Yiddish phonology

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There is significant phonological variation among the various Yiddish dialects. The description that follows is of a modern Standard Yiddish that was devised during the early 20th century and is frequently encountered in pedagogical contexts.

Contents

Consonants

Yiddish consonants [1]
Labial Alveolar Postalveolar Palatal Velar/
Uvular
Glottal
hard soft hardsoft
Nasal m n ( )( ŋ )
Plosive voiceless p t k ( ʔ )
voiced b d ɡ
Affricate voiceless ts ( tsʲ) ( tʃʲ)
voiced dz ( dzʲ) ( dʒʲ)
Fricative voiceless f s ( ) ʃ χ h
voiced v z ( )( ʒ )( ɣ )
Rhotic r
Approximant central j
lateral l ( ʎ )

As in the Slavic languages with which Yiddish was long in contact (Russian, Belarusian, Polish, and Ukrainian), but unlike German, voiceless stops have little to no aspiration; unlike many such languages, voiced stops are not devoiced in final position. [1] Moreover, Yiddish has regressive voicing assimilation, so that, for example, זאָגט/zɔɡt/ ('says') is pronounced [zɔkt] and הקדמה/hakˈdɔmɜ/ ('foreword') is pronounced [haɡˈdɔmɜ].

Vowels

The vowel phonemes of Standard Yiddish are:

Yiddish monophthongs [3]
Front Central Back
Close ɪ ʊ
Open-mid ɛ ɜ ɔ
Open a
Diphthongs [3]
Front nucleus Central nucleusBack nucleus
ɛɪɔɪ

In addition, the sonorants /l/ and /n/ can function as syllable nuclei:

[m] and [ŋ] appear as syllable nuclei as well, but only as allophones of /n/, after bilabial consonants and dorsal consonants, respectively.

The syllabic sonorants are always unstressed.

Dialectal variation

Stressed vowels in the Yiddish dialects may be understood by considering their common origins in the Proto-Yiddish sound system. Yiddish linguistic scholarship uses a system developed by Max Weinreich in 1960 to indicate the descendent diaphonemes of the Proto-Yiddish stressed vowels. [4]

Each Proto-Yiddish vowel is given a unique two-digit identifier, and its reflexes use it as a subscript, for example Southeastern o11 is the vowel /o/, descended from Proto-Yiddish */a/. [4] The first digit indicates Proto-Yiddish quality (1-=*[a], 2-=*[e], 3-=*[i], 4-=*[o], 5-=*[u]), and the second refers to quantity or diphthongization (−1=short, −2=long, −3=short but lengthened early in the history of Yiddish, −4=diphthong, −5=special length occurring only in Proto-Yiddish vowel 25). [4]

Vowels 23, 33, 43 and 53 have the same reflexes as 22, 32, 42 and 52 in all Yiddish dialects, but they developed distinct values in Middle High German; Katz (1987) argues that they should be collapsed with the −2 series, leaving only 13 in the −3 series. [5]

Genetic sources of Yiddish dialect vowels [6]
Netherlandic
Front Back
Close i3132u52
Close-mid 25o5112
Open-mid ɛ21ɛj22/34ɔ41ɔu42/54
Open a11/1324/44
Polish
Front Back
Close i31/5132/52u12/13
Close-mid eː~ej25oː~ou54
Open-mid ɛ21ɔ41ɔj42/44
Open a1134aj22/24
Lithuanian
Front Back
Close i31/32u51/52
Close-mid ej22/24/42/44
Open-mid ɛ21/25ɔ12/13/41ɔj54
Open a11aj34

Comparison with German

In vocabulary of Germanic origin, the differences between Standard German and Yiddish pronunciation are mainly in the vowels and diphthongs. All varieties of Yiddish lack the German front rounded vowels /œ,øː/ and /ʏ,yː/, having merged them with /ɛ,e:/ and /ɪ,i:/, respectively.

