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Forum
-> Pregnancy & Childbirth
-> Baby Names
amother
OP
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Wed, Nov 27 2019, 10:38 am
Why do some people put an H at the end of an A name? Names like Tzipporah, Dinah, Rivkah, Devorah.
Is it a grammar thing I'm missing? I've seen all of those names without H, too. I'm just trying to figure out why there WOULD be an H...
Thanks!
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amother
Seagreen
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Wed, Nov 27 2019, 10:42 am
Why not? There's no "correct" way to spell Hebrew words in English.
Technically, the ה in Hebrew would convert most closely to an H in English, so some people add the h. Some don't. It's an aesthetic thing.
It's the difference between Rivky, Rivki, Rivkie, Rifky, etc.
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amother
Powderblue
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Wed, Nov 27 2019, 10:44 am
I didn't end up writing an h on my daughter's birth certificate but an h represents the ה when you are writing a Hebrew name in the English alphabet. If it doesn't change the way the name is pronounced I wouldn't add silent letters.
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amother
OP
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Wed, Nov 27 2019, 10:45 am
amother [ Seagreen ] wrote: | Why not? There's no "correct" way to spell Hebrew words in English.
Technically, the ה in Hebrew would convert most closely to an H in English, so some people add the h. Some don't. It's an aesthetic thing. |
I hear your reasons; thank you.
To answer, "why not" is because we don't usually just add extra letters for fun. But your hey conjugation and aesthetic reasons both make sense.
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amother
OP
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Wed, Nov 27 2019, 10:47 am
amother [ Powderblue ] wrote: | If it doesn't change the way the name is pronounced I wouldn't add silent letters. |
Good point. Thanks
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groovy1224
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Wed, Nov 27 2019, 10:58 am
amother [ Seagreen ] wrote: | Why not? There's no "correct" way to spell Hebrew words in English.
Technically, the ה in Hebrew would convert most closely to an H in English, so some people add the h. Some don't. It's an aesthetic thing.
It's the difference between Rivky, Rivki, Rivkie, Rifky, etc. |
I agree with this, but I think it's mostly aesthetic. For example, I see Devorah spelled most commonly with an H. Sometimes Dinah too.
But I've never seen Meirah, Chavah, or Shirah (to name a few) and those all have a ה at the end too.
So I think it mostly has to do with a preference on how the name looks. My relative with a daughter Devorah spelled it with the h because she thought it looked more balanced
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amother
Silver
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Wed, Nov 27 2019, 11:04 am
amother [ OP ] wrote: | I hear your reasons; thank you.
To answer, "why not" is because we don't usually just add extra letters for fun. But your hey conjugation and aesthetic reasons both make sense. |
Who made the rules up for the spelling of an English name? Who is the "we" you are talking about who does not add extra letters for fun? Its an English spelling. Whats the big deal?
Anon because this is specific -
My daughter's name is Taliah. Her father wanted the 'h' at the end and it was not worth a fight to me. She is now 16 and loves her 'h'. It makes her name feel unique to her. Yes, people often make a quick glance at her name and call her Tehillah. Its become a class joke by now. She likes it. Her dad likes it. Hebrew spelling does not change.
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amother
Vermilion
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Wed, Nov 27 2019, 11:05 am
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Elfrida
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Wed, Nov 27 2019, 11:06 am
In most Hebrew words the accent is on the last syllable. The h at the end can help to emphasize this pronunciation in the transliteration.
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amother
Seagreen
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Wed, Nov 27 2019, 11:20 am
Elfrida wrote: | In most Hebrew words the accent is on the last syllable. The h at the end can help to emphasize this pronunciation in the transliteration. |
But it's actually not in the way we pronounce most of those names.
'Riv-ka not Riv-'ka. 'Cha-na not Cha-'na. De-'vo-ra not De-vo-'ra. So that reason would not apply to adding an h to the end of most names.
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amother
Amethyst
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Wed, Nov 27 2019, 11:25 am
amother [ Silver ] wrote: | Who made the rules up for the spelling of an English name? Who is the "we" you are talking about who does not add extra letters for fun? Its an English spelling. Whats the big deal?
