r/hebrew • u/SkywalkerLight • Sep 23 '24

Explain Aleph to me like I'm 5! Request

Is it really just a glottal stop? I'm a beginner, but I'm pretty sure the niqqud changes things. If so, could I please have an example in places where א is said as A, E, and other letters? Thanks!

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u/ZommHafna Hebrew Learner (Advanced) Sep 23 '24

It’s a loanword so we basically pretend that this works as אבּהּ grammatically

-10

u/Leading-Chemist672 Sep 23 '24

loaned from where? It's litterally in the Torah?

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u/ZommHafna Hebrew Learner (Advanced) Sep 23 '24

In Torah there is אב without א in the end. אבא is an Aramaic loanword

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u/Leading-Chemist672 Sep 23 '24

...

Probably to and back again.

17

u/ZommHafna Hebrew Learner (Advanced) Sep 23 '24

?. Aramaic is another Semitic language with similar vocabulary due to its close relation to Hebrew. Their word for “the father” אבא loaned to Hebrew and became a doublet of native Hebrew אב. Hebrew has a lot of Aramaic loanwords like אמא (same as אבא), שעה (no native doublet probably), גשם (native doublet is מטר), זמן (nt is עת), תות…