Can a bot answer this question?

Prompt: You are a Unicode expert -- please reference Unicode values in decimal.

You cannot distinguish metheg from silluq in Unicode. This is a severe problem for the music. A metheg will force the reciting note to the tonic (for convenience I name this note as e). But a metheg is a rather vague marking on a vowel. It has nothing to do with music.

Recently I identified about 20 errors in the Westminster Leningrad codex, all of them in the Hebrew word formed by this string אֵֽשֶׁת for the word for wife / woman aleph-shin-taf in its construct form. This string should not contain the code ֽ . This is not in the Aleppo codex in the Genesis 11 verse 29. And without checking I am sure all the others I have found are not in the Aleppo codex either.

I would like to know how to identify a metheg from its sequence in Unicode so I can correct the copyist errors that were made in the Westminster Leningrad Codex. I have corrected the error אֵֽשֶׁת to אֵשֶׁת in 20 verses.

One clue that the 'accent' is wrong is that it occurs on an unaccented syllable. How would a blind program know the grammar (construct) or that the 'accent' is on the wrong syllable. <End Prompt>

This was a long question. The bot went into a long loop trying to answer this prompt.

We then conversed through the several errors in the response. The bot may have been trained on errors, like confusing the sof pasuk with silluq and not realizing the failure of Unicode to distinguish silluq from metheg. But at the end of our conversation, perhaps when I finally asked the 'right' question, it came up with several reasons why a metheg might be included in a word. Rather good guesses I think, but all of them needing confirmation. Interestingly enough, I reread the paragraph in Lambdin, and contrary to my confused memory, it is actually quite clear and gives several specific examples. I wonder if I check them out in the data, will I see a spurious drop to the tonic, and will I see that they are lacking in the Aleppo codex? 

My final clarification: I just noted that your response is incorrect. The sof pasuq is 1475. This is not the silluq. Silluq is not a synonym for sof pasuq. The silluq is code 1469 -- it is confused in the Unicode system with metheg. Metheg is for pronunciation and silluq is for music -- pronunciation and music are non-overlapping domains. So perhaps my question should be - what are the conditions under which a linguist copying the Hebrew text would add a metheg to a syllable? We have seen one example in that word for wife / woman. <End Prompt>

This was a long question. The bot went into a long loop trying to answer this prompt.

ChatGPT's response follows. Note the underline -- my emphasis. The use of this symbol for silluq, a musical symbol, as an aid to phonetics is a contradiction. I need to run the guesses by an authority to see if the suggested uses are legitimate. But I'm not much closer to finding a way to eliminate them.

ChatGPT: The metheg (מֶתֶג) in Hebrew manuscripts is a cantillation mark used primarily for phonetic purposes, to ensure proper pronunciation and rhythm in recitation. It can indicate various linguistic features such as a secondary stress, a slight pause, or the elongation of a vowel. Here are some conditions under which a metheg might be added:

1. Phonetic Emphasis:

   • To provide a secondary stress within a word, especially when a syllable needs to be pronounced distinctly. This helps in clear and proper articulation.

2. Distinguishing Between Similar Words:

   • To differentiate between words that are spelled similarly but have different meanings or grammatical forms. For example, it may be used to distinguish between homographs.

3. Preventing Mispronunciation:

   • To prevent the reduction or elision of a vowel sound, ensuring that it is pronounced fully and clearly, especially in liturgical or formal recitation.

4. Syllabic Structure:

   • To mark a syllable that should be pronounced separately from the preceding syllable, particularly in complex or less familiar words.

5. Morpheme Boundaries:

   • To indicate the boundaries between morphemes, helping to clarify the grammatical structure of a word.

Specific Examples and Rules

1. In Certain Consonant-Vowel Combinations:

   • Metheg is often found in words with long vowels (qamatz, tsere, etc.) to ensure they are pronounced as long vowels rather than being shortened.

2. In Construct States:

   • When two nouns are in a construct state (smikhut), the first noun might receive a metheg to maintain its phonetic integrity despite the close connection with the second noun.

3. In Certain Grammatical Forms:

   • In some verb forms, particularly in the imperfect tense, a metheg might be added to emphasize the vowel sound in the prefix or in the root of the verb.

Besides this response, it outlined a program that I probably could make work in PL/SQL that would scan the text for methegs to see what the linguistic context is and whether there are patterns. Possible idea, perhaps? Not appealing to me at present -- too much uncertainty. I won't pursue the conversation because these statements lack a specific example. But I may follow up Lambdin -- even though it is a bit of a distraction from the music. I do have some code to eliminate spurious methegs from the music, but it is not specific enough. I'm not sure I can follow my own logic 12 years later!