Hebrew language
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225998208
2008-07-16T11:20:36Z
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{{Infobox Language
|name = Hebrew
|nativename = {{lang|he|עִבְרִית}} ''{{lang|he-Latn|Ivri't}}''
|pronunciation = {{IPA|[ʔivˈrit]}} (standard Israeli), {{IPA|[ʕivˈɾit]}} (standard Israeli ([[Sephardi]])), {{IPA|[ʕivˈriθ]}} ([[Mizrahi Hebrew language|Oriental]]), {{IPA|[ˈivʀis]}} ([[Ashkenazi Hebrew language|Ashkenazi]])
|region = [[Israel]] and other countries, including [[Argentina]], [[Belgium]], [[Brazil]], [[Chile]], [[Canada]], [[Sweden]], [[France]], [[Germany]], [[Iran]], [[Lebanon]], [[Netherlands]], [[Nigeria]], [[Russia]], [[Wales]], [[Newcastle]], [[Canada]], [[Jamaica]], [[Panama]], [[United Kingdom]], [[Mongolia]], [[United States]] and [[Uruguay]]. It has also served as the liturgical language of [[Judaism]] for over 3,500 years.
|speakers = Extinct as a spoken language by the 4th century [[AD]]; [[Sephardi Hebrew]] revived in the 1880s, and now with around 7 million speakers{{Fact|date=February 2007}}, (United States: 195,375).<sup>1</sup><br><small>
<sup>1</sup>''United States Census 2000 PHC-T-37. Ability to Speak English by Language Spoken at Home: 2000. {{PDFlink|[http://www.census.gov/population/cen2000/phc-t37/tab01a.pdf Table 1a.]|11.8 [[Kibibyte|KiB]]<!-- application/pdf, 12085 bytes -->}}</small>''
|familycolor = Afro-Asiatic
|fam2 = [[Semitic languages|Semitic]]
|fam3 = [[West Semitic languages|West Semitic]]
|fam4 = [[Central Semitic languages|Central Semitic]]
|fam5 = [[Northwest Semitic languages|Northwest Semitic]]
|fam6 = [[Canaanite languages|Canaanite]]
|script = [[Hebrew alphabet]]
|nation = {{ISR}}
|agency = [[Academy of the Hebrew Language]]<br>{{lang|he|האקדמיה ללשון העברית}}({{lang|he-Latn|''HaAqademia LaLashon Ha‘Ivrit''}})
|iso1=he|iso2=heb|
|lc1=heb|ld1=Modern Hebrew
|lc2=hbo|ld2=Ancient Hebrew|ll2=Biblical Hebrew language
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}}
{{redirect|Hebrew}}
'''Hebrew''' ({{lang|he|עִבְרִית}}, ''{{lang|he-Latn|‘Ivrit}}'') is a [[Semitic languages|Semitic language]] of the [[Afro-Asiatic languages|Afro-Asiatic language family]] proposed by the Indo-European theory, and spoken by more than seven million people in [[Israel]] and used for prayer or study in [[Jews|Jewish]] communities around the world. In Israel, it is the [[de facto]] language of the state and the people, as well as being one of the two official languages (together with [[Arabic language|Arabic]]), and it is spoken by the majority of the population. Hebrew is also spoken as a mother tongue by the [[Samaritans]], though today fewer than a thousand Samaritans remain. As a foreign language it is studied mostly by Jews and students of Judaism and Israel, archeologists and linguists specializing in the [[Middle East]] and its civilisations and by theologians.
The term "Hebrew" is named after [[Abraham]] who was known as Ha-Ivri, (Hebrew plural, Ivrim; misread as Ha-Ibri), which occurs in [[Genesis]] 14:13 with the phrase Avram ha-Ivri, and is the origin of the English word [[Hebrew]]. Its cognates were also used (in ancient times) to designate the [[Aramaic]] spoken by the Judean population. See [[Judeo-Aramaic]].<ref name=hebaram/>
The core of the [[Tanakh]] (the [[Hebrew Bible]]) is written in [[Classical Hebrew]], and much of its present form is specifically the dialect of [[Biblical Hebrew]] that scholars believe flourished around the 6th century BC, around the time of the [[Babylonian captivity|Babylonian exile]]. For this reason, Hebrew has been referred to by [[Jew]]s as ''{{lang|he-Latn|Leshon Ha-Kodesh}}'' ({{lang|he|לשון הקודש}}), "The [[Holy Language]]", since ancient times.
