Mappiq


The mappiq is a diacritic used in the Hebrew alphabet. It is part of the Masoretes' system of niqqud, and was added to Hebrew orthography at the same time. It takes the form of a dot in the middle of a letter. An identical point with a different phonetic function is called a dagesh.
The mappiq is used to mark the letter , indicating that it is to be pronounced as a consonant, although in a position where the letter usually indicates a vowel.
Before the vowel points were invented, some consonants were used to indicate vowel sounds. These consonants are called matres lectionis. The letter he at the end of a word can indicate the vowel sound a or e. When it does, it is not acting as a consonant, and therefore in pure phonetic logic the Biblical name Zechariah should be spelled "Zekharya" without the final "h". However, silent final h being also a feature of English, it is usually retained in Hebrew transliterations to distinguish final he from final aleph.
The divine name Yah has a mappiq, so the last letter shall not be read as a vowel a, but as the consonant H - and therefore Yah.
The most common occurrence of mappiq is in the suffix "-ah", meaning "her".
A he with mappiq is meant to be pronounced as a full consonant "h", and in Mizrahi and Yemenite Hebrew it is pronounced more strongly than a normal he, sometimes with a slight following shwa sound. In modern Hebrew, however, it is normally silent; although it is still pronounced in religious contexts by careful readers of the prayers and scriptures.

Rafe

In Masoretic manuscripts the opposite of a mappiq would be indicated by a rafe, a small line on top of the letter. This is no longer found in Hebrew.