Verse:Irta/Hebrew

The history of Rabbinic Judaism in Irta is much like in our own world. The Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible, the Mishnah, the Talmud and the major Kabbalah texts are identical to ours; the Shulchan Aruch prescribes the same laws. (Basically everything about Hasidism stays the same except with Ăn Yidiș rather than Yiddish.)

However, many accents of Irta Hebrew, except Tiberian Hebrew which is identical to our timeline's Tiberian Hebrew, preserve phonological distinctions that our Hebrew lost by Post-Exilic Hebrew times.

Irta Modern Hebrew

Used as a Jewish vernacular in Irta America, Canada and Jewish communities in the Levant (the State of Israel isn't a thing in Irta)

Should be mutually intelligible with our Modern Hebrew speakers, though it may sound a bit flowery. In Cualand it's called "French Hebrew" (or עברית צרפתית ivris tsarfåsis which may also refer to the traditional Tsarfati reading of Hebrew) and is sometimes made fun of.

The standard variety today is an artificial compromise accent between Irta Yevani Hebrew and Tsarfati Hebrew, with an Ăn Yidiș-influenced accent and grammar; it does not merge patach and qamatz gadol unlike Irta Yevani Hebrew. Formal Hebrew is less of an Ăn Yidiș relex, and recent spoken Hebrew's more of an English relex and is becoming closer to Cualand Hebrew or our Israeli Hebrew.

• Consonants: /ʔ b v g ɣ d ð h w z ħ tˁ j k x l m n s ʕ p f sˁ q r ʃ t θ/ = [(ʔ) b~p⁼ v g~k⁼ ɣ~ʁ d̪~t̪⁼~ð d̪~t̪⁼~ð h v z̪ x~χ t̪ʰ~θ j kʰ x~χ l m n s̪ (ʔ) pʰ f t̪s̪ʰ kʰ ɻ~ɹˠ ʃ t̪ʰ~θ t̪ʰ~θ]
• Vowels: /i e ɛ a QG QQ o u (shva na) ḤP ḤS ḤQ/ = [i e̞ e̞ æ ɑ~ɒ o̞ o̞ u Ø~ə æ e̞ o̞]
  • Qamatz gadol has the same quality as our Connemara Irish á [ɑː] and patach with the same quality as our Connemara Irish stressed a [a̟ː~æː].
• /r/ is alveolar or retroflex and usually an approximant.
• tav~tet /t̪ʰ/ and dalet /d̪/ have postvocalic allophones [θ] and [ð] (which don't correspond to dagesh)
• Irta Modern Hebrew pronounces he mappiq (final /h/) and doesn't have the /-ah/ > /-ha/ metathesis like our Israeli Hebrew.
• Intonation is similar to our Scottish Gaelic

Grammatically, it is SVO like our Israeli Hebrew, but sometimes prefers Ăn Yidiș syntax, e.g.