==History==
As a language, '''Hebrew''' belongs to the [[Canaanite languages|Canaanite]] group of languages. Hebrew (Israel) and [[Moabite language|Moabite]] (Jordan) are Southern Canaanite while [[Phoenician language|Phoenician]] (Lebanon) is Northern Canaanite. Canaanite is closely related to [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] and to a lesser extent South-Central [[Arabic language|Arabic]]. Whereas other Canaanite languages and dialects have become extinct, Hebrew has survived. Hebrew flourished as a spoken language in Israel from the 10th century [[BC]] until the [[Babylonian exile]]. After that it was gradually replaced by Aramaic, the cosmopolitan language of the Jewish elite<ref>Nicholas Ostler, ''Empires of the Word:A Language History of the World'', Harper Perennial, London, New York, Toronto, Sydney 2006 p80</ref> (see below, [[#Aramaic displacing Hebrew as a spoken language|Aramaic displacing Hebrew as a spoken language]]), though some scholars believe that there were still some native speakers of Hebrew until shortly before the Byzantine era. From the beginning of the 1st millennium Hebrew continued in use as a religious and literary language until the 19th century, when it was revived as a spoken language.<ref>[http://www.nvtc.gov/lotw/months/august/Hebrew.html Languages of the World (Hebrew)]</ref>
<!-- Commented out because image was deleted: [[Image:Hebrew speakers around the world.png|thumb|500px|Map of larger Hebrew speaking communities around the World]] -->
Most linguists agree that after the 6th century BC, when the [[Babylonia|Neo-Babylonian Empire]] conquered the ancient [[Kingdom of Judah]], destroying [[Jerusalem]] and exiling its population to Babylon and after [[Cyrus the Great|Cyrus The Great]], the King of Kings or Great King of [[Persian Empire|Persia]], gave them permission to return, Biblical Hebrew came to be replaced in daily use by new dialects of Hebrew and a local version of [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]]. After the 2nd century AD when the [[Roman Empire]] exiled most of the Jewish population of Jerusalem following the [[Bar Kokhba revolt]], Hebrew gradually ceased to be a spoken language, but remained a major [[literary language]]. Letters, contracts, commerce, science, philosophy, medicine, poetry, and laws were written in Hebrew, which adapted by borrowing and inventing terms.
Hebrew persevered along the ages as the main language for written purposes by all Jewish communities around the world for a large range of uses (poetry, philosophy, science and medicine, commerce, daily correspondence and contracts, in addition to liturgy). This meant not only that well-educated Jews in all parts of the world could correspond in a mutually intelligible language, and that books and legal documents published or written in any part of the world could be read by Jews in all other parts, but that an educated Jew could travel and converse with Jews in distant places, just as priests and other educated Christians could once converse in Latin. It has been 'revived' several times as a literary language, and most significantly by the [[Haskalah]] (Enlightenment) movement of early and mid-19th century. Near the end of that century the [[Jew]]ish activist [[Eliezer Ben-Yehuda]], who was no scholar or linguist, owing to the ideology of the national revival (''Hibbat Tziyon'', later [[Zionism]]) began reviving Hebrew as a modern spoken language. Eventually, as a result of the local movement he created, but more significantly as a result of the new groups of immigrants known under the name of the ''[[Second Aliyah]]'', it replaced a score of languages spoken by Jews at that time. Those languages were Jewish dialects such as [[Ladino language|Ladino]] (also called Judezmo), [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]] and [[Judeo-Arabic languages|Judeo-Arabic]], or local languages spoken in the [[Jewish diaspora]] such as [[Russian language|Russian]], [[Persian language|Persian]], and [[Arabic language|Arabic]].
The major result of the literary work of the Hebrew intellectuals along the 19th century was a lexical modernization of Hebrew. New words and expressions were adapted as [[neologisms]] from the large corpus of Hebrew writings since the Hebrew Bible, or borrowed from Arabic (mainly by Eliezer Ben-Yehuda) and Aramaic. Many new words were either borrowed from or coined after European languages, especially English, Russian, German, and French. Modern Hebrew became an official language in British-ruled Palestine in 1921 (along with English and Arabic), and then in 1948 became an official language of the newly declared [[Israel|State of Israel]]. English and Arabic still remain formal languages in Israel to this day.
===Origins===
Hebrew is a [[Semitic language]], and as such a member of the larger [[Afro-Asiatic languages|Afro-Asiatic]] phylum.
Within Semitic, the [[Northwest Semitic languages]] formed around the 3rd millennium [[BC]], grouped with the [[Arabic languages]] as [[Central Semitic]]. The [[Canaanite languages]] are a group within Northwest Semitic, emerging in the 2nd millennium [[BC]] in the [[Levant]], gradually separating from [[Aramaic languages|Aramaic]] and [[Ugaritic language|Ugaritic]].
Within the Canaanite group, Hebrew belongs to the sub-group also containing [[Edomite language|Edomite]], [[Ammonite language|Ammonite]] and [[Moabite language|Moabite]]. Another Canaanite sub-group contains [[Phoenician languages|Phoenician]] and its descendant [[Punic language|Punic]].
===Gezer calendar and other archaic inscriptions===
The first written evidence of distinctive Hebrew, the [[Gezer calendar]], dates back to the 10th century BC at the beginning of the Monarchic Period, the traditional time of the reign of [[David]] and [[Solomon]]. Classified as Archaic Biblical Hebrew, the calendar presents a list of seasons and related agricultural activities. The [[Gezer]] calendar (named after the city in whose proximity it was found) is written in an old Semitic script, akin to the [[Phoenician alphabet|Phoenician]] one that through the [[ancient Greece|Greek]]s and [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscan]]s later became the [[Roman script]]. The Gezer calendar is written without any vowels, and it does not use [[Mater lectionis|consonants to imply vowels]] even in the places where later Hebrew spelling requires it.
