![]() As with most Latin serif typefaces, they have serifs at the terminus of most straight strokes. Our headers, however, are in a serif typeface (Libre Baskerville). ![]() These body paragraphs are written in a sans-serif font (Asap). Not all Latin alphabet fonts have serifs. Serifs, according to the most widely accepted theory, started as the flicks a pen or brush makes at the end of a stroke, then became stylized as carvers, first of stone, then woodblock, worked with them, and finally cast metal movable type, each approximated and altered them to suit the specs of their own medium. Bonus: Hebrew and English Serifs Are Not the Same The difference in shapes between Hebrew and English fonts will always make them somewhat distracting when in close proximity to one another. Here are the first five verses of Leviticus, in Hebrew and English, both in 12 pt font. Paragraph-level issues: Perceived Whitespace and Text Directionīetween different levels of contrast and different heights of their core letters, when you view a paragraph of English next to a paragraph of Hebrew, even were the baselines and lineheights to match up perfectly, they will give a different sense of blackspace vs. Even if you don't notice it consciously, it contributes to the weirdness. As your eye moves between the two, your brain needs to keep reversing its expectations of contrast in order to recognize the letters. When you stick Hebrew and English on the same page, the weight of the lines in their alphabets are at right angles with one another. The contrast level in Vilna is much closer to that of Elephant, which is considered rather extreme and stylized for English. Times New Roman is a very standard degree of contrast in English and Vilna is only slightly on the heavier side for Hebrew. (Check out our Jewish Prayers course for a wonderful example of how easy and flexible we make it to learn either with or without Hebrew transliteration.Moreover, Hebrew tends toward a higher contrast than English. As Learn Hebrew Pod is an interactive, online Hebrew course, many games and activities let you turn Hebrew transliteration on and off. And for those wishing to learn without Hebrew transliteration, you’ll see all our dialogues and monologues written in Hebrew letters. For those wishing to study with Hebrew to English transliteration, you’ll find that the transliteration is there to help. that is the question” (sorry Shakespeare!), Learn Hebrew Pod has adopted a policy of the best of both worlds. With Learn Hebrew Pod, you’ll never have to worry about puzzling out a word written in Hebrew transliteration.Īnd as for “to transliterate or to not transliterate. We have solved the problem of inconsistency by adopting and consistently applying one Hebrew transliteration method, which is fully described and taught in our Transliteration Appendix. The good news is that Learn Hebrew Pod has addressed all of these issues related to Hebrew transliteration. And, of course, rabbis, cantors, and Hebrew teachers who are training students for their Bar or Bat Mitzvahs never encourage the use of Hebrew transliteration! Learn with or without Hebrew Transliteration ![]() These people prefer to study Hebrew without the use of Hebrew transliteration. On the other hand, many people prefer learning to read Hebrew (either on its own or while learning to speak Hebrew). Finally, Hebrew transliteration is one way of writing Hebrew with vowels (because traditional Hebrew is generally written without them). And for those who are more interested in learning to speak Hebrew than learning to read Hebrew, Hebrew transliteration is just the tool they need. but once you try to write it in Hebrew transliteration, all bets are off.īut even with its many inconsistencies, Hebrew to English transliteration does have benefits for those who do not know how to read Hebrew (yet!) For those who wish to learn the Jewish prayers, Hebrew transliteration is often invaluable. Perhaps the best-known example to English speakers is the name of that Jewish holiday that comes in December: Is it Hanukkah? Or Chanukah? Or Hannukah? All of them? Well, actually it’s none of them! The only “real” way to spell the name of that holiday is חנוכה (or maybe חנכה). Just look for words in Hebrew transliteration online, and you’ll see many ways of spelling the same Hebrew word. Many times, transliteration is prone to inconsistency, and Hebrew transliteration is no exception. So, Hebrew transliteration is a way of expressing Hebrew for English speakers: Hebrew words written in the English alphabet for English speakers and readers who don’t read Hebrew. This way, one can read the words without having to learn a whole new alphabet. what a word! What on earth is Hebrew transliteration? Transliteration refers to writing a word from one alphabet system (such as the Hebrew alphabet) in the letters of another alphabet system (such as the Roman alphabet used in English). ![]()
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