• much more willing to use אין for negation in the present tense; (איני, אינך in non-3rd person, אין הוא, אין היא in 3rd person); in our IH these forms are formal/written (bc Gaelic negation comes before subject pronouns). /(ze) lo æ'ni/ is a focus construction 'It's not me that...', and אין אני /en æ'ni/ in non 3rd person are solemn.
• Irish/Ăn Yidiș calques in some common expressions
  • The following are used instead of בבקשה for 'please':
    • עם רצונך /im ɹətsʰonˈxɑ/ (lit. 'with your will', a calque of lă dă-thel) or אם זה רצונך /im ze ɹətsʰonˈxɑ/ (mă șe dă-thel e) 'please'
    • זה חייך /ze xæ'jexɑ/ (lit. 'it's your life', like șe dă-bhethă) 'you're welcome'
    • הנה לך /hi'ne xæ'jexɑ/ (lit. 'this is to you', like șa did) 'here you go'
  • רצון איתי /ɹɑtsʰon i'θi/ 'I like' (tel lum), עדיף איתי /ɑ'ðif i'θi/ 'I prefer' (fyor lum)
    • More formally /æ'ni ɹo'tsʰe bə-/ = 'I like, I am pleased with', ani xofetz bă- 'I want'
    • Conversely using the verb אהב /ɑ'hæv/ is a little formal (more so than English love) and is the equivalent of German lieben. It's more common to hear חבב chavav for family, friends and lovers.
  • /hɑjɑ ɹɑ'tsʰon i'θi/ 'I'd like'
  • אפשר איתי /efʃɑɹ i'θi/ 'I can' (efșăr lum)
  • You might hear /jeʃ li [LANGUAGE]/ for 'I speak [LANGUAGE]':
    • A: /kʰæ'bel eθ tʰeɹutsʰi, him jeʃ ləxɑ ɑzɑliθ/ 'Excuse me, do you speak English?'
    • B: /jeʃ/ 'I do.'/ /en/ 'I do not.'
• Question particles (/hæim~him/, /hæ-/ in more formal contexts) are usually retained. Questions don't have a different intonation from declarative sentences. Question marks are not usually used. Yes-no questions are usually answered by repeating the verb in the affirmative/negative. Present-tense copular questions (which have no verb), e.g. /him ʃo'meɹ ɑ'xixɑ æ'θɑ/ 'Are you your brother's keeper?' can be answered in the following ways (This is also true of sentences with a present tense verb):
  • /ʃomeɹ ɑχi/ '(Yes, I am) my brother's keeper.' or lo šomėr åxi '(No, I am) not my brother's keeper.'
  • /hinə'ni/ 'Yes, I am.' or /e'neni~e'ni/ 'I am not.'
  • /hen/ 'indeed' or /lo/ 'no' (the least common)
• It also prefers some coincidentally Gaelic-sounding words, e.g. אַךְ /æx/ 'but' and שָׂשׂ /sɑs/ 'happy' (sounding like Judeo-Gaelic ach 'but' and sostă 'satisfied') instead of the synonyms אֲבָל /ævɑl/ and שָׂמֵחַ /sɑ'meæx/. כה /kʰo/ is as common as כל כך /kʰol'kʰɑx/ for 'so (ADJ)'.
• Tenses are similar to our Modern Hebrew tenses but the /hɑ'jɑ ox'el/ construction is more common.
  • היה הוא אוכל = Past imperfective/progressive/conditional (corresponds to V'e ăg ith)
  • הוא אוכל = Present
  • הוא אכל = Past perfective
  • הוא יאכל = Future
• Loazit /-tsʰjɑ/ '-tion' is borrowed directly from Latin -tiō, via Ăn Yidiș/Tsarfati Hebrew -țyo
• Prepositions can be weird, esp /æl/ 'on' and /im/ 'with' (mapped to Irish ar and le)
• It's also as focus-prominent as Ăn Yidiș and Irish. Irishy cleft constructions are common.
• ani "I" is sometimes pronounced [ɪni]; this is a regionalism and is rare nowadays

Names in non-Hebrew Jewish languages written in the Hebrew alphabet, such as Ăn Yidiș, are usually spelled as in the original language.

• /kʰæðeɹex/ = 'directly', matched to Irish díreach
• Ireland = אירין /e'ɹin/
• Irish person = איריני, איריניה, אירינים /eɹi'ni, eɹini'jɑ, eɹi'nim/
• Irish language = אירינית /eɹi'niθ/
• Hivantish = /hivæn'di, hivændi'jɑ, hivæn'dim; hivæn'diθ/

Some Hebrew poets in the 19th century wrote in an adapted form of the Irish dán díreach (or a version of cynghanedd?); they assumed penultimate stress like some of our Modern Hebrew poets.

