4. There are two main types of shewa: vocal and silent. The Masoretes used the same diacritical sign for both kinds. The following observations will help to distinguish between the two types. a. Vocal shewa: The vocal shewa is a very short vowel that occurs only in open syllables. Vocal shewas are in either simple form or compound form, which both have the same vowel value and should be pronounced the same. Only the simple form of the vocal shewa is orthographically the same as the silent shewa.