[[Image:Silwan-inscr.jpg|left|300px|thumb|The [[Shebna]] lintel, from the tomb of a royal steward found in [[Siloam]], dates to the 7th century BC.]]
Numerous older tablets have been found in the region with similar scripts written in other Semitic languages, for example [[Protosinaitic]]. It is believed that the original shapes of the script go back to [[Egyptian hieroglyphs]], though the phonetic values are instead inspired by the [[acrophonic]] principle. The common ancestor of Hebrew and Phoenician is called [[Canaanite languages|Canaanite]], and was the first to use a Semitic alphabet distinct from Egyptian. One ancient document is the famous [[Moabite Stone]] written in the Moabite dialect; the [[Siloam Inscription]], found near [[Jerusalem]], is an early example of Hebrew. Less ancient samples of Archaic Hebrew include the [[ostracon|ostraka]] found near [[Lachish]] which describe events preceding the final capture of Jerusalem by [[Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon|Nebuchadnezzar]] and the Babylonian captivity of 586 BC.
===Classical Hebrew===
In its widest sense, ''Classical Hebrew'' means the spoken language of ancient Israel flourishing between the 10th century [[BC]] and the turn of the 4th century [[AD]].<ref name = "dvbrbw">{{PDFlink|[http://www.arts.ualberta.ca/JHS/Articles/article_36.pdf William M. Schniedewind, "Prolegomena for the Sociolinguistics of Classical Hebrew", The Journal of Hebrew Scriptures vol. 5 article 6]|373 [[Kibibyte|KiB]]<!-- application/pdf, 382840 bytes -->}}</ref> It comprises several evolving and overlapping dialects. The phases of Classical Hebrew are often named after important literary works associated with them.
* '''Archaic Biblical Hebrew''' from the 10th to the 6th century [[BC]], corresponding to the Monarchic Period until the Babylonian Exile and represented by certain texts in the Hebrew Bible ([[Tanach]]), notably the Song of Moses (Exodus 15) and the Song of Deborah (Judges 5). Also called Old Hebrew or Paleo-Hebrew. It was written in a form of the [[Phoenician alphabet|Canaanite script]]. (A script descended from this is still used by the [[Samaritans]], see [[Samaritan Hebrew language]].)
* '''[[Biblical Hebrew]]''' around the 6th century [[BC]], corresponding to the Babylonian Exile and represented by the bulk of the Hebrew Bible that attains much of its present form around this time. Also called Classical Biblical Hebrew (or Classical Hebrew in the narrowest sense).
*'''Late Biblical Hebrew''', from the 6th to the 4th century [[BC]], that corresponds to the Persian Period and is represented by certain texts in the [[Hebrew Bible]], notably the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. Basically similar to Classical Biblical Hebrew, apart from a few foreign words adopted for mainly governmental terms, and some syntactical innovations such as the use of the particle ''shel'' (of, belonging to). It adopted the [[Aramaic alphabet|Imperial Aramaic script]].
* '''[[Dead Sea Scrolls|Dead Sea Scroll]] Hebrew''' from the 3rd century BC to the 1st century [[AD]], corresponding to the Hellenistic and Roman Periods before the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and represented by the Qumran Scrolls that form most (but not all) of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Commonly abbreviated as [[DSS Hebrew]], also called [[Qumran Hebrew]]. The Imperial Aramaic script of the earlier scrolls in the 3rd century [[BC]] evolved into the [[Hebrew square script]] of the later scrolls in the 1st century [[AD]], also known as ''ketav Ashuri'' (Assyrian script), still in use today.
* '''[[Mishnaic Hebrew]]''' from the 1st to the 3rd or 4th century [[AD]], corresponding to the Roman Period after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and represented by the bulk of the [[Mishnah]] and [[Tosefta]] within the [[Talmud]] and by the Dead Sea Scrolls, notably the Bar Kokhba Letters and the [[Copper Scroll]]. Also called Tannaitic Hebrew or Early Rabbinic Hebrew.
Sometimes the above phases of spoken Classical Hebrew are simplified into "Biblical Hebrew" (including several dialects from the tenth century [[BC]] to 2nd century [[BC]] and extant in certain Dead Sea Scrolls) and "Mishnaic Hebrew" (including several dialects from the 3rd century [[BC]] to the 3rd century [[AD]] and extant in certain other Dead Sea Scrolls).<ref name=Segal>M. Segal, ''A Grammar of Mishnaic Hebrew'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1927).</ref> However today, most Hebrew linguists classify Dead Sea Scroll Hebrew as a set of dialects evolving out of Late Biblical Hebrew and into Mishnaic Hebrew, thus including elements from both but remaining distinct from either.<ref name=Qimron>Elisha Qimron, ''The Hebrew of the Dead Sea Scrolls'', Harvard Semitic Studies 29 (Atlanta: Scholars Press 1986).</ref> By the start of the Byzantine Period in the 4th century [[AD]], Classical Hebrew ceases as a spoken language, roughly a century after the publication of the Mishnah, apparently declining since the aftermath of the catastrophic Bar Kokhba War around 135 [[AD]].
