Pe (letter)
Encyclopedia
Pe is the seventeenth letter in many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic
, Hebrew
Pei and Persian, Arabic
(in abjadi order). (look below)
The original sound value is a voiceless bilabial plosive
: /p/; it retains this value in most Semitic languages except for Arabic, which having lost /p/ now uses it to render a voiceless labiodental fricative
/f/.
The Phoenician letter gave rise to the Greek
Pi
(Π), Latin
P
, and Cyrillic
П
.
pe; in Arabic, fam).
, Gimel, Daleth, Kaph
, Pe, and Tav
.
There are two orthographic variants of this letter which indicate a different pronunciation:
, /p/. There are various rules in Hebrew grammar
that stipulate when and why a dagesh is used.
/f/.
When a word in modern Hebrew borrowed from another language ends in /p/, a pe with a dagesh at the end of the word is used instead of the final form, as a word almost never ends with a letter containing a Dagesh, except for very few biblical exceptions. A Pe sofit is virtually non-existent in Hebrew, .
, Pe represents the number 80. Its final form represents 800 but this is rarely used, Tav written twice (400+400) being used instead.
Normally, the letter fāʼ renders /f/ sound, but may also be used some names and loanword
s where it can render /v/, might be arabized as /f/ in accordance to its spelling.[as in يونيلفر (Unilever
)]. It may be used interchangeably with the modified letter - ve (with 3 dots) in this case.
In the process of developing from Proto-Semitic
, Proto-Semitic /p/ became
Arabic /f/, and this is reflected in the use of the letter representing /p/ in other Semitic languages for /f/ in Arabic.
Examples on usage in Modern Standard Arabic:
(فَـ /fa/) is a multi-function prefix most commonly equivalent to "so" or "so that." For example: نكتب ("we write") → فنكتب ("so we write").
The Maghribi
style of writing fa' is different. It is written with a dot underneath like this . Once the prevalent style, it is now only used in Maghribi countries for writing Qur'an with the exception of Libya which adopted the Mashriq
i form. See also qaf
for the Maghribi style of writing that letter.
Aramaic language
Aramaic is a group of languages belonging to the Afroasiatic language phylum. The name of the language is based on the name of Aram, an ancient region in central Syria. Within this family, Aramaic belongs to the Semitic family, and more specifically, is a part of the Northwest Semitic subfamily,...
, Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
Pei and Persian, Arabic
Arabic alphabet
The Arabic alphabet or Arabic abjad is the Arabic script as it is codified for writing the Arabic language. It is written from right to left, in a cursive style, and includes 28 letters. Because letters usually stand for consonants, it is classified as an abjad.-Consonants:The Arabic alphabet has...
(in abjadi order). (look below)
The original sound value is a voiceless bilabial plosive
Voiceless bilabial plosive
The voiceless bilabial plosive is a type of consonantal sound used in many spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is p...
: /p/; it retains this value in most Semitic languages except for Arabic, which having lost /p/ now uses it to render a voiceless labiodental fricative
Voiceless labiodental fricative
The voiceless labiodental fricative is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is .-Features:Features of the voiceless labiodental fricative:...
/f/.
The Phoenician letter gave rise to the Greek
Greek alphabet
The Greek alphabet is the script that has been used to write the Greek language since at least 730 BC . The alphabet in its classical and modern form consists of 24 letters ordered in sequence from alpha to omega...
Pi
Pi (letter)
Pi is the sixteenth letter of the Greek alphabet, representing . In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 80. Letters that arose from pi include Cyrillic Pe , Coptic pi , and Gothic pairthra .The upper-case letter Π is used as a symbol for:...
(Π), Latin
Latin alphabet
The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most recognized alphabet used in the world today. It evolved from a western variety of the Greek alphabet called the Cumaean alphabet, which was adopted and modified by the Etruscans who ruled early Rome...
P
P
P is the sixteenth letter of the basic modern Latin alphabet.-Usage:In English and most other European languages, P is a voiceless bilabial plosive. Both initial and final Ps can be combined with many other discrete consonants in English words...
, and Cyrillic
Cyrillic alphabet
The Cyrillic script or azbuka is an alphabetic writing system developed in the First Bulgarian Empire during the 10th century AD at the Preslav Literary School...
П
Pe (Cyrillic)
Pe is a letter of the Cyrillic alphabet.It commonly represents the voiceless bilabial plosive , like the pronunciation of ⟨p⟩ in "pack".-History:...
.
Origins
Pe is usually assumed to come from a pictogram of a mouth (in HebrewHebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
pe; in Arabic, fam).
Hebrew Pe
The Hebrew spelling is "".| position in word | Various Print Fonts | Cursive Hebrew | Rashi Script Rashi script Rashi script is a semi-cursive typeface for the Hebrew alphabet. It is named for the author of the most famous rabbinic commentary on the Hebrew Bible and the Talmud, Rashi, and is customarily used for printing his commentaries. The typeface is based on 15th century Sephardic semi-cursive... |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Serif | Sans-serif Sans-serif In typography, a sans-serif, sans serif or san serif typeface is one that does not have the small projecting features called "serifs" at the end of strokes. The term comes from the French word sans, meaning "without".... | Monospaced | |||
| non final | פ | פ | פ |  |
 |
| final | ף | ף | ף |  |
 |
Variations on written form/pronunciation
The letter Pe is one of the six letters which can receive a Dagesh Kal. The six are BetBet (letter)
Bet, Beth, Beh, or Vet is the second letter of many Semitic abjads, including Arabic alphabet , Aramaic, Hebrew , Phoenician and Syriac...
