# Ain



## MarX

Hello!

My Israeli friend just told me yesterday that *ain* is not silent, but _guttural_. He gave me an example, but I could barely perceive any difference.
The book I'm using says it's a _glottal stop_, others say it's not pronounced at all.

So far I've realized that Hebrew has many different accents. I'd like to know which pronunciation of *ain* is the most widespread one.

Toddah!


MarX


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## Mjolnir

Can you give us your friend's example?


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## Tamar

The most commom today is the glottal stop. 
The glottal stop today replaces the ע, what is supposed to be the pronounciation of ע (ain is supposed to be a pharyngeal fricative, some Yemenites do pronounce it that way, but not all. In other cases, it simply gone. Personally, I can't really produce that sound).

The glottal stop also replaces ה sometimes. 
For exemple: "love". 
Correct pronounciation: [?ahava] but somtimes we do not pronounce the  and so it becomes [?a?ava].


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## Tamar

And here is a helpful site:
http://web.uvic.ca/ling/resources/ipa/charts/IPAlab/IPAlab.htm

This is the IPA chart. You can click on the symbol and hear what sound it represents.


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## MarX

@Mjolnir:
He gave the example of 'ayin (=eye).
I did hear a difference between with and without this guttural sound, but I can't get my head around it. But if as Tamar said this is not very widespread anyway, then I don't really need to learn to pronounce it, do I?

@Tamar:
Toda raba! I didn't know that *hey* is replaced by glottal stop.


Thanks again! Shalom!


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## Mjolnir

MarX said:


> He gave the example of 'ayin (=eye).
> I did hear a difference between with and without this guttural sound, but I can't get my head around it. But if as Tamar said this is not very widespread anyway, then I don't really need to learn to pronounce it, do I?



No, you don't


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## elroy

It really depends on the pronunciation you're learning.  If you're learning the standard pronunciation of modern Hebrew as used by the majority of native speakers and in news broadcasts, etc., then you don't need to worry about the original pronunciation of the ע.  Only if you are learning a minority Sephardi pronunciation do you need to learn it.


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## Mjolnir

elroy said:


> It really depends on the pronunciation you're learning.  If you're learning the standard pronunciation of modern Hebrew as used by the majority of native speakers and in news broadcasts, etc., then you don't need to worry about the original pronunciation of the ע.  Only if you are learning a minority Sephardi pronunciation do you need to learn it.



Exactly. I could be wrong, but I think that nowadays even the children of those that do "properly" pronounce ע (the original pronunciation) use the standard pronunciation.


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## cfu507

Hi, I just wanted to add that in some words ע is indeed silent. 
For example: שמע (shma=listen!, shama=he heard). The ע isn't silent everytime it appears at the end of the word. For example, in לשמוע you pronounce the ע: lishmo'a.

Tamar, what did you mean by:


> The glottal stop also replaces ה sometimes


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## MarX

cfu507 said:


> Hi, I just wanted to add that in some words ע is indeed silent.
> For example: שמע (shma=listen!, shama=he heard). The ע isn't silent everytime it appears at the end of the word. For example, in לשמוע you pronounce the ע: lishmo'a.


Toda!

I just read about imperative today, and I had exactly that question in mind! Whether the ע in שמע is silent.


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## Tamar

Cfu,

Here's the exemple I gave


> For exemple: "love".
> Correct pronounciation: [?ahava] but somtimes we do not pronounce the  and so it becomes [?a?ava].




To say this in a different way, we don't always pronounce the ה properly and it becomes a א (in pronounciation, not writing). 
Here's another exemple (that's more of a joke about certain people, maybe it's a sociolect? what do you guys think?) : "מאמם" instead of מהמם.


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## MarX

Tamar said:


> To say this in a different way, we don't always pronounce the ה properly and it becomes a א (in pronounciation, not writing).
> Here's another exemple (that's more of a joke about certain people, maybe it's a sociolect? what do you guys think?) : "מאמם" instead of מהמם.


Ani mevin.
I'd like to start typing in Hebrew letters.. Gotta find out how to do it.

What does מהמם mean? I couldn't find it in the dictionary.


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## cfu507

tamar said:


> cfu,
> 
> Here's The Exemple I Gave
> 
> 
> To Say This In A Different Way, We Don't Always Pronounce The ה Properly And It Becomes A א (in Pronounciation, Not Writing).
> Here's Another Exemple (that's More Of A Joke About Certain People, Maybe It's A Sociolect? What Do You Guys Think?) : "מאמם" Instead Of מהמם.


 
אוקי, אז התכוונת שלעיתים אנחנו אומרים א במקום ע' גרונית או ה'. אני לא מכירה גם את הסימנים שהוספת (סימני השאלה) בתשובה שלך בפוסט 3, אבל הבנתי את מה שניסית לומר. תודה


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## Mjolnir

MarX said:


> Ani mevin.
> I'd like to start typing in Hebrew letters.. Gotta find out how to do it.
> 
> What does מהמם mean? I couldn't find it in the dictionary.



You can use a virtual keyboard (I think there's one or two here).

מהמם usually means gorgeous / amazing, but there are other meanings as well.

Try morfix, a free online dictionary.


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## MarX

תודה Mjolnir!
The confusing thing is the writing direction. 

I found
מְהַמֵּם
means:  amazing, astounding, astonishing, surprising  ; (slang) terrific, wonderful


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## Mjolnir

MarX said:


> תודה Mjolnir!
> The confusing thing is the writing direction.






> I found
> מְהַמֵּם
> means:  amazing, astounding, astonishing, surprising  ; (slang) terrific, wonderful


Yep, that's what I meant. The primary use in everyday speech is "(slang) terrific", "gorgeous".


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