===Mishnah and Talmud===
{{main|Mishnaic Hebrew}}
The term generally refers to the Hebrew dialects found in the [[Talmud]] {{Hebrew|תלמוד}}, excepting quotations from the Hebrew Bible. The dialects organize into [[Mishnaic Hebrew]] (also called [[Tannaim|Tannaitic]] Hebrew, Early Rabbinic Hebrew, or [[Mishnah|Mishnaic]] Hebrew I), which was a [[spoken language]], and [[Amora]]ic Hebrew (also called Late Rabbinic Hebrew or Mishnaic Hebrew II), which was a [[literary language]].
The earlier section of the Talmud is the [[Mishnah]] {{Hebrew|משנה}} that was published around 200 [[CE]] and was written in the earlier Mishnaic dialect. The dialect is also found in certain Dead Sea Scrolls. Mishnaic Hebrew is considered to be one of the dialects of Classical Hebrew that functioned as a living language in the land of Israel.
A transitional form of the language occurs in the other works of Tannaitic literature dating from the century beginning with the completion of the Mishnah. These include the [[Midrash halakha|halachic]] [[Midrash]]im ([[Sifra]], [[Sifre]], [[Mechilta]] etc.) and the expanded collection of Mishnah-related material known as the [[Tosefta]] {{lang|he|תוספתא}}. The Talmud contains excerpts from these works, as well as further Tannaitic material not attested elsewhere; the generic term for these passages is [[Baraita|Baraitot]]. The dialect of all these works is very similar to Mishnaic Hebrew.
About a century after the publication of the Mishnah, Mishnaic Hebrew fell into disuse as a spoken language. The later section of the Talmud, the [[Gemara]] {{Hebrew|גמרא}}, generally comments on the Mishnah and Baraitot in Aramaic. Nevertheless, Hebrew survived as a liturgical and literary language in the form of later [[Amora]]ic Hebrew, which sometimes occurs in the text of the Gemara.
===Medieval Hebrew===
{{main|Medieval Hebrew}}
[[Image:Aleppo codex.jpg|thumb|Aleppo Codex: 10th century Hebrew Bible with Masoretic pointing (Joshua 1:1).]]
After the Talmud, various regional literary dialects of [[Medieval Hebrew]] evolved. The most important is [[Tiberian vocalization|Tiberian Hebrew]] or Masoretic Hebrew, a local dialect of Tiberias in Galilee that became the standard for vocalizing the Hebrew Bible and thus still influences all other regional dialects of Hebrew. This Tiberian Hebrew from the 7th to 10th century [[AD]] is sometimes called "Biblical Hebrew" because it is used to pronounce the Hebrew Bible; however properly it should be distinguished from the historical Biblical Hebrew of the 6th century [[BC]], whose original pronunciation must be reconstructed.
Tiberian Hebrew incorporates the remarkable scholarship of the [[Masoretes]] (from ''masoret'' meaning "tradition"), who added [[niqqud|vowel points]] and [[Cantillation|grammar points]] to the Hebrew letters to preserve much earlier features of Hebrew, for use in chanting the Hebrew Bible. The Masoretes inherited a biblical text whose letters were considered too sacred to be altered, so their markings were in the form of pointing in and around the letters. The [[Syriac alphabet|Syriac script]], precursor to the [[Arabic alphabet|Arabic script]], also developed vowel pointing systems around this time. The [[Aleppo Codex]], a Hebrew Bible with the Masoretic pointing, was written in the 10th century likely in Tiberias and survives to this day. It is perhaps the most important Hebrew manuscript in existence.
In the [[Golden age of Jewish culture in Spain]] important work was done by grammarians in explaining the grammar and vocabulary of Biblical Hebrew; much of this was based on the work of the [[Arabic grammar#History|grammarians]] of [[Classical Arabic]]. Important Hebrew grammarians were [[Judah ben David Hayyuj]], [[Jonah ibn Janah]] and later (in Provence) [[David Kimhi]]. A great deal of poetry was written, by poets such as [[Dunash ben Labrat]], [[Solomon ibn Gabirol]], [[Judah ha-Levi]] and the two [[Ibn Ezra]]s, in a "purified" Hebrew based on the work of these grammarians, and in Arabic quantitative metres. This literary Hebrew was later used by Italian Jewish poets.
The need to express scientific and philosophical concepts from [[Classical Greek language|Classical Greek]] and [[Arabic language|Medieval Arabic]] motivated Medieval Hebrew to borrow terminology and grammar from these other languages, or to coin equivalent terms from existing Hebrew roots, giving rise to a distinct style of philosophical Hebrew. This is used in the translations made by the [[Ibn Tibbon]] family. (Original Jewish philosophical works were usually written in Arabic.)
Another important influence was [[Maimonides]], who developed a simple style based on [[Mishnaic Hebrew]] for use in his law code, the [[Mishneh Torah]]. Subsequent rabbinic literature is written in a blend between this style and the Aramaized [[Rabbinic Hebrew]] of the Talmud.
===Liturgical use===
Hebrew has always been used as the language of prayer and study, and the following pronunciation systems are found.
[[Ashkenazi Hebrew]], originating in Central and Eastern Europe, is still widely used in Ashkenazi Jewish religious services and studies in Israel and abroad, particularly in the [[Haredi]] and other [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] communities. It was influenced by the [[Yiddish language]].
