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The Hebrew Language
FIONA POTH
The Hebrew language has a long and fascinating history. It originated more than three thousand years ago and then fell into disuse. After centuries of being an unspoken, or dead, language, Hebrew was brought back to life about one hundred and fifty years ago. Today, spoken by millions of people, Hebrew is thriving.
Hebrew belongs to the Afro-Asiatic language family. The languages in this family share a common origin and are spoken primarily in the northern part of Africa and on the Arabian Peninsula. There are about two hundred fifty Afro-Asiatic languages, and they are spoken by about 250 million people.
The Afro-Asiatic language family is divided into groups. Hebrew is classified in the Semitic language group and is in the Canaanite subgroup. Hebrew is closely related to two extinct languages: Phoenician (a language formerly spoken in Phoenicia, coastal parts of modern-day Syria, Lebanon, and Israel) and Moabite (a language formerly spoken in Moab, part of modern-day Jordan).
Hebrew was a spoken language in ancient times from about 1,000 bce to about 300 bce in what is modern-day Israel, Jordan, and Egypt. However, beginning in 300 bce, Aramaic replaced Hebrew as the dominant spoken language in this region. From this time forward, Hebrew was used as a written language in literature and religious documents but was not spoken, making it a dead language.
Beginning in the late nineteenth century with a movement led by Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, a lexicographer and Jewish activist in Jerusalem, the Hebrew spoken language was revived. Ben-Yehuda wanted a language that would unite the Jewish people who lived in Jerusalem. Using Hebrew texts, he created a new Hebrew vocabulary to meet the needs of modern speakers and the first modern Hebrew dictionary.
Hebrew is considered the only one among seven thousand languages spoken worldwide that has been revived. In 1948, Hebrew was designated as the official language of Israel. Today, more than 9 million people speak Hebrew; and for many of them, it is their native language. Israel has more than 7 million speakers of Hebrew, and the United States has more than 200,000.
Four Fascinating Facts About the Hebrew Language
1
Hebrew is written from right to left, which means that a book written in Hebrew is also read from right to left.
2
Hebrew words are comprised of two to four letter root words to which prefixes and suffixes can be added. For this reason, a single Hebrew word that communicates a short thought could require a multi-word translation into English or another language.
3
There are twenty-two letters in the Hebrew alphabet. All of them are consonants. They are surrounded by a system of dots and dashes called nikud, which indicate vowel sounds.
4
New Hebrew words are developed by the Academy of the Hebrew Language in Israel. The Academy has more than forty active members who discuss and vote on Hebrew language issues. In this way, the Academy protects and ensures the future of the Hebrew language.
Why I Love Hebrew: A Personal Take
Estee Yankelevitch
I’ve been studying Hebrew since 1st grade. I’m currently a 10th-grader so I have a pretty solid understanding of the language. I also just completed a full semester in Israel which helped me immerse myself in the language. In Israel, I learned so much more about Israeli culture and how modern the Hebrew language is — considering how ancient it is. I began learning the language because I was in a Jewish day school, where learning Hebrew was mandatory. I completely fell in love with the language, its unique alphabet, and its amazing history. It completely fascinated me that Hebrew went from being a sacred language of Judaism to a spoken and written language used for daily life in Israel. So, when I came home from Israel and joined Avenues Online, I requested to study Hebrew. All in all, I love Hebrew so much because it is so much more than just a language. It is a culture, a religion, a country, and a whole nation of people who are proud to say that they have a home and a language there to unite them.
1
Hello
Shalom
שלום
2
What is your name?
Ma ha shem shelcha [m]
?מה השם שלְךָ
Ma ha shem shelach [f]
?מה השם שלַךְ
3
My name is...
Shmi
...שמי
4
Cool
Sababa
סבבה
5
(An expression of impatience)
Nu
נו
6
Thank you
Toda
תודה
7