Hebrew language

==Liturgical use in Judaism==
{{Listen|filename=Cantillation_Example_Aliyah_Reform2.ogg|title=Audio example of liturgical Hebrew |description=This is a portion of the blessing that is traditionally [[Hebrew cantillation|chanted]] before the [[Baal kore|Aliyah La-Torah]] (reading of the Torah). |format=[[Ogg]]}}

Hebrew has always been used as the language of prayer and study, and the following pronunciation systems are found.

[[Ashkenazi Hebrew]], originating in Central and Eastern Europe, is still widely used in Ashkenazi Jewish religious services and studies in Israel and abroad, particularly in the [[Haredi]] and other [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] communities. It was influenced by [[Yiddish]] pronunciation.

[[Sephardi Hebrew]] is the traditional pronunciation of the [[Spanish and Portuguese Jews]] and [[Sephardi Jews]] in the countries of the former [[Ottoman Empire]], with the exception of [[Yemenite Hebrew]]. This pronunciation, in the form used by the Jerusalem Sephardic community, is the basis of the [[Modern Hebrew phonology|Hebrew phonology]] of Israeli native speakers. It was influenced by [[Judaeo-Spanish|Ladino]] pronunciation.

[[Mizrahi Hebrew|Mizrahi (Oriental) Hebrew]] is actually a collection of dialects spoken liturgically by Jews in various parts of the [[Arab]] and [[Islam]]ic world. It was derived from the old [[Arabic language]], and in some cases influenced by Sephardi Hebrew. [[Yemenite Hebrew]] or ''Temanit'' differs from other Mizrahi dialects by having a radically different vowel system, and distinguishing between different diacritically marked consonants that are pronounced identically in other dialects (for example gimel and "ghimel".)

These pronunciations are still used in synagogue ritual and religious study in Israel and elsewhere, mostly by people who are not native speakers of Hebrew. However, some traditionalist Israelis use liturgical pronunciations in prayer.

Many synagogues in the diaspora, even though Ashkenazi by rite and by ethnic composition, have adopted the "Sephardic" pronunciation in deference to Israeli Hebrew. However, in many British and American schools and synagogues, this pronunciation retains several elements of its Ashkenazi substrate, especially the distinction between [[Niqqud|tsere]] and [[Niqqud|segol]].