A new letter has joined the Hebrew alphabet, the Academy of the Hebrew Language (AHL) announced on Monday in a post on X (formerly Twitter), in what is assumed to be an April Fool's joke.
The new letter, titled a "scratched tsade," appears as a mirror image of the Hebrew letter tsade (which makes the "ts" sound) and supposedly represents the "ch" sound, which, until now, was represented by a tsade followed by an apostrophe.
According to the AHL, the decision was made based on a discovery in the Dead Sea Scrolls, which supposedly suggests that the letter appears in the scrolls in three different instances.
"It should be noted that the pronunciation of the scratched tsade (CH) probably reflects a common pronunciation of the letter in Hebrew of the Second Temple period," the Academy said in a message on all social media platforms. "The decision... therefore seeks to preserve this pronunciation tradition and integrate it into the epigraphic findings from the [Dead Sea Scrolls]."
The Academy further said that it had reached out to technology companies already so as to release computer keyboards with the new letter as soon as possible.
שימו לב – לפי החלטה חדשה של האקדמיה ללשון העברית מעתה יש 23 אותיות בשפה העברית.שם האות החדשה: צד"י מחוככת (נכתבת כאות צד"י בכתב מראה).האות החדשה תשקף את ההגייה CH.הרקע להחלטת האקדמיה: ממצא מאחת ממגילות קומראן – אשר נכתבה בידי אנשי כת מדבר יהודה – מעלה כי בשלושה מופעים בקטעים… pic.twitter.com/C9YEEwYdEb
— האקדמיה ללשון העברית (@HebAcademy) April 1, 2024
April Fool's posts are commonplace among Israeli companies and institutions.
Israeli brands have been known to partake in the satirical social media post or two in honor of April Fool's.
April Fool's, celebrated annually on April 1st, is characterized by playful pranks, harmless deceptions, and good-natured trickery. It serves as a day where individuals engage in a lighthearted exchange of jokes and hoaxes, often aimed at eliciting laughter and amusement from friends, family, and colleagues.