The original prescriptive accent

Consonants: /ʔ b v g ɣ d ð h w z ħ tˁ j k x l m n s ʕ p f sˁ q r ʃ t θ/ = [ʔ b v g ɣ d ð h v z ħ t⁼ j k⁼ x l m n s ʕ p⁼ f ts⁼ k⁼ r ʃ t⁼ θ]

Vowels: /i e ɛ a QG QQ o u (shva na) ḤP ḤS ḤQ/ = [i e ɛ æ ɑ ɔ o u œ æ ɛ ɔ]

Yevani Hebrew

Also Togarmite Hebrew

• Consonants: /ʔ b v g ɣ d ð h w z ħ tˁ j k x l m n s ʕ p f sˁ q r ʃ t θ/ = [ʔ b v g ɣ d ð h v z ħ t⁼ j k⁼ x l m n s ʕ~ŋ p⁼ f ts⁼ k⁼ r ʃ t⁼ θ]
• Vowels: /i e ɛ a QG QQ o u (shva na) ḤP ḤS ḤQ/ = [i e̞ e̞ ä ä o̞ o̞ u e̞ ä e̞ o̞]

Tsarfati Hebrew

Modern Tsarfati Hebrew (עברית צרפתית ivrís zarfosís; "Tsarf-osis" is a common pun in Cualand for using a Tsarfati accent or Irta Modern Hebrew grammar) has been influenced by Ăn Yidiș (Judeo-Gaelic), but it's a result of a restandardization to Tiberian niqqud; some Hebrew loans in Ăn Yidiș keep relics of an older, non-Tiberian based reading.

Tsarfati Hebrew is similar to our Ashkenazi Hebrew, except

• Tiberian /e(:) ɔ(:) o(:) u(:)/ are pronounced as Ăn Yidiș ey o u ü (reflexes of Middle Irish aoi/é, á, ó/u, ú; /ej o u y/ in Standard Ăn Yidiș)
• Shva na3 is ă /ə/ in careful pronunciation (dropped whenever possible in Hebrew loans in Ăn Yidiș, however)
• undageshed gimel is pronounced like Ăn Yidiș gh
• /r/ is an alveolar flap/trill or a retroflex approximant like Hiberno-English R
• dageshed bet, dageshed gimel, and dalet (whether dageshed or not) are pronounced as unaspirated /p t k/
• dageshed tav, daleth, teth are dental [t̪ʰ t̪ t̪]
• sin/undageshed tav can be dental [s̪] or alveolar [s]
• both zayin and tsade are /ts⁼/; samekh is /tsʰ/
• kuf and tet are unaspirated /k/ and /t/
• /p t k/ are aspirated
• The most conservative Tsarfati readings keep geminate nun, lamedh and resh distinct from their non-geminated counterparts, pronouncing these as reflexes of Old Irish broad /N/, slender /L/ and broad /R/.

Sinosphere reading traditions

Chinese Hebrew

Due to convergent evolution, Irtan Chinese/SEA Hebrew is identical to Tsarfati Hebrew pronounced in the Standard Ăn Yidiș accent, except

• samekh = sin = /s/
• Resh is always Mandarin r
• Qamatz is the same as Mandarin o or wo
• /h/, /ħ/ and /x/ are merged
• Epenthetic [ə~ɛ] is common and is always used for coda consonants except /ʔ ʕ/
• Shva na is [a]

Genesis 1:1 ba·rei·XI·se bo·RUO ê·lu·HI·me EI·se ha·xiuo·MA·yi·me va·EI·se huo·O·rê·ze

A Tiberian niqqud-based Chinese Hebrew reading tradition is detailed in the 18th century treatise 塔納赫之正讀法 (Tǎnàhè zhī Zhèngdúfǎ 'The Correct Reading Method for the Tanakh'; might need to change the transcription of Tanakh to the contemporary Mandarin phonology), which may have been translated from Judeo-Mandarin.

Old Tsarfati Hebrew

Old Tsarfati Hebrew was used during Proto-Ăn Yidiș times and is the source of early Hebrew loans in Ăn Yidiș (before the pronunciation was re-standardized according to Tiberian niqqud, resulting in what is today called Tsarfati Hebrew). It is noticeably less conservative than Tiberian Hebrew, for example merging the emphatic series and the voiced series and merging patach with qamatz gadol, even though it keeps some older distinctions lost in Tiberian Hebrew such as samekh vs sin.

