Chirik or Hireq [אִ]
It is a dot under the consonant. We pronounce it in two different ways:
1-Short as [i]; e.g. שִ – Shi – וִ – Vi – רִ – Ri
2-Long as [ee].
Shva or shewa [אְ]
[é] as in telephone / OR / silent
It is the semi-column [:] under the consonant. We pronounce it in two different ways:
1-A vocal Shewa pronounced as [é] as in telephone.
This is usually found at the beginning of words; e.g. שְ – She – מְ – Me – רְ – Re –
2- A Shewa is silent when it is preceded such as ketah, segol and Qubutts.
Tsira and Segol
1- Tsira – [אֵ]
[ey] or [ay]
It is two dots underneath the letter and it’s pronounced as [ey] or [ay] like in (bay)
To hear the vowel pronounced, go to youtube, and type three times the letter W followed by a DOT then type the word YOUTUBE and COM, then insert the extension: /watch?v=bMXi6Kr9wjE
Segol – אֶ
It is pronounced like the French letter “è” or “ê”
Kamatz Hatuf
This is a long [ah] sound like in (army) or (father)
This sound may be found in slightly different variations, and depending on the type of words, may also sound differently.
Kamatz Patach – אַ
This is a shorter [ah] sound like in (mother)
Chataf Patach – אֲ
[ə] amuse
2- Chataf Segol
short [é] metallic
3- Chataf Kamats – אֳ
The Chataf Kamatz is pronounced as “o” commit