Shva

 ( Niqqud ) 

In Modern Hebrew, a shva is pronounced under the following conditions:"Characterization and Evaluation of Speech-Reading Support Systems for Hard-of-Hearing Students in the Class" by Becky Schocken; Faculty of Management, Tel-Aviv University, Department of Management and Economics, The Open University of Israel

Exceptions to rule 6 include פְּסַנְתְּרָן (, not  – 'pianist'), אַנְגְּלִית (, not  – 'English'), נַשְׁפְּרִיץ (, not  – 'we will sprinkle'), several [[inflection]]s of [[quinqueliteral roots|Semitic root]] – e.g.: סִנְכְּרֵן (, not  – 'he synchronized'); חִנְטְרֵשׁ (, not  – 'he did stupid things'); הִתְפְלַרְטֵט (, not  – 'he had a flirt') – as well as other, more recent [[loanword]]s, e.g. מַנְטְרַה (, not  – 'mantra').
     

In earlier forms of Hebrew, shva na and nach were phonologically and phonetically distinguishable, but the two variants resulting from Modern Hebrew phonology no longer conform to the traditional classification, e.g. while the (first) shva nach in the phrase סִפְרֵי תורה ('books of the Law') is correctly pronounced in Modern Hebrew with the (or /f/ sound) being mute, the shva na in זְמַן ('time') in Modern Hebrew is often pronounced as a mute Shva (). In religious contexts, however, scrupulous readers of the Jewish prayer and scriptures do still differentiate properly between Shva Nach and Shva Na (e.g. ).

• Does the shva supersede a vowel or no vowel in the word's inflection form?
• Is the preceding letter niqqud with a "short" or a "long" niqqud variant?
• Is the following letter, when Begadkefat]], pointed with a dagesh qal or not?
• Is the letter pointed with shva syllabification?

To help illustrate the first criterion (existence or non-existence of a vowel in the word's non Inflection form), the location of the shva (i.e., the place within the word where the lack of vowel is indicated by it) is marked within the phonemic transcription with an orange linguistic zero: Ø; if existing, the corresponding vowel in the basic (non inflected) form of the example is also marked in orange.

Identifying a shva as shva naʻ is relevant to the application of niqqud in Tiberian Hebrew, e.g., a בג״ד כפ״ת letter following a letter marked with a shva naʻ may not be marked with a dagesh qal; the vowel preceding a letter marked with a shva naʻ must be represented by the "long" niqqud variant for that vowel: qamats and not pataḥ, tsere and not segol, etc.. Furthermore, in the standard syllabification, the letter under which a shva naʻ is marked is grouped with the following syllable.

The Academy of the Hebrew Language's transliteration guidelines Transliteration guidelines from 2006 (p. 4) specify that shva naʻ should be transliterated only if pronounced in Modern Hebrew, in which case be used for general purposes and for precise transliteration. Shva naʻ is sometimes transliterated . However, this symbol is misleading since it is commonly used in linguistics to denote the vowel schwa, which does not exist in Modern Hebrew.

A shva naʻ can be identified with the following criteria:

1. When marked under the first letter of a word, as in מְרַחֵף, לְפָנָי, and שְׁמַע,
2. When marked under the first of two identical letters,
3. When it's the second of two shvas marked under two consecutive letters (except when marked under the last letter of a word), as in רַעְמְסֵס ramʻ asēs and וישְׁמְעו wišm aʻu ,
4. When the letter before the one under which it is marked is marked with a "long" niqqud variant,, such as the long vowel of either yod or ḥiriq, as in יְחִֽידְֿךָ ( y iḥiḏ aḵā), or the long vowel of wāw or ḥolam, as in the words הוֹלְכִֿים, יוֹדְֿעִים and מוֹכְֿרִים ( hol aḵim, yod aʻim and moḵ arim) and שֹׁפְטִים וְשֹׁטְרִים , "šof aṭim wašoṭ arim."
5. When marked under a letter with a dagesh ḥazaq (historically an indicator of gemination), as מִפְּנֵיכֶם and מִקְּדָֿשׁ . Maḥberet Kitrei Ha-Torah (ed. Yoav Pinhas Halevi), chapter 5, Benei Barak 1990 (Hebrew)

For a more detailed account, see

In a few cases, a shva not conforming to the criteria listed above is classified as shva naḥ. This offers no conclusive indication as to its pronunciation in Modern Hebrew; it is, however, relevant to the application of standard niqqud, e.g.: a בג״ד כפ״ת letter following a letter marked with a shva nacḥ must be marked with a dagesh qal (Modern Hebrew phonology sometimes disagrees with this linguistic prescription, as in לְפַסְפֵס – "to miss" – in which the second pe lacks a dagesh qal although preceded by a shva naḥ), or: the vowel prior to a letter marked with a shva naḥ must be represented by the "short" niqqud-variant for that vowel: patah Kamatz, segol and not tsere etc.. Furthermore, in standard syllabification, the letter under which a shva naḥ is marked is grouped with the preceding syllable.

The Academy of the Hebrew Language's transliteration guidelines specify that shva naḥ should not be represented in transliteration.

The classification of a shva as shva meraḥef is relevant to the application of standard niqqud, e.g.: a בג״ד כפ״ת letter following a letter marked with a shva meraḥef should not be marked with a dagesh qal. The vowel preceding this letter could be represented by the short niqqud-variant for that vowel. This sometimes, but not always, reflects pronunciation in Modern Hebrew; e.g. מַלְכֵי ('kings of') is commonly pronounced in accordance with the standard form, (with no dagesh qal in the letter Kaph), whereas כַּלְבֵי ('dogs of'), whose standard pronunciation is , is commonly pronounced (as if there were a dagesh qal in the letter bet). In standard syllabification, the letter under which a shva meraḥef is marked is grouped with the preceding syllable.