The Hebraization of English (or Hebraicization)[1][2] is the use of the Hebrew alphabet to write English. Because Hebrew uses an abjad, it can render English words in multiple ways. There are many uses for hebraization, which serve as a useful tool for Israeli learners of English by indicating the pronunciation of unfamiliar letters. An example would be the English name spelled "Timothy", which can be Hebraized as "טימותי" in the Hebrew alphabet.
Table
Consonants
For full spelling, when a reader is likely to err in the reading of a word, the use of niqqud or partial niqqud is recommended. This is especially true when writing foreign words, unfamiliar words, ambiguous words, or words that take a dagesh.
ו (Vav) (at beginning of a word or in the middle, when not next to a vav acting as a vowel [/o/ or /u/]) (full spellingוו: Vav is doubled in the middle of a word but not at the beginning except if initial affix letter except "and" prefix), ב (Vet) (at end of a word or in the middle, when next to a vav acting as a vowel [/o/ or /u/])
voice, live, of
v
w
none
ו (Vav) (transliterated as a 'v' sound, but often pronounced with 'w' sound though prior knowledge), (full spelling: follows rule for Vav above) ו׳ (Vav with geresh) (non-standard (indicates 'w' sound), and not used in general transliterations)
we, kuala, persuasion
w
y
Consonant
י (Yud) (full spellingיי: Yud is doubled in the middle of a word for /ei,ai/ but not at the beginning or after affix letters)
כ ך (Chaph) (transliterated as an /x/ soundⓘ (like German CH below), because a 'ch' making a 'k' sound is from the Greek letter Chi which also makes the /x/ sound.), ק (Kuf) (indicates 'k' sound, only used for a direct transliteration)
chaos, character, psychology
k
German CH
ח (Het) (at beginning of a word), כ ך (Chaph) (usually in the middle of a word, always at end of a word)
צ ץ (Tsadi), תס (Tav-Samekh) (tav-samekh not normally used for transliterations) תשׂ (Tav-Sin) (tav-sin not normally used for transliterations) (full spellingתש)
pizza, pretzel, tsunami, hats
ts
Final letters
Five letters in Hebrew, Nun, Mem, Tsadi, Pe/Fe, and Kaf, all have final or sofit (Hebrew: סוֹפִית sofit) forms. That means, that the letters' appearances change when they are at the end of words from כ, פ, צ, מ, נ to ך, ף, ץ, ם, ן respectively. Final forms are used in transliteration when appropriate, with the exception of foreign words ending in a [p] sound, which retain the non-final form of פ, such as "קטשופ" ("ketchup"), as the word with a normal final form would be pronounced "ketchuph".
Vowels and diphthongs
Since vowels are not consistent in English, they are more difficult to transliterate into other languages. Sometimes they are just transcribed by the actual English letter, and other times by its actual pronunciation (which also varies). For the most accurate transliteration, below is a table describing the different vowel sounds and their corresponding letters.
Hebrew has only 5 vowel sounds, with lack of discrimination in Hebrew between long and short vowels. In comparison, English which has around 12 vowel sounds (5 long, 7 short) depending on dialect. As a result, words such as sit/seat (/sɪt/ and /siːt/), hat/hut (/hæt/ and /hʌt/), and cop/cope (/kɒp/ and /koʊp/) are transliterated as the Hebrew vowels /i/, /a/ and /o/. The English pronunciation can be known through prior context.
Vowels will sometimes be put into Hebrew by their letters, and not by their sounds, even though it is less accurate phonetically. For example, any sort of "a" sound written with the letter "o", (ex. mom, monitor, soft), will often be transliterated as an "o" vowel, that is, with a vav (ו). The same is the case for an -or ending (pronounced -er), it will also often be transliterated with a vav as well. If the word with the "a" sound (such as "a" or "ah"), as in "ta ta", or "spa", it will be treated as an "a".
For full spelling, the niqqud (the "dots") is simply omitted, if partial vowelling is desired, especially for letters like Vav, then the niqqud is retained.
The picture of the "O" represents whatever Hebrew letter is used.
סָ (letter with kamatz), (letter with patah), אַ/אָ (Alef with kamatz or patach) (Not part of ordinary Hebrew spelling but sometimes used in transliterations)
run, enough
a/ʌ
ä
Note for below: This sound (æ) (ex. hat) does not exist in Hebrew. As a result, it is always transliterated as if it were an (a) sound (ex. hut).
mat, hat
æ
סָ (letter with kamatz), (letter with patah), אַ/אָ (Alef with kamatz or patach) (Not part of ordinary Hebrew spelling but sometimes used in transliterations)
Note for below: These sounds (ɑ/ɒ) (ex. pawn) do not exist in Hebrew. As a result, it is transliterated as if it were an (a) sound (ex. pun).
spa, pot, law
ɑː/ɒː
סָ (letter with kamatz), (letter with patah), אַ/אָ (Alef with kamatz or patach) (Not part of ordinary Hebrew spelling but sometimes used in transliterations)
יי (Yud-Yud) (used specifically in transliterations), י (letter with segol-Yud) (not normally used for transliterations), (letter with zeire) (not normally used for transliterations, also more ambiguous and used only in certain words)
day, wait, grey
ej
e̞j
ai
יי (Yud-Yud) (used specifically in transliterations), יסָ (letter with kamatz-Yud) (not normally used for transliterations), י (letter with patah-Yud) (not normally used for transliterations)
The following are special cases for vowels at the beginning or end of a word. "O", "U", or "I" sound different at the beginning of a word, because they have no consonants before them. Therefore, Vav and Yud, by themselves, would be assumed to be their consonant versions ("V" and "Y" respectively) and not their vowel versions.
If the sounds (that is, vowels with no consonants before it) are made in the middle of a word, the same thing is done as shown below (or looking up, replace the "ס" with the aleph).
אִי (Aleph with hiriq-Yud) עִי (Ayin with hiriq-Yud) (not normally used for transliterations) Note: The subsequent yud in both the Aleph-Yud and Ayin-Yud above is only necessary in full spelling.