[[Sephardi Hebrew]] is the traditional pronunciation of the [[Spanish and Portuguese Jews]] and [[Sephardi Jews]] in the countries of the former [[Ottoman Empire]]. This pronunciation, in the form used by the Jerusalem Sephardic community, is the basis of the Hebrew phonology of Israeli native speakers. It was influenced by the [[Ladino language]].
[[Mizrahi Hebrew|Mizrahi (Oriental) Hebrew]] is actually a collection of dialects spoken liturgically by Jews in various parts of the [[Arab]] and [[Islam]]ic world. It was possibly influenced by the [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] and [[Arabic language]]s, and in some cases by [[Sephardi Hebrew]], although some linguists maintain that it is the direct heir of [[Biblical Hebrew]] and thus represents the true dialect of Hebrew. The same claim is sometimes made for [[Yemenite Hebrew]] or ''Temanit'', which differs from other Mizrahi dialects by having a radically different vowel system.
These pronunciations are still used in synagogue ritual and religious study, in Israel and elsewhere, mostly by people who are not native speakers of Hebrew, though some traditionalist Israelis are bi-dialectal.
Many synagogues in the diaspora, even though Ashkenazi by rite and by ethnic composition, have adopted the "Sephardic" pronunciation in deference to Israeli Hebrew. However, in many British and American schools and synagogues, this pronunciation retains several elements of its Ashkenazi substrate, especially the distinction between [[Niqqud|tsere]] and [[Niqqud|segol]].
<div id="Modern Hebrewes"></div>
== Modern Hebrew ==
{{main|Revival of the Hebrew language}}
===Development===
In the Modern Period, from the 19th century onward, the literary Hebrew tradition as pronounced in Jerusalem revived as the spoken language of modern Israel, called variously ''Israeli Hebrew'', ''Modern Israeli Hebrew'', ''Modern Hebrew'', ''New Hebrew'', ''Israeli Standard Hebrew'', ''Standard Hebrew'', and so on. Israeli Hebrew exhibits many features of [[Sephardi Hebrew language|Sephardic Hebrew]] from its local Jerusalemite tradition but adapts it with numerous neologisms, borrowed terms (often technical) from European languages and adopted terms (often colloquial) from [[Arabic]].
[[Image:Eliezer Ben Jehuda bei der Arbeit.jpg|thumb|Eliezer Ben-Yehuda]]
The literary and narrative use of Hebrew was revived beginning with the [[Haskalah]] (Enlightenment) movement. The first secular periodical in Hebrew, ''Hameassef'' (The Gatherer), was published by Maskilim litterati in [[Königsberg]] from 1783 onwards<ref>Shalom Spiegel,''Hebrew Reborn'',(1930) Meridian Books reprint 1962, New York p.56</ref>. In the mid-19th century, publications of several Eastern European Hebrew-language newspapers (e.g. HaMagid, founded in [[Lyck, Prussia]], in 1856) multiplied. Prominent poets were [[Chaim Nachman Bialik]] and [[Shaul Tchernichovsky]]; there were also novels written in the language.
The [[revival of the Hebrew language]] as a [[First language|mother tongue]] was initiated by the efforts of [[Eliezer Ben-Yehuda]] (1858-1922) ({{lang|he|אליעזר בן–יהודה}}). He joined the [[Zionism|Jewish national movement]] and in 1881 immigrated to [[Palestine]], then a part of the [[Ottoman Empire]]. Motivated by the surrounding ideals of renovation and rejection of the [[Jewish diaspora|diaspora]] "[[shtetl]]" lifestyle, Ben-Yehuda set out to develop tools for making the [[literary language|literary]] and [[sacred language|liturgical language]] into everyday [[spoken language]].
However, his brand of Hebrew followed norms that had been replaced in [[Eastern Europe]] by different grammar and style, in the writings of people like [[Asher Ginsberg|Achad Ha-Am]] and others. His organizational efforts and involvement with the establishment of schools and the writing of textbooks pushed the [[vernacular]]ization activity into a gradually accepted movement. It was not, however, until the 1904-1914 "[[Aliyah|second aliyah]]" that Hebrew had caught real momentum in Ottoman Palestine with the more highly organized enterprises set forth by the new group of immigrants. When the [[Mandate for Palestine|British Mandate of Palestine]] recognized Hebrew as one of the country's three official languages (English, Arabic, and Hebrew, in 1922), its new formal status contributed to its diffusion. A constructed modern language with a truly Semitic vocabulary and written appearance, although often European in phonology, was to take its place among the current languages of the nations.