Diphthongs have also undergone divergent developments in German and Yiddish. Where Standard German has merged the Middle High German diphthong ei and long vowel î to /aɪ/, Yiddish has maintained the distinction between them; and likewise, the Standard German /ɔʏ/ corresponds to both the MHG diphthong öu and the long vowel iu, which in Yiddish have merged with their unrounded counterparts ei and î, respectively. Lastly, the Standard German /aʊ/ corresponds to both the MHG diphthong ou and the long vowel û, but in Yiddish, they have not merged. Although Standard Yiddish does not distinguish between those two diphthongs and renders both as /ɔɪ/, the distinction becomes apparent when the two diphthongs undergo Germanic umlaut, such as in forming plurals:

SingularPlural
MHGStandard GermanStandard YiddishStandard GermanStandard Yiddish
boumBaum /baʊ̯m/בױם /bɔɪm/Bäume /ˈbɔʏ̯mə/בײמער‎ /bɛɪmɜr/
bûchBauch /baʊ̯x/בױך /bɔɪχ/Bäuche /ˈbɔʏ̯çə/בײַכער‎ /baɪχɜr/

The vowel length distinctions of German do not exist in the Northeastern (Lithuanian) varieties of Yiddish, which form the phonetic basis for Standard Yiddish. In those varieties, the vowel qualities in most long/short vowel pairs diverged and so the phonemic distinction has remained.

Yiddish has some coincidental resemblances to Dutch in vowel phonology, which extend even to orthography, such as Dutch ij versus Yiddish tsvey judn, both pronounced /ɛɪ/; and Dutch ui (pronounced /œy/) versus Yiddish vov yud (/ɔj/). For example, the Yiddish "to be" is זיין, which orthographically matches Dutch zijn more than German sein, or Yiddish הויז, "house", versus Dutch huis (plural huizen). Along with the pronunciation of Dutch g as /ɣ/, Yiddish is said to sound closer to Dutch than to German because of that even though its structure is closer to High German.[ citation needed ]

There are consonantal differences between German and Yiddish. Yiddish deaffricates the Middle High German voiceless labiodental affricate /pf/ to /f/ initially (as in פֿונטfunt, but this pronunciation is also quasi-standard throughout northern and central Germany); /pf/ surfaces as an unshifted /p/ medially or finally (as in עפּל/ɛpl/ and קאָפּ/kɔp/). Additionally, final voiced stops appear in Standard Yiddish but not Northern Standard German.

M. Weinreich's
diaphoneme
PronunciationExamples
Middle High GermanStandard GermanWestern YiddishNortheastern ("Litvish")Central ("Poylish")South-Eastern ("Ukrainish")MHGStandard GermanStandard Yiddish
A1a in closed syllableshort a/a//a//a//a//a/machen, glatmachen, glatt /ˈmaxən,ɡlat/מאַכן, גלאַט/maχn,ɡlat/
A2âlong a///oː//ɔ//uː//u/sâmeSamen /ˈzaːmən/זױמען/ˈzɔɪ̯mn̩/
A3a in open syllable/aː/vater, sagenVater, sagen /ˈfaːtɐ,zaːɡən/פֿאָטער, זאָגן/ˈfɔtɜr,zɔɡn/
E1e, ä, æ, all in closed syllableshort ä and short e/ɛ//ɛ//ɛ//ɛ//ɛ/becker, menschBäcker, Mensch /ˈbɛkɐ,mɛnʃ/בעקער, מענטש/ˈbɛkɜr,mɛntʃ/
ö in closed syllableshort ö/œ/töhterTöchter /ˈtœçtɐ/טעכטער/ˈtɛχtɜr/
E5ä and æ in open syllablelong ä/ɛː//eː//eː~eɪ//eɪ~ɪ/kæseKäse /ˈkɛːzə/קעז/kɛz/
E2/3e in open syllable, and êlong e///ɛɪ//eɪ//aɪ//eɪ/eselEsel /eːzl̩/אײזל/ɛɪzl/
ö in open syllable, and œlong ö/øː/schœneschön /ʃøːn/שײן/ʃɛɪn/
I1i in closed syllableshort i/ɪ//ɪ//ɪ//ɪ//ɪ/nihtnicht /nɪçt/נישט/nɪʃt/
ü in closed syllableshort ü/ʏ/brück, vünfBrücke, fünf /ˈbʁʏkə,fʏnf/בריק, פֿינף/brɪk,fɪnf/
I2/3i in open syllable, and ielong i///iː//iː//iː/liebeLiebe /ˈliːbə/ליבע/ˈlɪbɜ/
ü in open syllable, and üelong ü//grüenegrün /ɡʁyːn/גרין/ɡrɪn/
O1o in closed syllableshort o/ɔ//ɔ//ɔ//ɔ//ɔ/kopf, scholnKopf, sollen /kɔpf,ˈzɔlən/קאָפּ, זאָלן/kɔp,zɔln/
O2/3o in open syllable, and ôlong o///ɔu//eɪ//ɔɪ//ɔɪ/hôch, schônehoch, schon /hoːx,ʃoːn/הױך, שױן/hɔɪχ,ʃɔɪn/
U1u in closed syllableshort u/ʊ//ʊ//ʊ//ɪ//ɪ/huntHund /hʊnt/הונט/hʊnt/
U2/3u in open syllable, and uolong u///uː//iː//iː/buochBuch /buːx/בוך/bʊχ/
E4eiei/aɪ//aː//eɪ//aɪ//eɪ/vleischFleisch /flaɪ̯ʃ/פֿלײש/flɛɪʃ/
I4î/aɪ//aɪ//aː//a/mînmein /maɪ̯n/מײַן/maɪn/
O4ouau/aʊ//aː//eɪ//ɔɪ//ɔɪ/ouh, koufenauch, kaufen /aʊ̯x,ˈkaʊ̯fən/אױך, קױפֿן/ɔɪχ,kɔɪfn/
U4û/ɔu//ɔɪ//oː~ou//ou~u/hûsHaus /haʊ̯s/הױז/hɔɪz/
(E4)öuäu and eu/ɔʏ//aː//eɪ//aɪ//eɪ/vröudeFreude /ˈfʁɔʏ̯də/פֿרײד/frɛɪd/
(I4)iu/aɪ//aɪ//aː//a/diutschDeutsch /dɔʏ̯t͡ʃ/דײַטש/daɪtʃ/

