Pronunciation In
Modern Israeli Hebrew (and
Ashkenazi Hebrew, although not under strict pronunciation), the letter Ḥet () usually has the sound value of a
voiceless uvular fricative (), as the historical phonemes of the letters () and () merged, both becoming the voiceless uvular fricative (). In more rare Ashkenazi phonologies, it is pronounced as a
voiceless pharyngeal fricative (). The () pronunciation is still common among
Israeli Arabs and
Mizrahi Jews (particularly among the older generation and popular
Mizrahi singers, especially
Yemenites), in accordance with oriental Jewish traditions (see, e.g.,
Mizrahi Hebrew and
Yemenite Hebrew). The ability to pronounce the Arabic letter '''' () correctly as a
voiceless pharyngeal fricative is often used as a
shibboleth to distinguish
Arabic-speakers from non-Arabic-speakers; in particular, pronunciation of the letter as is seen as a hallmark of
Ashkenazi and
Greek Jews.
Ḥet is one of the few Hebrew consonants that can take a vowel at the end of a word. This occurs when
patach gnuva comes under the Ḥet at the end of the word. The combination is then pronounced rather than . For example: (), and ().
Variations Ḥet, along with
Aleph,
Ayin,
Resh, and
He, cannot receive a
dagesh. As pharyngeal fricatives are difficult for most English speakers to pronounce, loanwords are usually Anglicized to have . Thus (), pronounced by native Hebrew speakers as or is pronounced by most English speakers, who cannot often perceive the difference between and .
Significance In
gematria, Ḥet represents the number eight. In
chat rooms,
online forums, and
social networking the letter Ḥet repeated () denotes laughter, just as in English, in the saying 'Haha'. ==Syriac cheth==