It has the following sound changes from PSem:

• emphatics and alveolar /r/ are kept
• ś/s þ š > Basque z, Basque s, š (written as shin left dot, shin middle dot, shin right dot)
• z ð > voiced Basque z, voiced Basque s (the latter becomes Tamil zh or retroflex L in some readings)
• Ayn and ghayn are still merged, as well as ħ and x.
• Qamatz is always /a/ as in Sephardi the and Palestinian traditions.

Comparison

Dror Yikra

Dror Yikra is a medieval Shabbat piyyut, in our timeline one of the earliest piyyutim to use an Arabic-derived meter.

Disclaimer: Piyyutim are thick with biblical allusions so they're a bitch to translate. I'm sure I made mistakes.

[X] denotes "something that has the same reflex as X in our Tiberian Hebrew."

Hebrew (Tiberian)

דְּרוֹר יִקְרָא לְבֵן עִם בַּת
וְיִנְצָרְכֶם כְּמוֹ בָבַת
נְעִים שִׁמְכֶם וְלֹא יֻשְׁבַּת
שְׁבוּ נוּחוּ בְּיוֹם שַׁבָּת

דְּרוֹשׁ נָוִי וְאוּלָמִי
וְאוֹת יֶשַׁע עֲשֵׂה עִמִּי
נְטַע שׂוֹרֵק בְּתוֹךְ כַּרְמִי
שְׁעֵה שַׁוְעַת בְּנֵי עַמִּי

דְּרוֹךְ פּוּרָה בְּתוֹךְ בָּצְרָה
וְגַם בָּבֶל אֲשֶׁר גָּבְרָה
נְתוֹץ צָרַי בְּאַף עֶבְרָה
שְׁמַע קוֹלִי בְּיוֹם אֶקְרָא

אֱלֹקים תֵּן בַּמִּדְבָּר הַר
הֲדַס שִׁטָּה בְּרוֹשׁ תִּדְהָר
וְלַמַּזְהִיר וְלַנִּזְהָר
שְׁלוֹמִים תֵּן כְּמֵי נָהָר

הֲדוֹךְ קָמַי חַי אֵל קַנָּא
בְּמוֹג לֵבָב וּבִמְגִנָּה
וְנַרְחִיב פֶּה וּנְמַלֶּאנָּה
לְשׁוֹנֵנוּ לְךָ רִנָּה

דְּעֵה חָכְמָה לְנַפְשֶׁךָ
וְהִיא כֶתֶר לְרֹאשֶׁךָ
נְצוֹר מִצְוַת קְדֹשֶׁךָ
שְׁמוֹר שַׁבָּת קָדְשֶׁךָ

Proto-Tsarfati

[dăˈru̠ːʀ jiqˈʀɔː lɐˈveːn ʕiːm baːθ]
[wĭjints̺ˁɔʀˈxɛːm kăˈmuː vɔːˈvaːθ]
[nĭˈʕiːm ʃimˈxɛːm wăˈluː jʉs̺ˈbaːθ]
[s̺ăˈvʉː nʉːˈ[ħ]ʉː bĭˈjuːm s̺aˈbːɔːθ]

[dăˈroːʃ nɔːˈwiː wʉ̆ʔʉːlɔːˈmiː]
[wŭˈʔuːθ ˈjeːʃaʕ ʕăˈs̻eː ʕiˈmːiː]
[năˈtˁaːʕ s̻uːˈʀeːq băˈθuːx kaʀˈmiː]
[[ʃ]ĕˈʕeː [ʃ]awˈʕaθ băˈneː ʕaˈmːiː]

[dăˈroːx pʉːˈʀɔː băˈθuːx bɔts̻ˁˈrɔː]
[wăˈɣaːm bɔːˈveːl ʔăˈs̺ɛːʀ gɔvɐˈʀɔː]
[năˈθoː[ts̻ˁ] [ts̻ˁ]ɔːˈʀaːj băˈʔaːf ʕɛvˈʀɔː]
[ʃăˈmaːʕ quːˈliː bĭˈjuːm ʔɛqˈʀɔː]

