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A mater lectionis (/ˌmeɪtər ˌlɛktiˈoʊnɪs/ MAY-tər LEK-tee-OH-niss, /ˌmɑːtər -/ MAH-tər -;[1][2] Latin for 'mother of reading', pl. matres lectionis /ˌmɑːtreɪs -/ MAH-trayss -;[2] original Hebrew: אֵם קְרִיאָה, romanized: ʾēm qərîʾāh) is any consonant that is used to indicate a vowel, primarily in the writing of Semitic languages such as Arabic, Hebrew and Syriac. The letters that do this in Hebrew are aleph א, he ה, waw ו and yod י, with the latter two in particular being more often vowels than they are consonants. In Arabic, the matres lectionis (though they are much less often referred to thus) are ʾalif ا, wāw و and yāʾ ي.
The original value of the matres lectionis corresponds closely to what is called in modern linguistics glides or semivowels.[3]
- ^ "mater lectionis". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/OED/1199943965. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
- ^ a b "mater lectionis". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster.
- ^ Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics, Brill, 2006, 2.238, 308-9.