Anon because this is specific -
My daughter's name is Taliah. Her father wanted the 'h' at the end and it was not worth a fight to me. She is now 16 and loves her 'h'. It makes her name feel unique to her. Yes, people often make a quick glance at her name and call her Tehillah. Its become a class joke by now. She likes it. Her dad likes it. Hebrew spelling does not change. |
My personal preference would have been "Talya" - to minimize opportunities for "ta-lee-ah". I actually had a (non-Jewish) nurse read the way I spelled my son's name to see if it seemed phonetically easy to pronounce as I had spelled it. I told her not to breathe a word about the name, of course
My parents were inconsistent with using the "h" or not, but most of us were bestowed with "h"s
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Elfrida
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Wed, Nov 27 2019, 11:30 am
amother [ Seagreen ] wrote: | But it's actually not in the way we pronounce most of those names.
'Riv-ka not Riv-'ka. 'Cha-na not Cha-'na. De-'vo-ra not De-vo-'ra. So that reason would not apply to adding an h to the end of most names. |
Just because in an english accent it isn't pronounced that way doesn't alter the fact that it is the correct pronunciation.
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SixOfWands
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Wed, Nov 27 2019, 11:56 am
amother [ OP ] wrote: | Why do some people put an H at the end of an A name? Names like Tzipporah, Dinah, Rivkah, Devorah.
Is it a grammar thing I'm missing? I've seen all of those names without H, too. I'm just trying to figure out why there WOULD be an H...
Thanks! |
That would be an appropriate transliteration of any name ending in a hay; the better question would be why some people don't use it.
Specifically as to Devorah, the English name, Deborah, is usually spelled with an H.
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nchr
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Wed, Nov 27 2019, 11:58 am
I prefer an H at the end of a name; however, in my circles it is generally not done and people prefer to use a y if the legal name is not an English name (think Rivky instead of Rivka).
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nchr
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Wed, Nov 27 2019, 12:00 pm
groovy1224 wrote: | I agree with this, but I think it's mostly aesthetic. For example, I see Devorah spelled most commonly with an H. Sometimes Dinah too.
But I've never seen Meirah, Chavah, or Shirah (to name a few) and those all have a ה at the end too.
So I think it mostly has to do with a preference on how the name looks. My relative with a daughter Devorah spelled it with the h because she thought it looked more balanced |
But Devorah also is more pleasing to English speakers due to the name Deborah. Dina with an h can make English speakers think of Dinah blow your horn.. So some of what we gravitate to or find balanced is based upon other norms.
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amother
Dodgerblue
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Wed, Nov 27 2019, 12:07 pm
This is going to sound insane but I put the h on the end of my kids name because I liked the way it looked visually. I.e. Nechama vs Nechamah, Devora vs Devorah. The height of the h balanced the height of the N or the D.
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amother
Ecru
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Wed, Nov 27 2019, 12:23 pm
My daughter is leah.
Because I didn't want it to be pronouced lea (lee!?)
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amother
Silver
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Wed, Nov 27 2019, 12:52 pm
amother [ Amethyst ] wrote: | My personal preference would have been "Talya" - to minimize opportunities for "ta-lee-ah". I actually had a (non-Jewish) nurse read the way I spelled my son's name to see if it seemed phonetically easy to pronounce as I had spelled it. I told her not to breathe a word about the name, of course
My parents were inconsistent with using the "h" or not, but most of us were bestowed with "h"s |
No one has called her ta-LEE-ah, other than little kids who cant blend their words yet. But my point was not about personal preference for anyone here, it was spelling it 'Talia' vs. adding the 'h' at the end. It was just not worth the fight with her dad.
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amother
Amethyst
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Wed, Nov 27 2019, 1:19 pm
amother [ Silver ] wrote: | No one has called her ta-LEE-ah, other than little kids who cant blend their words yet. But my point was not about personal preference for anyone here, it was spelling it 'Talia' vs. adding the 'h' at the end. It was just not worth the fight with her dad. |
I'm sorry if I upset you, I just meant that we all have our own preferences for how to transliterate, but it doesn't really make a difference at the end of the day. Of course, shalom bayis is the most important, especially with something as trivial on how to spell a name. Happy to hear she likes her "h".
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amother
Smokey
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Wed, Nov 27 2019, 1:26 pm
amother [ Ecru ] wrote: | My daughter is leah.
Because I didn't want it to be pronouced lea (lee!?) |
"Lea" would be a completely different name, not an alternative spelling.
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