אִכּוּן, a new Hebrew word
Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2020 5:51 pm
I see today in a Hebrew newspaper that
הוכרז כי יבוצע איכון סלולרי של חולים כדי לדעת היכן היו בשבועיים האחרונים
"Those ill (with the coronavirous) will be tracked by phone (סלולרי cellular) to know their whereabouts in the last two weeks"
The new word אִכּוּן (or איכון), 'location pinpointing', is from the post biblical אַיכָן = אי-כאן, 'where?'.
We notice the the letter כ of אִכּוּן is with a dagesh as it follows a xiriq, to be read IKUN. The niqudless איכון is written in full with a yod, and the letter כ need not have a dagesh in it, and should be read IXUN. Still it is pronounced IKUN with a hard K.
Isaac Fried, Boston University
הוכרז כי יבוצע איכון סלולרי של חולים כדי לדעת היכן היו בשבועיים האחרונים
"Those ill (with the coronavirous) will be tracked by phone (סלולרי cellular) to know their whereabouts in the last two weeks"
The new word אִכּוּן (or איכון), 'location pinpointing', is from the post biblical אַיכָן = אי-כאן, 'where?'.
We notice the the letter כ of אִכּוּן is with a dagesh as it follows a xiriq, to be read IKUN. The niqudless איכון is written in full with a yod, and the letter כ need not have a dagesh in it, and should be read IXUN. Still it is pronounced IKUN with a hard K.
Isaac Fried, Boston University