Over on Facebook, a reader writes:
Mr. Akin, could you possibly post "Abba" in Aramaic fully pointed. Why is the Beta repeated?~Thanks again
First let's look at "Abba" in Greek, which is displays the issue that the reader is wondering about. Here is how the word appears in Greek (cf. Mark 14:36 in a typical Greek New Testament):
As you can see, the term is spelled alpha-beta-beta-alpha. The reader asks why the beta is repeated, and the answer is that this is how they said it, with a reduplicated "b" sound separating the two vowel sounds. The Greek is giving us a fuller phonetic explanation of the word (how it sounds)–at least in this respect. (The Greek, like the English, does not record the invisible consonant on the front of the word.)
Now here's how the same word looks in Hebrew/Aramaic block script (which is a stylized form of the Aramaic alphabet, though it is most familiar to us as the script used to write modern Hebrew):
It's spelled aleph-beth-aleph, which prompts the reader's question: Why only one letter corresponding to "b" in this version?
The answer is that the original Semitic scripts were unpointed, meaning that they only included consonants (aleph is a consonant, believe it or not, though it later came to serve as a kind of vowel marker, making it a mater lectionis). Also, because of the way syllabification works in Semitic languages, their scripts often do not (or in unpointed versions do not) mark reduplicated consonants.
Thus even though you said the word "ABBA," you'd spell it "ABA." In an unpointed script, if you spelled it "ABBA" then the second "B" would suggest an extra syllable: "a-ba-ba" or something like that.
This reflects a fact that is also true of English (and even moreso French!): the script for the language is not fully phonetic. It is assumed that you already know the words you are reading and just need enough visual information to help you identify the word. You don't need how it's actually said spelled out in detail. That's what allowed the ancient Semites to get away without using VWLS N TH FRST PLC.
Eventually, they did come up with ways of indicating vowels–and other things–using a system of "points," which are small marks placed above, below, or within the letters. In the block script version of the word above, the marks under the first two letters (reading from right-to-left) are vowels–two different versions of the "a" sound.
The dot in the middle of the middle letter (beth), however, is not a vowel. It's a mark known as a dagesh forte (borrowing from Latin, meaning a "strong" dagesh). The dagesh forte (also called a dagesh hazak) tells you "double this consonant."
Thus even if you don't know the word "Abba," you could figure out how to say it using the modern, pointed version, because the dagesh forte tells you to say it "ABBA" rather than "ABA."
There are a variety of other Aramaic scripts that the word can be written in, and they have their own unique pointing rules, but the same basic issue applies.
Hope this clarifies the case of the missing "B"!
Notonlynovowels
theydidnothavethemostbasicpunctuationmarkofallwhichyou
probablydontthinkofaspunctuationbuttheabscenceofwhichyou
probablynoticedinmycommentbynow
I’m not sure that’s true of French. I think it does have a definite phonetic structure, which in some ways is a lot easier than English. It’s just the pronunciation of those phonemes that hangs up English speakers. But I can read French words that I do not know and come reasonably close to the pronunciation without having to memorize the words themselves, based just on their phonetic structure.
OOoh, i can’t wait to tell my teenaged niece that her ‘texticon’ is actually a throwback to the ancient Semites!
Your transcription of Abba in Greek is without accent and breathing marks. Are these not used in koine Greek?
Mary,
It’s why the Hebrews regarded their Sacred Scripture as a single word, which some Sages believed spelled out the Name of God if you could read it all. Because Jesus spoke the Name of God – at least twice – He shows that He is the High Priest and the Word, consubstantial with the Father.
Also, “Abba” and “Aba” is an exceptional piece of knowledge if you know about Barabbas. Because his name is Greek (Bar-Abbas), it indicates the Hellenization of Judaism that was underway at that time of history, which in turn gives you a better understanding of why some were weary of Jesus.
Jimmy, FYI spam “avoid the occasion of Star Trek sin” alert @ your 2004 posting on the invisible consonant (2007 comments by user names of format ‘DDT-x’ link to two different icky adult-themed URLS). Seems your ‘galaxy’ was ‘hitch-hiked’ before you closed comments there.
