–{{IPAblink|ð}} and {{IPAblink|ɡ}}–{{IPAblink|ɣ}} was lost in Modern Hebrew, with these six allophones merging into simple {{IPA|/t, d, ɡ/}}.

These phonemic changes were partly due to the mergers noted above, to the loss of consonant gemination, which had distinguished stops from their fricative allophones in intervocalic position, and the introduction of syllable-initial {{IPAslink|f}} and non-syllable-initial {{IPAslink|p}} and {{IPAslink|b}} in loan words. Spirantization still occurs in verbal and nominal derivation, but now the alternations {{IPA|/b/}}–{{IPA|/v/}}, {{IPA|/k/}}–{{IPA|/χ/}}, and {{IPA|/p/}}–{{IPA|/f/}} are phonemic rather than allophonic.

=== Loss of final H consonant ===
In Traditional Hebrew words can end with an H consonant, e.g. when the suffix "-ah" is used, meaning "her" (see ''[[Mappiq]]''). The final H sound is hardly ever pronounced in Modern Hebrew. However, the final H with Mappiq still retains the guttural characteristic that it should take a patach and render the pronunciation /a(h)/ at the end of the word, for example, {{lang|he|rtl=yes|גָּבוֹהַּ}} ''gavoa(h)'' ("tall").