Nikud
In Hebrew, nikud (also written niqqud) refers to the system of diacritical marks used to represent vowels in written Hebrew. The Hebrew alphabet consists of consonants only, so the vowels are not written out in the same way as they are in English or other languages. Instead, the vowels are represented by a combination of vowel points and other diacritical marks, which are written above, below, or next to the consonants.The nikud system was developed in the Middle Ages to help preserve the correct pronunciation of Hebrew, which had become largely unwritten and was transmitted orally from one generation to the next. The nikud marks were originally used only in Biblical and other religious texts, but they eventually came to be used in secular literature as well.
There are several different vowel points and diacritical marks used in the nikud system, each of which represents a different vowel sound. For example, the patach represents the vowel sound a as in "ah," the holam represents the vowel sound o as in "go," and in transliteration the shva represents a silent vowel.
Although frequently omitted, the nikud marks are an important part of the Hebrew language and are used in modern Hebrew writing to ensure that words are pronounced correctly. They are also important for students of Hebrew, as they help to distinguish between similar-sounding words and provide a guide to proper pronunciation.