My mother – an elementary school teacher – was big on using the modified article “an” with vowels and silent consonant ‘aitch’ (ie its more correct to say “an hotel” )
The moral of the story – even the internet ether needs a ء (glottal stop) to keep our hortus conclusus ‘itch ‘iker free!
Incidentally, not having followed your blog consistently (and not on Facebook either) so not sure if you’ve discussed the Knot of Solomon angle with your readers, but I find interesting the syllabic symmetry of the name (-ba’ reverse lip-images ‘ab-) strikes me as fitting of the inherent perfection found in the symmetry of Semitic rhetoric: http www retoricabiblicaesemitica org nodo_en.html ( see 1998 pdf article for more http www retoricabiblicaesemitica org Articolo Inglese.pdf )
Of course if the Father is symmetrical would not the Mother also be? http www youtube com watch?v=0aU18v-tl8I Anglosaxon Mary doesn’t fit the poetic meter in this sense, but Aramaic Miriam does… see consonant m whose final form, used at the end of words changes shape from מ to ם without changing pronunciation…
http en wikipedia org wiki Mem “In Hebrew religious texts, it can stand for the name of God Makom, the Place” (but Wikipedia leaves unanswered which form open or closed… ie is the place earthly or heavenly?
Wherefore Miriam from a root meaning rebellious contumacious bitter from ‘resist, rub the wrong way, repulse, strike mouth to shut someone up) akin to the eponymous rock at Meribah, now what’s that all about? While we are apt to attach a negative connotation in this temporal ‘vale of tears’ of resisting transcendent power, if one assumes a transcendent “Place” for God (and take His perspective) then the whole meaning swings around and ‘resistance’ takes on a more mystical meaning – as the Woman of the Apocalyse crushing the earthly powers under foot! Now back to the ‘Place’ – is it not the soul, the throne where God sits eternally? Members of the Church Triumphant are already on the farside so to speak, while we church militant types regard all things temporal as passing as we travel closer to the heavenly gate (Mary, mother Church). Are we receptive or contraceptive to signposts or directions, that’s the Christmas message according to Bonaventure, no? http unbornwordoftheday com 2011 01 02 bringing-forth-christ-the-fourth-feast-of-the-child-jesus
I think that’s kinda where the Pope comes from in his published discourse on prophylactic usage – its immaterial as to the persons gender: the crucial distinction is concern for ones role in another’s welfare (regardless of how imperfectly expressed) invites recognition of the crux itself, the reflexive conscience, the communio gift of JPIIs Trinitarian personalist phenomenalism. One cannot arrive at such a thought if one resists it. One must be receptive to it and ergo why ‘contraceptive thinking’ exists even in celibates…
For whatever it is worth, in Coptic there is only one consonant in the middle like Aramaic – it has shifted, however, to a “pi.” Thus it reads (Coptic uses an augmented Greek alphabet) “ΑΠΑ”.
In modern *Eastern* Aramaic (the kind they speak in Iraq’s Christian community) the middle consonant has shifted from “B” to “W.” B, P, and W are all related sounds, so this shift isn’t surprising. They are all labial sounds (sounds relying on what you do with your lips). As often happens, sound shifts tend to occur in fairly regular ways.
I can’t contribute much, but according to bishop Sheen, the accent is on the second syllable – abBa. Those more familiar with semitic languages can comment.
The Chicken
nice post, so kind of you for your sharing.
It reminds me of the internet mainstay about jumbled letters:
BTW, if you want to read more about the jumbled letters from someone from Cambridge, check out: http://www.mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk/people/matt.davis/Cmabrigde/
it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae.
Atth imthg eb owh ti si orf ouy, tub rfo em, I nca tilsl edra ti veen fi het irsft nad slta rsetlet rae otn ni eht os-llacde “gtirh lpeca”. Ti si uqiet zeya.
Darn it, Jamie. Do you see what kind of annoyance you’ve started?
AnnLott-
Can you repeat your SPAM, but this time scramble the letters?
Louis Vuitton Bags-
Please read my note to AnnLott.
Why are the first and second vowel points different? Does the difference indicate a difference in vowel quality, vowel quantity, tone, or in some combination thereof?