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.

If you have any questions about the Hebreísmo alphabet, you can contact Crawford J. Bennett, Jr. at joendenise@verizon.net.

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