Tsere pronunciation

[SirAutismo]

Hello everyone! I have a question about the correct pronunciation of Tsere. In my book that I am working with to learn Biblical Hebrew it states that the Tsere sounds like ay as in hay ( /eɪ/ ). However on other websites I see that it is stated that Tsere is pronounced as /e/ . So what is the correct pronunciation?

Thanks in advance for your answers!

 

[slus]

/eɪ/ is the Ashkenazi pronounciation
/e/ is the modern Israeli one

 

[SirAutismo]

/eɪ/ is the Ashkenazi pronounciation
/e/ is the modern Israeli one

Thank you very much!

 

[Drink]

/e/ is also the Sephardi, Mizrahi, and Yemenite pronunciation.

In Tiberian Hebrew it was probably /e:/.

 

[Ali Smith]

But in some words almost all Israelis pronounce צירי as /eɪ/ rather than as /e/. I can think of two examples: שינה sheina (sleep) and תשע teisha (nine). In the latter the stress is on the first syllable.

In fact, I believe the name of the niqqud itself, צירי, is also usually pronounced tseire.

 

[mj99]

It varies from person to person (I think)

 

[Ali Smith]

/eɪ/ is the Ashkenazi pronounciation
/e/ is the modern Israeli one

What about in the name of the nikkud itself? Do you pronounce צירי‎ as tseirei or tsere?

 

[Drink]

Not sure why it should be different than in any other word.

 

[Ali Smith]

/eɪ/ is the Ashkenazi pronounciation
/e/ is the modern Israeli one

However, I believe that when בית is used in the construct state, e.g. בֵּית סֵפֶר, hardly anyone pronounces it the Ashkenazi way, i.e. everyone says "bet sefer" and no one says "beyt sefer".

 

[Drink]

That's because the Ashkenazi way is not the modern Israeli way.

 

[Ali Smith]

Thanks, drink. What about in "my eyes"? I always hear people say eynay, never enay. For example, ירושלים מוצאת חן בעיניי.