The Tiberian vocalization (and at least a part of the others) denotes (with the exception of ??ewa and its allophones ??, ??, and ???) quality rather than quantity: this is demonstrated mainly by the use of the same sign (-??= ??) to mark both historical ?? and u, as well as by the parallel occurrence of a/??, accounted to be short, and ???/o, regarded as long, in certain paradigms (as the verbal