What sounds are comfortable

I have just finished updating the concordance into the slightly changed form. There is now a control break on the vowels so that the SimHebrew can be compared with the fully pointed text. During this exercise I see again that there are letters that are used more rarely than others for the first two letters and the first letter of a root.

Here's a list of the first letter of a root by frequency of use.

ו ט ת ס צ ז ג ד פ ק ר ח ה נ ל מ כ ב ש י ע א
Frequency of Hebrew roots by first letter
from 62275 for alef to a mere 28 for vav

This is of limited interest in answering the question, which letters are comfortable, because it is the combination of letters that reveals more. Also the frequency of vav is low for roots, but high for its place as the first letter of a word. So the sound vvvv is comfortable and allows connecting things. The only Hebrew root that begins with vav is vav itself - a word meaning hook - or if your like - connector.

The concordance glossary page shows the frequency of the usage of each root, but in terms of beginning to assess the comfort of sounds, the frequency of pairs of letters as the first two letters of a root is sometimes more revealing. 

Initial letter pairs for roots beginning with alef

In this group, /at/ is the direct object marker. It is the largest component of roots beginning with at. The next largest is ath - mostly you but also a verb - to arrive. And atm - you plural. And there are a few names. And one animal, donkey.

/at/ does not seem any less or more comfortable as sound than say /aq/ - for which there is only one word, the ibex. In fact alef carries a vowel or is silent and a vowel goes with almost any consonant.

This chart (in alphabetical order) has the whole picture. /at/ clearly stands out but let's see if we can find a more useful display!

Frequency of initial letter pairs in Hebrew roots (too many peaks and valleys)

Sibilants except for shin (w) typically do not combine in the two initial letters. 

Sibilants in Hebrew rarely combine as the first 2 letters of a root

Gutturals likewise - (I don't think of r as a guttural - Lambdin says rarely if I remember right). Alef and ayin are heavily used as first letters of a root as noted above.

'Gutturals' in Hebrew rarely combine as the first 2 letters of a root

That's enough escape from reality for the moment.