[ʔɛ̆luːˈhiːm teːn bamːiðˈbɔːʀ haːʀ]
[hăˈðaːs̻ ʃiˈtːˁɔ băˈʀuːs̺ tiðˈhɔːʀ]
[wălamːazˈhiːʀ wălanːizˈhɔːʀ]
[ʃăluːˈmiːm teːn kăˈmeː nɔːˈhɔːʀ]

[hăˈðoːx qɔːˈmaːj ħaːj ʔeːl qaˈnːɔː]
[băˈmoːɣ leːˈvɔːv ʔʉvimɣiˈnːɔː]
[wănaʀˈħiːv pɛː ʔʉnmaˈlːɛnːɔː]
[lăʃuːˈneːnʉː lăˈxɔː ʀiˈnːɔː]

[dĕˈʕeː ħɔxˈmɔː lănafˈʃɛːxɔː]
[wĭˈhiː ˈxɛːθɛʀ lăruːˈʃɛːxɔː]
[năˈts̺ˁoːr mits̻ˁˈwaːθ qăðoːˈʃɛːxɔː]
[ʃăˈmoːr s̺aˈbːɔːθ qɔðˈʃɛːxɔː]

Tsarfati (Standard Ăn Yidiș accent)

[t⁼əˈrur jigˈro ləˈvejn ʔim bas]
[vəjintsˑʰorˈχem kʰəˈmu voˈvas]
[nəˈʔim ʃimˈχem wəˈlu jyʃˈp⁼as]
[ʃəˈvy nyˈχy p⁼əˈjum ʃaˈbos]

[t⁼əˈruʃ noˈvi vəʔyloˈmi]
[vəˈʔus ˈjejʃa ʔaˈsej ʔiˈmi]
[nəˈda suˈrejk⁼ p⁼əˈsuχ kʰarˈmi]
[ʃəˈʔej ʃawˈʔas p⁼əˈnej ʔaˈmi]

[t⁼əˈruχ pʰʉˈro p⁼əˈsuχ p⁼otsˑʰˈro]
[vəˈʁam p⁼oˈvejl ʔaˈʃɛr k⁼ovˈro]
[nəˈsutsˑʰ tsˑʰoˈraj p⁼əˈʔaf ʔevˈro]
[ʃəˈma k⁼uˈli p⁼əˈjum ʔegˈro]

[ʔeluˈhim tʰejn bamit⁼ˈp⁼or har]
[haˈdas ʃiˈdo p⁼əˈrus tʰitˈhor]
[vəlamadzˈhir vəlanidzˈhor]
[ʃəluˈmim tʰejn kʰəˈmej noˈhor]

[haˈduχ k⁼oˈmaj χaj ʔejl k⁼aˈno]
[p⁼əˈmuʁ lejˈvov ʔyvimʁiˈno]
[vənarˈhiv pe ʔynəmaˈleno]
[ləʃuˈnejny ləˈχo riˈno]

[t⁼əˈʔej χoχˈmo lənafˈʃeχo]
[vəˈhi ˈχeser ləruˈʃeχo]
[nəˈtsʰur mitsʰˈvas k⁼əduˈʃeχo]
[ʃəˈmur ʃaˈbos k⁼odˈʃeχo]

English (What Inthar got from an Israeli site explaining piyyutim)

[God] will proclaim freedom for his sons and daughters
And guard you [all] as the apple of his eye
Pleasant is your name and will never cease [to be so];
Sit and rest on the Sabbath day.

[God], remember my abode and my hall [Temple]
And show me a sign of salvation.
Plant a choice vine in my vineyard [give us a messiah/king in Jerusalem],
Attend to the cries of my people.

Tread [upon my foes] as on a winepress in Botsra [Edom],
And Babylon which overpowered [us].
Crush my oppressors in your wrath,
Hear my voice when I call.

O God, give us a mountain amidst the desert,
Myrtles, acacias, cypresses and [unknown tree species];
To those who admonish [others to keep the Sabbath] and to those who heed
Grant peace like a flowing river.

Pulverize my aggressors [as in a mortar], as surely as You live, O Jealous God [who is jealous for his people],
Make their hearts dissolve [with terror] and distress them,
And with open mouths we shall fill
Our tongues with songs of gladness to you.

