k and q

[Peter &/or Graham]

Joel draws phonetic conclusions from the representation of Hittite /k/ in
Biblical Hebrew as <k> or <q>.

Modern Hebrew routinely represents English /k/ as <q> even though it is
phonetically closer to Hebrew /k/.   The reason is morphophonemic, not
phonetic.  The written <k> is subject to fricativisation in certain
conditions, whereas the written <q> is not.   Writing the loan sound as <q>
prevents inappropriate fricativisation.   This indicates that the logic
behind Joel's argument may not necessarily follow.

Peter