Writing and pronunciation
4.1 Two representations of one language
The primary literary script is the Hebrew-derived Yiddish alphabet, written right to left. Latin transliteration is a learning and technical-accessibility layer. They represent the same Yuddish sentences, not two separate grammars. The spelling approach follows standard Yiddish conventions where practicable; see the Yiddish Book Center's alphabet guide and alphabet notes.
The name יודיש is read Yuddish, with /u/ in the first syllable. It is deliberately distinct from ייִדיש, Yiddish. The extra Latin d is part of the English portmanteau spelling, not a requirement for a long consonant.
4.2 A practical sound key
| Latin | Yiddish script | Approximate sound |
|---|---|---|
| a | אַ | a as in father, without a length requirement |
| o | אָ | an o vowel, dialect dependent |
| e | ע | e as in bet |
| i | י / יִ | i as in machine, without a length requirement |
| u | ו / וּ | u as in rule |
| ey | ײ | vowel of English day, approximately |
| ay | ײַ | vowel of English eye |
| oy | ױ | vowel of English boy |
| v | װ | v |
| f | פֿ / ף | f |
| kh | כ / ך | sound of Scottish loch |
| sh | ש | sh |
| ts | צ / ץ | ts in cats |
| tsh | טש | ch in chair |
| zh | זש | middle sound of measure |
| dzh | דזש | j in jam |
| y | י | y in yes |
The Hebrew-origin component retains conventional spellings and inherited pronunciations: אמת / emes, חלום / kholem, מורא / moyre, כּעס / kas, and שׂכל / seykhl. Reading these as modern Israeli Hebrew would produce the wrong Yiddish pronunciation. New particles are generally spelled phonetically.
The final letters ך, ם, ן, ף, and ץ occur in word-final position. This explains the difference between עף / ef and עפֿן / efn. Typographic ligatures ױ, ײ, and װ may be replaced by their component letter sequences when software requires it; they are not extra grammatical distinctions.
4.3 Notation and spoken forms
Core notation: a hyphen joins an auxiliary to a spelled-out strength expression; an equals sign marks the evidential clitic. A superscript is a compact written alternative for the bit value:
ef⁺⁴=pon · עף⁺⁴=פּאָן
The equals sign is a morphological boundary, not mathematical equality. It is not pronounced. Hebrew text uses the maqaf ־ where the Latin version uses a hyphen. Ordinary mathematical equations remain left to right.
Core spoken spelling: oy marks a positive epistemic strength and un a negative strength, followed by a numeral from section 5.7. Thus ef-oy-fir=pon is the spoken expansion of ef⁺⁴=pon. The positive particle is associated with oyf “up.” Bound un- is an assigned negative prefix, distinct from the free conjunction un “and.” A pause and an explicit word bit may be used in teaching speech.
| Written value | Spoken strength | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | nu | Even odds |
| +1 | oy-eyn | Two to one |
| +2 | oy-tsve | Four to one |
| +4 | oy-fir | Sixteen to one |
| −3 | un-dra | One to eight |
| +10 | av, or oy-tsen | 1,024 to one |
| −10 | un-av, or un-tsen | One to 1,024 |
Digits may remain digits in Hebrew-script documents. Base 2 is the scale used to measure log-odds; it does not force the ordinary written numeral “10” to mean binary two. The counting language is decimal unless another base is explicitly named. Section 5.7 onward defines the new digits, place values, zero rules, decimals, and mathematical readings; it replaces the inherited counting system in current Yuddish.
4.4 Prosody
Proposed. The auxiliary complex is spoken as one rhythmic unit, with the numerical strength prominent enough to be heard. In repeated av, each full syllable counts. Avavav must not be reduced so that a listener cannot distinguish it from avav. Corrections repeat the complete value.
Inherited lexical stress is retained. Newly coined transparent compounds place primary stress on the first root for the pronunciation standard, with a secondary beat on a substantial second root. This is a lexicon convention for new Yuddish words, not a universal claim about stress in Yiddish.