===Reactions===
While many saw his work as fanciful or even [[Blasphemy|blasphemous]]<ref>[http://www.jewishmag.com/43mag/ben-yehuda/ben-yehuda.htm Eliezer Ben Yehuda and the Resurgence of the Hebrew Language] by Libby Kantorwitz</ref> (because Hebrew was the holy language of the Torah and therefore some thought that it should not be used to discuss common everyday matters), many soon understood the need for a common language amongst Jews of the Palestine Mandate who at the turn of the 20th century were arriving in large numbers from diverse countries and speaking different languages. It has been said that Hebrew unified the new immigrants coming to Mandate Palestine, creating a common language and culture. {{Fact|date=April 2007}} A Committee of the Hebrew Language was established. Later it became the [[Academy of the Hebrew Language]], an organization that exists today. The results of his and the Committee's work were published in a dictionary (''The Complete Dictionary of Ancient and Modern Hebrew''). Ben-Yehuda's work fell on fertile ground, and by the beginning of the 20th century, Hebrew was well on its way to becoming the main language of the Jewish population of both Ottoman and British Palestine. At the time, members of the [[Yishuv|Old Yishuv]] and a very few [[Chasidic]] sects, most notably those under the auspices of [[Satmar]], refused to speak Hebrew and only spoke Yiddish. However, while this ideological stance persists in certain quarters, almost all members of these groups have learned modern Hebrew in order to interact with outsiders.
=== Russia and the Soviet Union ===
{{main|History of the Jews in Russia and the Soviet Union|Yevsektsiya}}
Russian has separate terms for Ancient Hebrew ([[:ru:Древнееврейский язык|Древнееврейский язык]], "ancient Jewish language") and Modern Hebrew ([[:ru:Иврит|Иврит]], directly borrowed from the Hebrew name).
The Soviet authorities considered the use of Hebrew "reactionary" since it was associated with both [[Judaism]] and [[Zionism]], and the teaching of Hebrew at primary and secondary schools was officially banned by the [[Narkompros]] (Commissariat of Education) as early as 1919, as part of an overall agenda aiming to [[secularization|secularize]] education (the language itself didn't cease to be studied at universities for historical and linguistic purposes<ref>[http://www.jewish-heritage.org/prep26.htm The Transformation of Jewish Culture in the USSR from 1930 to the Present (in Russian)]</ref>). The official ordinance stated that [[Yiddish]], being the spoken language of the Russian Jews, should be treated as their only national language, while Hebrew was to be treated as a foreign language.<ref>[http://berkovich-zametki.com/Nomer16/MN31.htm Nosonovski, Michael (in Russian)]</ref> Hebrew books and periodicals ceased to be published and were seized from the libraries, although liturgical texts were still published until the 1930s. Despite numerous protests in the West,<ref>[http://www.zionistarchives.org.il/ZA/SiteE/pShowView.aspx?GM=Y&ID=48&Teur=Protest%20against%20the%20suppression%20of%20Hebrew%20in%20the%20Soviet%20Union%20%201930-1931 Protest against the suppression of Hebrew in the Soviet Union 1930-1931] signed by [[Albert Einstein]], among others</ref> teachers and students who attempted to study the Hebrew language were pilloried and sentenced for "counter revolutionary" and later for "anti-Soviet" activities. {{Fact|date=February 2007}}
Later in the 1980s years in the USSR, Hebrew studies reappeared due to people struggling for permission to go to Israel ([[refusenik]]s). Several of the teachers were imprisoned, for example, [[Ephraim Kholmyansky]],[[Yevgeny Korostyshevsky]] and others responsible for a Hebrew learning network connecting many cities of USSR.
====Birobidzhan====
[[Birobidzhan Jewish National University]] works in cooperation with the local [[Jewish community]] of [[Birobidzhan]]. The [[university]] is unique in the [[Russian Far East]]. The basis of the training course is study of the Hebrew language, history and classic Jewish texts.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eao.ru/eng/?p=365|title=Society / Religion|year=2006|accessdate=2007-12-31}}</ref> In recent years, the [[Jewish Autonomous Oblast]] has grown interested in its Jewish roots. Students study Hebrew and Yiddish at a Jewish school and Birobidzhan Jewish National University. In 1989, the Jewish center founded its [[Sunday school]], where children study Yiddish, learn [[folk]] [[Jewish dance]], and learn about the history of [[Israel]]. The [[Israeli government]] helps fund the program.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vn.vladnews.ru/Arch/2000/ISS207/focus.html|title=Jewish oblast retains identity despite emigration|year=2000|publisher=Vladivostok News|accessdate=2007-12-31}}</ref> [[Chief Rabbi]] [[Mordechai Scheiner]] has commented the progress at School No. 2, Birobidjan's Jewish [[public school]] with 670 students, 30 percent of whom are Jewish. Pupils learn about [[Jewish history]], and the Hebrew and [[Yiddish]] languages.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fjc.ru/news/newsArticle.asp?AID=346265&cid=84435&tab=news&NewsType=80052&scope=3806&media=80052&origMedia=80052&start=10|title=Jewish life revived in Russia|publisher=[[Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS]]|year=2006|accessdate=2007-12-31}}</ref>