Comparison with Hebrew

The pronunciation of vowels in Yiddish words of Hebrew origin is similar to Ashkenazi Hebrew but not identical. The most prominent difference is kamatz gadol in closed syllables being pronounced same as patah in Yiddish but the same as any other kamatz in Ashkenazi Hebrew. Also, Hebrew features no reduction of unstressed vowels and so the given name Jochebed יוֹכֶבֶֿד would be /jɔɪˈχɛvɛd/ in Ashkenazi Hebrew but /ˈjɔχvɜd/ in Standard Yiddish.

M. Weinreich's
diaphoneme
Tiberian vocalization PronunciationExamples
Western YiddishNortheastern ("Litvish")Central ("Poylish")Standard Yiddish
A1patah and kamatz gadol in closed syllable/a//a//a/אַלְמָן, כְּתָבֿ/ˈalmɜn,ksav/
A2kamatz gadol in open syllable/oː//ɔ//uː/פָּנִים‎/ˈpɔnɜm/
E1 tzere and segol in closed syllable; hataf segol/ɛ//ɛ//ɛ/גֵּט, חֶבְֿרָה, אֱמֶת‎/gɛt,ˈχɛvrɜ,ˈɛmɜs/
E5segol in open syllable/eː//eː~eɪ/גֶּפֶֿן/ˈgɛfɜn/
E2/3tzere in open syllable/ɛɪ//eɪ//aɪ/סֵדֶר‎/ˈsɛɪdɜr/
I1 hiriq in closed syllable/ɪ//ɪ//ɪ/טיִף‎/tɪf/
I2/3hiriq in open syllable/iː//iː/מְדִינָה/mɜˈdɪnɜ/
O1holam and kamatz katan in closed syllable/ɔ//ɔ//ɔ/חָכְמָה, עוֹף‎/ˈχɔχmɜ,ɔf/
O2/3holam in open syllable/ɔu//eɪ//ɔɪ/סוֹחֵר/ˈsɔɪχɜr/
U1 kubutz and shuruk in closed syllable/ʊ//ʊ//ɪ/מוּם/mʊm/
U2/3kubutz and shuruk in open syllable/uː//iː/שׁוּרָה/ˈʃʊrɜ/

Patah in open syllable, as well as hataf patah, are unpredictably split between A1 and A2: קַדַּחַת, נַחַת/kaˈdɔχɜs,ˈnaχɜs/; חֲלוֹם, חֲתֻנָּה/ˈχɔlɜm,ˈχasɜnɜ/.

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References

Bibliography

Further reading