• she/they

38, irish-american
גִיוֹרֶת

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G-d
@G-d

The only truly correct options are חֲנֻכָּה‎ or חֲנוּכָּה‎

However, holding that transliteration must exist, we can extrapolate the correct answers from the Hebrew.

Regarding the last two syllables:

  • There is no dagesh chazaq in the nun, so there is no reason to double the "n" in the transliteration!
  • There is a heh at the end, so there should be an "h" at the end.
  • The kaf should not be translated as a double "k" or "c" because it has a dagesh qal, not a dagesh chazaq. While "k" is the most legible transliteration, q is welcome. Ck & C alone are not fully asur*, but are not recommended because they can lead to confusion in pronunciation and we should always build a fence around Torah.

The chet is a wildcard. Current acceptable options are ch, kh, x, ḥ, & 7, but I'm sure there's others floating out there. Using a regular "h" to transliterate a ח or כ is generally asur, so kal v'chomer** it's assur on a holiday that deals with Hellenism/assimilation.

This means the definitive list of current acceptable transliterations of the word "חֲנֻכָּה‎/חֲנוּכָּה‎" is as follows:

  • chanukah
  • chanuqah
  • khanukah
  • khanuqah
  • xanukah
  • xanuqah
  • 7anukah
  • 7anuqah
  • chanookah
  • chanooqah
  • khanookah
  • khanooqah
  • xanookah
  • xanooqah
  • 7anookah
  • 7anooqah
  • ḥanukah
  • ḥanuqah
  • ḥanookah
  • ḥanooqah

[Edit: follow-up post about lack of other dialects present in the list!]


* Asur / אָסוּר: (adj.) forbidden

**Kal v'chomer / קַל וָחֹמֶר: literally light and heavy; a halakhic phrase that essentially means "all the moreso"; an argument a fortiori for the legal & latin nerds


mossball
@mossball
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