=== Modern Israeli Hebrew ===
Standard Hebrew, as developed by [[Eliezer Ben Yehuda]], was based on [[Mishnaic Hebrew|Mishnaic]] spelling and [[Sephardi Hebrew language|Sephardi Hebrew]] pronunciation. However, the earliest speakers of Modern Hebrew had [[Yiddish]] as their native tongue and often brought into Hebrew idioms and literal translations from Yiddish. Similarly, the language as spoken in [[Israel]] has adapted to [[Ashkenazi Hebrew]] [[phonology]] in the following respects:
*the elimination of [[pharyngeal consonant|pharyngeal articulation]] in the letters ''chet'' and ''ayin''
*the conversion of {{IPA|/r/}} from an [[alveolar flap]] ({{IPA|[ɾ]}}) to a [[voiced uvular fricative]] ({{IPA|[ʁ]}}) or [[uvular trill|trill]] ({{IPA|[ʀ]}}) (see [[Guttural R]])
*the pronunciation (by many speakers) of ''[[Niqqud|tzere]]'' as {{IPA|[eɪ]}} in some contexts (''sifrey'' and ''teysha'' instead of Sephardic ''sifré'' and ''tésha''' )
*the elimination of vocal ''[[schwa]]'' (''zman'' instead of Sephardic ''zĕman'')
*some of the letter names (''yud'' and ''kuf'' instead of Sephardic ''yod'' and ''qof'')
*in popular speech, penultimate stress in proper names (''Dvóra'' instead of ''Dĕvorá''; ''Yehúda'' instead of ''Yĕhudá'')
*similarly, penultimate stress in nouns or verbs with a second or third person plural suffix (''katávtem'' "you wrote" instead of ''kĕtavtém''; ''shalom aléykhem'' (greeting) instead of ''shalom alekhém'').<ref>These pronunciations may have originated in learners' mistakes formed on the analogy of other suffixed forms (''katávta'', ''alénu''), rather than being examples of residual Ashkenazi influence.</ref>
====Classification====
Scholars differ on the classification of the resulting language. Most regard it as a genuine continuation of Biblical and Mishnaic Hebrew, while conceding that it has acquired some European vocabulary and syntactical features, in much the same way as [[Modern Standard Arabic]] (or even more so, dialects such as [[Moroccan Arabic]]). Two dissenting views are as follows:
*Paul Wexler<ref> Wexler, Paul, ''The Schizoid Nature of Modern Hebrew: A Slavic Language in Search of a Semitic Past'': 1990. </ref> claims that modern Hebrew is not a Semitic language at all, but a dialect of "Judaeo-Sorbian". He argues that the underlying structure of the language is Slavic, but "re-lexified" to absorb much of the vocabulary and inflexional system of Hebrew in much the same way as a [[creole language|creole]].</br>
*[[Ghil'ad Zuckermann]]<ref> [http://www.zuckermann.org/mosaic.html Zuckermann, ''Mosaic or mosaic? – The Genesis of the Israeli Language''] </ref> <ref> [http://www.zuckermann.org/pdf/abba.pdf Zuckermann, ''Abba, Why Was Professor Higgins Trying to Teach Eliza to Speak Like Our Cleaning Lady?: Mizrahim, Ashkenazim, Prescriptivism and the Real Sounds of the Israeli Language'']</ref> compromises between Wexler and the majority view: according to him, "Israeli" (his term for Israeli Hebrew) is a [[Semitic languages|Semito]]-[[Indo-European languages|European]] [[hybrid]] [[language]], which is the continuation not only of literary Hebrew but also of [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]], as well as [[Polish language|Polish]], [[Russian language|Russian]], [[German language|German]], [[English language|English]], [[Ladino language|Ladino]], [[Arabic language|Arabic]] and other [[languages]] spoken by Hebrew [[language revival|revivalists]].<ref>Zuckermann, Ghil'ad (2006), "Complement Clause Types in Israeli", ''Complementation: A Cross-Linguistic Typology'', edited by R. M. W. Dixon and Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald, [[Oxford]]: [[Oxford University Press]], pp. 72-92.</ref> Zuckermann's multi-parental [[hybridization]] model is based on two main [[principle]]s: the [[Congruence Principle]] and the [[Founder Principle]]. According to the '''[[Congruence Principle]]''', the more contributing [[language]]s a [[Feature (linguistics)|linguistic feature]] exists in, the more likely it is to persist in the [[target language]].<ref>See p. 62 in Zuckermann, Ghil'ad (2006), "A New Vision for 'Israeli Hebrew': Theoretical and Practical Implications of Analysing Israel's Main Language as a Semi-Engineered Semito-European Hybrid Language", ''Journal of Modern Jewish Studies'' 5 (1), pp. 57-71.</ref> Based on [[feature pool]]<ref>See Mufwene, Salikoko (2001), ''The Ecology of Language Evolution'', Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.</ref> [[statistics]] and recognizing simultaneous multiple sources, the [[Congruence Principle]] is in contrast to the [[family tree]] [[tool]] in [[historical linguistics]]. The [[Congruence Principle]] challenges Wexler's [[relexification]] model. The '''[[Founder Principle]]''' underlines the impact of the [[founder population]] on the emerging [[language]]. Thus, "[[Yiddish]] is a primary contributor to [[Israeli Hebrew]] because it was the [[mother tongue]] of the vast majority of [[language revival|revivalists]] and first pioneers in [[Eretz Yisrael]] at the crucial period of the beginning of Israeli Hebrew".<ref>See p. 63 in Zuckermann, Ghil'ad (2006), "A New Vision for 'Israeli Hebrew': Theoretical and Practical Implications of Analysing Israel's Main Language as a Semi-Engineered Semito-European Hybrid Language", ''Journal of Modern Jewish Studies'' 5 (1), pp. 57-71.