, Gimel, Daleth, Kaph
Kaph
Kaph is the eleventh letter of many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew Kaf , Arabic alphabet , Persian alphabet...
, Pe, and Tav
Taw (letter)
Taw, Tav or Taf is the twenty-second and last letter in many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew Taw and Arabic alphabet .Its original sound value is ....
.
There are two orthographic variants of this letter which indicate a different pronunciation:
| | Name | | Symbol | | IPA | | Transliteration Transliteration Transliteration is a subset of the science of hermeneutics. It is a form of translation, and is the practice of converting a text from one script into another... |
| as in the English word | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pe | /p/ | p | pan | ||||||
| Fe | /f/ | f | fan | ||||||
Pe with the dagesh
When the Pe has a "dot" in its center, known as a dagesh, it represents a voiceless bilabial plosiveVoiceless bilabial plosive
The voiceless bilabial plosive is a type of consonantal sound used in many spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is p...
, /p/. There are various rules in Hebrew grammar
Hebrew grammar
-History of studies in Hebrew grammar:The Masoretes in the 7th to 11th centuries laid the foundation for grammatical analysis of Hebrew. As early as the 9th century Judah ibn Kuraish discussed the relationship between Arabic and Hebrew...
that stipulate when and why a dagesh is used.
Fe
When Pe appears as פ without the dagesh ("dot") in its center then it usually represents a voiceless labiodental fricativeVoiceless labiodental fricative
The voiceless labiodental fricative is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is .-Features:Features of the voiceless labiodental fricative:...
/f/.
Final form of Pe/Fe
At the end of words, the letter's written form changes to a Pe/Fe Sophit (Final Pe/Fe):- ף This does not alter the pronunciation (see above).
When a word in modern Hebrew borrowed from another language ends in /p/, a pe with a dagesh at the end of the word is used instead of the final form, as a word almost never ends with a letter containing a Dagesh, except for very few biblical exceptions. A Pe sofit is virtually non-existent in Hebrew, .
Significance
In gematriaGematria
Gematria or gimatria is a system of assigning numerical value to a word or phrase, in the belief that words or phrases with identical numerical values bear some relation to each other, or bear some relation to the number itself as it may apply to a person's age, the calendar year, or the like...
, Pe represents the number 80. Its final form represents 800 but this is rarely used, Tav written twice (400+400) being used instead.
Arabic fāʼ
The letter is named . It is commonly known in Egypt as fe. It is written is several ways depending in its position in the word:Normally, the letter fāʼ renders /f/ sound, but may also be used some names and loanword
Loanword
A loanword is a word borrowed from a donor language and incorporated into a recipient language. By contrast, a calque or loan translation is a related concept where the meaning or idiom is borrowed rather than the lexical item itself. The word loanword is itself a calque of the German Lehnwort,...
s where it can render /v/, might be arabized as /f/ in accordance to its spelling.[as in يونيلفر (Unilever
Unilever
Unilever is a British-Dutch multinational corporation that owns many of the world's consumer product brands in foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products....
)]. It may be used interchangeably with the modified letter - ve (with 3 dots) in this case.
In the process of developing from Proto-Semitic
Proto-Semitic language
Proto-Semitic is the hypothetical proto-language ancestral to historical Semitic languages of the Middle East. Locations which have been proposed for its origination include northern Mesopotamia, the Arabian Peninsula, and the Levant with a 2009 study proposing that it may have originated around...
, Proto-Semitic /p/ became
Sound change
Sound change includes any processes of language change that affect pronunciation or sound system structures...
Arabic /f/, and this is reflected in the use of the letter representing /p/ in other Semitic languages for /f/ in Arabic.
Examples on usage in Modern Standard Arabic:
(فَـ /fa/) is a multi-function prefix most commonly equivalent to "so" or "so that." For example: نكتب ("we write") → فنكتب ("so we write").
The Maghribi
Maghreb
The Maghreb is the region of Northwest Africa, west of Egypt. It includes five countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania and the disputed territory of Western Sahara...
style of writing fa' is different. It is written with a dot underneath like this . Once the prevalent style, it is now only used in Maghribi countries for writing Qur'an with the exception of Libya which adopted the Mashriq
Mashriq
Mashriq or Mashreq is derived from the Arabic consonantal root sh-r-q relating to the east or the sunrise, and essentially means "east"...
i form. See also qaf
Qoph
Qoph or Qop is the nineteenth letter in many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Syriac, Hebrew and Arabic alphabet . Its sound value is an emphatic or . The OHED gives the letter Qoph a transliteration value of Q or a K and a final transliteration value as a ck...
for the Maghribi style of writing that letter.