![]() Text containing these markings is referred to as "pointed" text. These dots and dashes are written above, below or inside the letter, in ways that do not alter the spacing of the line. However, as Hebrew literacy declined, particularly after the Romans expelled the Jews from Israel, the rabbis recognized the need for aids to pronunciation, so they developed a system of dots and dashes called nikkud (points). People who are fluent in the language do not need vowels to read Hebrew, and most things written in Hebrew in Israel are written without vowels. Like most early Semitic alphabetic writing systems, the alefbet has no vowels. Kaf, Mem, Nun, Pei and Tzadei Vowels and Points Note that there are two versions of some letters. The "Kh" and the "Ch" are pronounced as in German or Scottish, a throat clearing noise, not as the "ch" in "chair." If this sounds like Greek to you, you're not far off! Many letters in the Greek alphabet have similar names and occur in the same order (though they don't look anything alike!): Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta. The Hebrew alphabet is often called the "alefbet," because of its first two letters. Note that Hebrew is written from right to left, rather than left to right as in English, so Alef is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet and Tav is the last. The picture below illustrates the Hebrew alphabet, in Hebrew alphabetical order. The Hebrew and Yiddish languages use a different alphabet than English.
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