Hebreísmo
Hebreísmo was created by Crawford J. Bennett, Jr. to write
Castilian Spanish with Hebrew Letters. The Hebreísmo letters
are modified for a handwritten alphabet wherein each letter fits
into a “square,” that is each letter takes up relatively the same
amount of space on a page as any other letter would. However,
Castilian orthography must be simplified to write in Hebreísmo.
Hebreísmo is written from right to left, and vowels are always written.
Notable features
- Type of writing system: alphabet.
- Direction of writing: right to left in horizontal lines.
- The vowels are always written
- When handwritten, because Hebreísmo would be used by
Castilian-speakers, Ov, Elef, and primary R (R-), may be written
without a dot above.
Hebreísmo alphabet
Simplifications:
- K, Qu, and C before A, O, and U, are represented
by the letter Kaf. - G always makes the sound of the Spanish G before A,
O, or U, the sound does not change if it comes before E or I. - H is always written, even though it is not pronounced.
- J is used for Spanish GE and GI sounds, be sure to
pronounce this gutturally. - Ll is as in Castilian, and does not sound like Y
(a product of yeísmo). - Ñ is represented by NY, in Hebreísmo
it is a ligature. - V makes the same sound as the V in English, and so is
a different letter. - X is always represented by Kaf Samekh.
- Z always makes the unvoiced TH sound as in thin, and
Castilian CE/CI combinations are written Zayin Elef/Zayin Yod.
The letter Zayin (Castilian Z) never makes the S sound as in seseo. - A and E are written with the same Hebrew letter, but are
given different names; A is called Alef, and E is called Elef. - I and Y are written with the same Hebrew letter.
- O and V are written with the same Hebrew letter; O
is called Ov. - U and W are written with the same Hebrew letter; U is
called U, and W is called U Corta. - Ü does not exist.
- Inverted question and exclamation marks are not used.
- Punctuation follows Spanish rules, but the marks are
written backwards because Hebreísmo is written
from right to left. - Accents are written after the vowel.
Sample text in the Hebreísmo alphabet
Transliteration
Yo soy como la gente que a mi tierra vinieron.
Soy de la raza mora, la vieja amiga del sol.
Que todo lo ganaron y que todo lo perdieron.
Tengo el alma de nardo, del árabe español.
Yo soy komo la jente ke a my tyerra vynyeron.
Soy de la raza mora, la vyeja amyga del sol.
Ke todo lo ganaron y ke todo lo perdyeron.
Tengo el alma de nardo, del árabe espanyol.