Diphthongs In Aramaic

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Diphthongs are the sound produced when two Aramaic Vowels come together and combine. This does not happen very often in Aramaic because vowels are almost always separated by consonants. When diphthongs do arise, however, the correct sound can usually be guessed correctly by simply trying to say the two Aramaic Vowels together and listening carefully to what happens.

Here are the main diphthongs in Aramaic:

Kamets or Patah followed by Yood ( or ). The Aramaic Vowels here are a immediately followed by the ee sound of the Aramaic letter Yood. Pronounced together, they are similar to the English words eye or I.

Kamets or Patah followed by Waw ( or ). The Aramaic Vowels here are a immediately followed by the v sound of the Aramaic letter Waw. Pronounced together, they are similar to the av in English words such as have.

As always, the best way to learn how to pronounce Aramaic correctly is to listen carefully to it being spoken by Aramaic communities. Aramaic is still a spoken language, remember! There is no substitute for listening to native speakers of any language, and Aramaic is no exception.

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