Lesson 5

Simkath (ܣ), ‘E (ܥ), Pe (ܦ), Sade (ܨ)

ܣ
Simkath (s)
The fifteenth letter of alap-beth, simkath is pronounced identically to the English "S," such as in the word "sea." Simkath continues the writing line to the following letter.
ܥ
'E (')
The sixteenth letter of the alap-beth, 'e is pronounced as an obstruction of airflow known as a glottal stop. This can be seen in English words like "curtain," where the "t" sound is often dropped in favor of stopping the airflow, turning the word into "cur'ain." 'It can also be seen in the English "uh-oh," where there is a glottal stop just before each vowel. E continues the writing line to the following letter.
ܦ
Pe (p)
The seventeenth letter of alap-beth, pe is pronounced identically to the English "P," such as in the word "pencil." Pe continues the writing line to the following letter.
ܨ
S̲ade (s̲)
The eighteenth letter of alap-beth, s̲ade is pronounced as a "gutteral S." This sound is produced similarly to simkath, but the back of the tongue should be raised towards the roof of the mouth. S̲ade does not continue the writing line to the following letter.

Practice

A. Read the following aloud to practice the sounds of consonants and vowels, check the English transliteration at the bottom of the page for the answers.

ܐ. ܣ، ܣ، ܣ، ܣܵ، ܣܵ، ܣܵ، ܣܲ، ܣܲ، ܣܲ

ܒ. ܥܸ، ܥܸ، ܥܸ، ܥܹ، ܥܹ، ܥܹ

ܓ. ܦ، ܦ، ܦ، ܦܘܿ، ܦܘܿ، ܦܘܿ، ܦܲ، ܦܲ، ܦܲ

ܕ. ܨ، ܨ، ܨ، ܨܘܼ، ܨܘܼ، ܨܘܼ، ܨܝܼ، ܨܝܼ، ܨܝܼ

B. Read the following aloud to practice reading real words in Chaldean, check the English transliteration at the bottom of
the page for the answers.

ܐ. ܟܘܿ ܣܵܐ: ܟܘܿܣܵܐ

ܒ. ܣܸ ܦܘܿ ܝܵܐ: ܣܸܦܘܿܝܵܐ

ܓ. ܥܲ ܢܵـ ܢܵܐ: ܥܲܢܵܢܵܐ

ܕ. ܨܹܝ ܢܸـ ܝܸܐ: ܨܹܝܢܸܝܸܐ

ܗ. ܨܲܦ ܪܵܐ: ܨܲܦܪܵܐ

Answers

A. 

  1. s, s, s, sa, sa, sa, sa, sa, sa
  2. ‘i, ‘i, ‘i, ‘e, ‘e, ‘e
  3. p, p, p, po, po, po, pa, pa, pa
  4. s, s, s, soo, soo, soo, see, see, see

B. 

  1. ko sa: kosa (hair)
  2. si po ya: sipoya (sandwich)
  3. ‘a na na: ‘anana (cloud)
  4. sey ni yi: seyniyi (tray)
  5. sap ra: sapra (tomorrow)