ע

 

AYIN

 

To the European reader :

 

Where an ע is written, a vowel is pronounced.

 

This is frequently A, but can be E, I or O.
In Classic Hebrew, that is less spoken today, the ע is like a brief sound-stop.

 

It is produced correctly by starting an “ng” without actually pronouncing it.

 

Modern speech omits this and is less accurate.

 

Hebrew Ayin has become a modern Y, because the Greeks did not have its sound in their own language. So they gave this letter a different use.