[BAT-EL FOUX] Biblical Hebrew phonology from a theoretical perspective

Outi Bat-El Foux

Reviewers: Elan B. Dresher, Lutz Edzard, Adèle Jatteau

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Abstract: The paper provides an analysis of phonological phenomena in Biblical Hebrew within current theoretical frameworks. Viewing the phonological word as a hierarchical structure – consisting of feet, syllables, moras, and hierarchically organized segmental features – the rich phonology of BH falls out of universal structural properties. The phonological processes found in Biblical Hebrew, such as vowel reduction and deletion, spirantization and emphasis spread, are all found in natural languages, thus supporting the claim that Biblical Hebrew was a natural language.

Bat-El Foux, Outi. 2023. “Biblical Hebrew phonology from a theoretical perspective”. Radical: A Journal of Phonology, 5, 1-45.