מהפכה

• (Modern Israeli Hebrew, prescriptive standard) IPA^(key): /ma(h)peˈχa/
• (Modern Israeli Hebrew, commonly) IPA^(key): /ma(h)apeˈχa/

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מַהְפֵּכָה • (mahpekhá) f (plural indefinite מַהְפֵּכוֹת) [pattern: מַקְטֵלָה]

1. revolution (removal and replacement of a governing body)

Roots whose first constituent is a guttural generally instantiate patterns that place the first radical between a preformative and a shva (such as מַקְטֵלָה) in one of two ways: the guttural either behaves like a regular consonant and takes the coda position in the first syllable, or it triggers epenthesis of a khataf vowel after itself and thus moves into the onset position of an extra syllable (or in traditional Hebrew grammar, is grouped with the next syllable). In the first case, the pattern's original shva nakh (i.e. the absence of a vowel) carries over such that any immediately subsequent begadkefat consonant retains its primitive value as a plosive – marked by a dagesh qal, as in מַהְפֵּכָה. In the other scenario, the insertion of an auxiliary vowel causes a following begadkefat consonant to spirantise, seen e.g. in מַאֲפֵרָה (“ashtray”).

Pronunciation of the word מהפכה in Modern Israeli Hebrew, however, has become fixed at an intermediate state: a prop vowel /a/ is inserted after ה, but the following פ fails to spirantise regardless; the conventionally expected variant form *מַהֲפֵכָה, on the other hand, is not found. The contemporary norm could be rendered ad-hoc as מַהֲפֵּכָה in spelling with niqqud, though this would constitute a phonotactic violation in Tiberian Hebrew: it implies a dagesh khazaq on the פ, but a geminate consonant must be preceded by a full vowel.

• → Yiddish: מהפּכה (mahepeykhe)