Know what is wise for your soul,
And [wisdom] shall be a crown for your head.
Guard your Holy One's commandment,
Keep your holy Sabbath.

Yedid Nefesh

Yedid Nefesh ("Friend of the Soul") is a 16th-century Shabbat piyyut originally from the Sephardi (in the Irta timeline, Yevani) tradition. In our timeline Ashkenazi Jews sing a slightly different version; I use the Ashkenazi version here to illustrate the difference between various Hebrew reading traditions of Ăn Yidiș-speaking Jews in Irta.

Hebrew (Tiberian)
יְדִיד נֶפֶשׁ אַב הָרַחְמָן
מְשׁוֹךְ עַבְדְּךָ אֶל רְצוֹנֶךָ
יָרוּץ עַבְדְּךָ כְּמוֹ אַיָּל
יִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה אֶל מוּל הֲדָרֶךָ
יֶעֱרַב לוֹ יְדִידוּתֶךָ
מִנֹּפֶת צוּף וְכָל טָעַם

Standard Ăn Yidiș accent
[jəd̥ɪd̥ ne̞fe̞ʃ av ho̞ɾäχmo̞n]
[məʃʊχ ävdəχo̞ e̞lɭ ɻətsˑʰʊne̞χo̞]
[jo̞ɻy̠tsˑʰ ävdəχo̞ kʰəmu (ʔ)äjo̞l]
[jɪʃtʰäχäve̞ ʔe̞l my̠l häd̥o̞ɻe̞χo̞]
[je̞ʔe̞ɻäv lʊ jəd̥ɪd̥y̠se̞χo̞]
[mɪnʊfe̞s tsʰy̠f vəχo̞l t⁼o̞(ʔ)äm]

Ballmer Ăn Yidiș accent
[jɛ̈ðɪð neɪfeɪʃ av huraχmun]
[mɛ̈ʃoʊχ ävdɛ̈χu eɪəɫ rɛ̈tsʰoʊneɪχu]
[juritsʰ ävdɛ̈χu kʰɛ̈moʊ äjuɫ]
[jɪʃtʰäχäveɪ eɪəɫ mɪɫ häðureɪχu]
[je̞jɛräv ɫoʊ jəðɪðɪseɪχu]
[mɪnoʊfe̞ɪs tsʰɪf vɛ̈χuɫ t⁼uʔäm]

English
Friend of the soul, merciful father!
Draw me, Your servant, towards Your will/good favor.
Your servant runs like a deer
And falls prostrate before Your splendor.
More pleasant to him is Your companionship
Than honey, nectar, or any taste.

Irtan Hebrew poetry

Hebrew dán díreach

Some Irtan Modern Hebrew revivalist poets wrote their Hebrew poetry in meters inspired by the Irish dán díreach.

Assumes penult stress like Hebraeo-Ăn Yidiș

Stanzas are quatrains with a fixed number of syllables per line (usually 7-10)

Alliteration works on a stressed-syllable basis; various meters with patterns of line-final rhyme, alliteration, internal rhyme and non-line-final rhymes between lines

For rhyming, vowels must agree from the stressed syllable onwards, and consonant groups must match (however, in segolates, the vowel of the unstressed final syllable is ignored; so péle 'wonder' and qémaħ 'flour' rhyme)

Rhyming consonant groups:

1. Qoph, teth and tsade
2. Dageshed beth, gimel and daleth
3. Dageshed kaf, pe, and tav
4. Undageshed kaf, pe, and tav
5. Undageshed beth, gimel, daleth; Undageshed lamedh, mem, nun, resh
6. Dageshed l, m, n
7. Shin, sin, samekh, zayin
8. Aleph, he, heth, ayin, yud, vav (null final belongs to this group)

ʔáni u-Phángur hallǻbhån,

kol ʔíš bimălákhto ʕǻbhådh. (pausal form of ʕåbhadh 'he worked')

"I and the white Pangur,

Each [of us] has worked in his craft"

Pángur ėno bi măkanė;

Hu bă-ša3šu3åv yith3anėgh.

"Pangur does not envy me;

He delights in his playing."