Hebrew Pronunciation

The Syrian pronunciation of Hebrew is similar to that of other Mizrahi communities, and is influenced both by Sephardi Hebrew and by the Syrian dialect of Arabic. It does not reflect the formal rules for the pronunciation of Classical Arabic (tajwid) to the same extent as the pronunciation of Iraqi Jews. Particular features are as follows:

The stress tends to fall on the last syllable wherever this is the case in Biblical Hebrew:
א (Aleph) is pronounced with a clear glottal stop [ʔ], except when used as a mater lectionis
ב (Bet without dagesh) is pronounced [b]
ג (Gimel without dagesh) is often pronounced [ɣ], like Arabic غ (voiced velar fricative)
ד (Dalet without dagesh) is normally pronounced [d], but occasionally (e.g. in the pronunciation of the word adonai) [ð]
ה (He with mappiq) is often pronounced with a very short postpended schwa [ə].
ו (Vav) is pronounced [v]. Iraqi Jews, like the Yemenites, retain the Classical Arabic sound of waw ([w]).
ח (Ḥet) is pronounced [ħ], like Arabic ح (voiceless pharyngeal fricative).
ט (Tet) is pronounced [tˤ], like Arabic ط (voiceless pharyngealized alveolar plosive)
כ (Kaph without dagesh) is often pronounced [x], like Arabic خ (unvoiced velar fricative)
ע (Ayin) is pronounced [ʕ] (this sound is sometimes described as "the sound of swallowing a grape, backwards"), like Arabic ع (voiced pharyngeal fricative), but this is less emphatic than in some other dialects.
צ (Sadi) is pronounced [sˤ], like Arabic ص (voiceless pharyngealized alveolar fricative); that is, like English voiceless "s" but with the tongue a little retracted.
ק (Qof) is "supposed" to be [q], like Classical Arabic ق (voiceless uvular plosive) but sometimes slips: historically, into [ʔ], a glottal stop as in colloquial Syrian Arabic.
ר (Resh) is trilled [r], rather than uvular [ʁ].
ת (Tav without dagesh) is pronounced [t]. Iraqi and Yemenite Jews retain tav raphe ([θ]).

Vowels are pronounced as in most other Sephardi and Mizrahi traditions: for example there is no distinction in sound between patach and qamats gadol ([a]), or between segol, tsere and vocal sheva ([e]). Ħiriq is sometimes reduced to [ɪ] or [ə] in an unstressed closed syllable, or in the neighbourhood of an emphatic or guttural consonant.

A shewa na', if followed by a guttural letter, will take on the vowel of that guttural letter. For example, instead of le'olam, it would be lo'olam. (See Ribbi Sittehon's "Kelalei Dikduk HaKeria").