Subject: Re: Issachar

From: "A.W.T." <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2001 18:18:26 -0000

--- In lojban@y..., Pierre Abbat <phma@o...> wrote:
> "Issachar" is spelled in a funny way in Hebrew: it has two sin.bu, one of 
> which has no vowel at all, not even a schwa. Normally a double consonant 
> sound is indicated by writing the consonant once with a dagesh in it. As a 
> result, it is sometimes transliterated "Isaschar". Should it be {isaxar} or 
> {isasxar}?

You're right, the spelling is quite astonishing - kind of arbitrary like English or Gaelic orthography :-)
It's even more complicated as described by you: with three sin (sin+dagesh forte, sin).
(There are various spellings in Hebrew, anyway, and in addition, this is a proper name.)
Yet, one shouldn't go for the spelling but the pronunciation to create cmene. And it even doesn't matter whether
one pays attention to modern (ashkenasic) or semitic/sephardic pronunciation because in Lojban no double consonants
are allowed, also in cmene. So it only can be {.isaxar.}! Your - almost correct - transliteration "Isaschar" doesn't seem
correct; it should be _i(ss)sachar_ (although fully written: jod hireq, sin-dagesh forte, qames(!), sin, (no qames!), khaf, 
qames, resh).

Oh, Lord! Next correction - and not at all solving our problem - here's what I found in a special ancient-Hebrew dictionary: 
"issas-char (read: issachar) nom. prop. m. Isaschar, son of Jacob and stem".
Now what! Maybe .adam. can help.

.aulun.