DAGESH

Published November 08, 2009

This will not be a thorough presentation; just a point or two about a widely neglected dot. When there is a DAGESH (KAL or CHAZAK) in a BET, for example, we know to sound the letter like a B, in contrast to the V sound of a DAGESH-less BET. But what about a MEM with and without a DAGESH CHAZAK? Most people do not sound a letter differently, with or without a DAGESH CHAZAK. But there is supposed to be a difference. And sometimes, the two different ways of saying the letter change the meaning of the word it is in.
For example, in Parshat No’ach, in the measurements of the TEIVA, we find the word for cubit (Right! What’s a cubit?) - AMA. We should transliterate the word AMMA, since the MEM has a DAGESH. Without a DAGESH, the word means “maid”, AMA. Therefore, there is an additional incentive to stress the MEM with the DAGESH, so the meaning of the word won’t change.
However, there might be a distinction between the Ashkenazic pronunciation and the Israeli (S’fardic) pronunciation. In Israeli Hebrew, the words for maid and cubit are AMA and AMMA, with only the stressed MEM making the difference between the two words. In Ashkenazis, maid is AwMAw and cubit is AMaw. Since in this pronunciation, there is a difference between a KAMATZ GADOL and a PATACH, then neglecting to stress the MEM with the DAGESH will still leave the two words distinguishable. Not so in Israeli pronunciation.