Middle Semitic/Phonology
Middle Semitic sounds consist of 22 consonants and 5 vowels.
Consonants
The basic shape of MS is the shared liquids (m, n, l, r, w, y), the begadkefat spirants (b/v, g/ɣ, d/ð, k/x, p/f, t/θ), other fricatives (h, ʕ, ħ, z, s, š), and the "emphatics" (ṣ, ṭ, q, ʔ). Notice that Semitic studies has a long history of romanization which does not precisely map onto IPA.
| Labial | Dental | Alveolar | (Alv)Pal. | Velar | Uv./Pharyngeal | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | /m/ | /n/ | |||||
| Voiced | /b~v/ | /d~ð/ | /z/ | /g~ɣ/ | ʿ=/ʕ~ʁ/ | ||
| Unvoiced | /p~ɸ/ | /t~θ/ | /s/ | š=/ʃ/ | /k~x/ | ḥ=/χ~ħ/ | /h/ |
| Emphatic | ṭ=/t’~tˤ/ | ṣ=/ts~s’/ | /q~k’/ | ʾ=/ʔ/ | |||
| Approx. | /l/ | /r~ɾ/ | /y/ | /w/ |
Vowels
The vowels are the basic five common throughout most of the world, without diphthongs.
| Front | Center | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | i~ɪ | u~ʊ | |
| Middle | e~ɛ~e̞ | o~o̞~ɔ | |
| Low | a~ä | ||
Phonotactics
Because of the triconsonantal/infixing nature of noun declension and verbal conjugation, it is necessary to thoroughly understand Middle Semitic phonotactics in order to speak the language. Pharyngeal/Uvular and Glottal consonants are labeled "guttural", i.e.
- ḥ, h, ʿ, and ʾ.
The glottal stop, interestingly, overlaps with the next category, known as mater lectionis. These "mothers of reading" began as aide to help guess the vowels of the consonantal text. For us, ʾ is the hint to an /a/, /j/ is the hint of an /i/, and /w/ is the hint of an /u/. (Of course, they have consonantal uses too.) A mater y may indicate an /i/ or an /e/. A mater w may indicate an /o/ or a /u/.
- ʾ, y, and w
Almost all "weakness" of stems comes down to what happens when one of these letter is in a medial and/or final coda.
- Coda gutturals (but not aleph) disappear. There may be some effect on the preceding vowel, but maybe not even that.
- Coda maters force a change in the vowel before to conform.
- Coda n is written, but is actually gemination of the following consonant.
