Gershayim Information
Gershayim (Hebrew: גֵּרְשַׁיִם, without niqqud גרשיים), also occasionally grashayim (Hebrew: גְּרָשַׁיִם),[1] names two distinct tyographical marks in the Hebrew language. The name literally means "double geresh".
Contents |
Punctuation mark
Gershayim most commonly refers to the punctuation mark ‹ ״ ›. It is always written before the last letter of the non-inflected form of a word or numeral. It's used in the following ways:
- To indicate an acronym.[2] For example: דּוּ״חַ (singular), דּוּ״חוֹת (plural), "report" represents דין וחשבון; and מ״כ (masculine), מַ״כִּית (feminine), "squad commander" represents מפקד כיתה.
- To indicate a multi-digit Hebrew numeral. For example: ח״י represents 18.[3] Single-digit numerals are indicated with a following geresh.
- To indicate the names of Hebrew letters, differentiating them from any homographs.[2] Compare הוּא שִׂרְטֵט עַיִן "he sketched an eye" with הוּא שִׂרְטֵט עַיִ״ן "he sketched an ayin".
- To indicate Hebrew word roots.[2] For example: the root of תַּשְׁבֵּצִים /taʃbeˈtsim/ "crossword puzzles" is שב״צ (š—b—č); the root of לְהַטּוֹת /lehaˈtot/ "to tilt, to conjugate" is נט״ה (n—ṭ—h); and the root of הִסְתַּנְכְּרְנוּת /histankreˈnut/ "becoming synchronized" is סנכר״נ (s–n–k–r–n).
- In older texts, to indicate the transliteration of a foreign word. This use corresponds to English's use of italics. For example: in printed works of Rashi, the town of Rashi's birth, Troyes, is spelled טרוי״ש.
Cantillation mark
| This section requires expansion. |
Gershayim is the name of a disjunctive cantillation accent in the Tanakh - ֞. It is placed above the stressed syllable, as in וַיִּקַּ֞ח (Genesis 22:3).[1]
Computer encoding
Most keyboards do not have a key for the gershayim. As a result, a quotation mark is often substituted for it.
| Appearance | Code Points | Name |
|---|---|---|
| ״ | U+05F4 | HEBREW PUNCTUATION GERSHAYIM |
| ֞ | U+059E | HEBREW ACCENT GERSHAYIM |
See also
References
- ^ a b Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar, §15f.
- ^ a b c Hebrew Punctuation guidelines, §31, Academy of the Hebrew Language
- ^ Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar, §5k ff.
Categories: Hebrew diacritics | Hebrew alphabet | Punctuation | Typography | Cantillation marks
|