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The Litvish/Russian pronunciation of the Cholam sound is an /ay/ sound, similar (I think actually exactly the same) as a tzeirei. Are there any sources saying that it is a Halachic problem pronouncing the cholam like a tzeirei?

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    Maybe they're pronouncing the tzeirei like a cholom. – Double AA Nov 03 '13 at 06:16
  • Related: http://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/222 – Fred Nov 03 '13 at 17:23
  • @Fred Oops, I mistyped. I meant to write that Galitzianers pronounce cholom as /oj/ and tzeirei as /aj/, while Litvaks pronounce both cholom and tzeirei as /ej/. Thanks for the correction. (Incidentally, I recall there was a musical number in Yiddish which poked fun at this pronunciation difference, by having a Litvak and a Galitzianer arguing with each other in song -- I think you can still find it on Youtube somewhere. It was mostly dealing with the pronunciation of Yiddish words, but the same sound shifts have affected the pronunciation of Hebrew words in roughly the same way.) –  Nov 03 '13 at 17:56
  • @Malper Ok, then, I'll defer to you. I'm probably mixed up about who pronounces the tzeirei which way. I'm not so sure about the ending /j/, though. Are you sure these traditions treat that as a standard part of the "vowel" sound? – Fred Nov 03 '13 at 17:59
  • @Fred It's just a notational difference whether one writes, say, /ej/ or /ei/ or /eɪ/. Either way it's phonetically a diphthong. –  Nov 03 '13 at 18:01
  • @Malper So the /j/ in this case does not imply that the vowel is running into a consonantal yud? Then what would be the notation for where it did run into a consonantal yud? – Fred Nov 03 '13 at 18:08
  • @Fred I don't believe that there's any phonetic difference between those two cases. Generally the offglide of a diphthong is indistinguishable from a standalone glide. –  Nov 03 '13 at 18:12
  • @Efraim I removed my original comment because I can't find the original and perhaps I read this in some other sefer. The A"H does have a relevant section though which I'll explain below. –  Nov 03 '13 at 18:28
  • @Malper Masoretically, though, I think there's a difference in terms of how the /j/ should be emphasized. In a tzeirei running into a yud, there is no emphasis (it is a nach nistar according to the Radak), whereas a patach running into a yud (/aj/) is emphasized. – Fred Nov 03 '13 at 18:34
  • @Fred Right, but in Masoretic Hebrew tzeirei was likely pronounced as /e/ rather than a diphthongal /ej/, unless a yud followed. (And segol was pronounced as /ɛ/, so the two vowels were distinguished by quality but not diphthongization.) –  Nov 03 '13 at 18:41
  • let us continue this discussion in chat – Fred Nov 03 '13 at 18:59
  • http://chat.stackexchange.com/transcript/468?m=10334966#10334966 – ertert3terte Nov 05 '13 at 02:28

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It's generally accepted that traditional pronunciation schemes for Hebrew are always halachically acceptable. The basic mekor for this is that the Gemara (e.g. Megillah 24b, brought down by the Shulchan Aruch) implies that there are halachic problems with pronouncing ayin as aleph. Numerous mefarshim qualify that this does not apply in a place where the common pronunciation merges these sounds; the problem is only if this is an uncommon or distracting pronunciation in the locale where it is being used (see the mefarshim on the Shulchan Aruch which brings the previous Gemara down, c.f. Igros Moshe OC 3:5).

While the sources generally refer to pronunciation differences in general, there are a few specific references to the Litvish pronunciation. Aruch Hashulchan OC 62:2 specifically states that it is acceptable that many Litvaks pronounce cholam as /ej/, and both sin and shin as /s/ (the infamous "Sabosdiker losn"), although he mentions that a person who is careful to pronounce the words "avodah" and "aveidah" differently will be rewarded greatly (since the word "aveidah" has highly negative connotations). I also remember a source poking fun at Litvaks for pronouncing "kavod va'oz" as "kaveid va'eiz" ("liver and goat"), although at the moment I can't seem to find it.

  • I found a forum comment making the same remark as in your last sentence, but a source is not provided. – Fred Nov 03 '13 at 18:55
  • @Malper Thanks, anymore sources for litvish that you nknow of? – termsofservice Nov 04 '13 at 02:18
  • I remember that שרשי מנהגי אשכנז has a discussion of all the different pronunciations of cholam among Ashkenazi Jews, and mentions the Litvish pronunciation. Unfortunately I don't have access to that sefer at the moment, and I don't recall if it has anything interesting to say about Litvish in particular. –  Dec 09 '13 at 21:40