</ref> According to Zuckermann, although the [[Language revitalization|revivalists]] wished to speak [[Hebrew]], with [[Semitic languages|Semitic]] [[grammar]] and [[pronunciation]], they could not avoid the [[Ashkenazi]] [[mindset]] arising from their [[Europe]]an background. He argues that their attempt to deny their [[European ethnic groups|European]] roots, negate [[Diaspora|diasporism]] and avoid [[hybridity]] (as reflected in [[Yiddish]]) failed. "Had the [[Language revitalization|revivalists]] been [[Arabic]]-speaking [[Jews]] (e.g. from [[Morocco]]), [[Israeli Hebrew]] would have been a totally different [[language]] – both [[genetics|genetically]] and [[typology|typologically]], much more [[Semitic languages|Semitic]]. The impact of the [[founder population]] on [[Israeli Hebrew]] is incomparable with that of later [[immigration|immigrants]]."<ref>See p. 63 in Zuckermann, Ghil'ad (2006), "A New Vision for 'Israeli Hebrew': Theoretical and Practical Implications of Analysing Israel's Main Language as a Semi-Engineered Semito-European Hybrid Language", ''Journal of Modern Jewish Studies'' 5 (1), pp. 57-71.</ref> The [[Founder Principle]] challenges the traditional [[language revival|revival]] view, according to which Israeli Hebrew is Hebrew [[Language revitalization|revived]] and thus [[Afro-Asiatic]] ([[Semitic languages|Semitic]]). </br>
So far, neither view has gained significant acceptance among mainstream linguists. However, some linguists, for example American Yiddish scholar [[Dovid Katz]], have employed Zuckermann's glottonym "Israeli" and accept his notion of [[hybrid]]ity. Few would dispute that Hebrew has acquired some European features as a result of having been learned by immigrants as a second language at a crucial formative stage. The identity of the European substrate/adstrate has varied: in the time of the Mandate and the early State, the principal contributor was [[Yiddish]], while today it is [[American English]].
==== Regional dialects ====
According to [[Ethnologue]], the currently spoken dialects of Hebrew are "Standard Hebrew (General Israeli, Europeanized Hebrew)" and "[[Oriental Hebrew]] (Arabized Hebrew, Yemenite Hebrew)". These refer to two varieties used for actual communication by native speakers in Israel; they differ mainly in pronunciation, and hardly in any other way.
Immigrants to Israel are encouraged to adopt "Standard Hebrew" as their daily language. Phonologically, this "dialect" may most accurately be described as an amalgam of pronunciations preserving Sephardic vowel sounds and some Ashkenazic consonant sounds with Yiddish-style influence, its recurring feature being simplification of differences among a wide array of pronunciations. This simplifying tendency also accounts for the collapse of the Ashkenazic {{IPA|[t]}} and {{IPA|[s]}} allophones of {{Hebrew|ת}} ({{IPA|/t/}}) into the single [[phone]] {{IPA|[t]}}. Most Sephardic and Mizrahi dialects share this feature, though some (such as those of Iraq and Yemen) differentiate between these two pronunciations as {{IPA|/t/}} and {{IPA|/θ/}}. Within Israel, however, the pronunciation of Hebrew more often reflects the diasporic origin of the individual speaker, rather than the specific recommendations of the [[Academy of the Hebrew Language|Academy]]. For this reason, over half the population pronounces {{Hebrew|ר}} as {{IPA|[ʀ]}} (a [[uvular trill]], as in Yiddish and [[French language|French]]) or as {{IPA|[ʁ]}} (a [[voiced uvular fricative]], as in Standard German), rather than as {{IPA|[r]}}, an [[alveolar trill]], as in [[Spanish language|Spanish]]. The pronunciation of this phoneme is often used among Israelis as a [[shibboleth]] or determinant when ascertaining the national origin of perceived foreigners.
There are mixed views on the status of the two dialects. On the one hand, prominent Israelis of Sephardic or Oriental origin are admired for the purity of their speech and Yemenite Jews are often employed as newsreaders. On the other hand, the speech of middle-class Ashkenazim is regarded as having a certain [[Central Europe]]an sophistication, and many speakers of [[Mizrahi Jews|Mizrahi]] origin have moved nearer to this version of Standard Hebrew, in some cases even adopting the uvular ''resh''.
It was formerly the case that the inhabitants of the north of Israel pronounced ''beth [[rafe (diacritic)|rafe]]'' ({{lang|he|בי"ת רפה}}, bet without [[dagesh]], literally ''loose beth'': {{lang|he|ב}}) as {{IPA|/b/}} instead of {{IPA|/v/}}, in accordance with the conservative Sephardic pronunciation {{Fact|date=August 2007}}. This was regarded as rustic and has since disappeared. It is said that one can tell an inhabitant of Jerusalem by the pronunciation of the word for two hundred as "ma'atayim" (מאתיים, as distinct from "matayim", as heard elsewhere in the country). Today, Israeli Hebrew is virtually uniform, the only noticeable variation being along ethnic lines. It is widely felt that these differences, too, have been disappearing among the younger generation.
==Aramaic==
{{main|Judeo-Aramaic language}}
[[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] is a North-West [[Semitic language]], like Canaanite. Its name derives either from "{{lang|he-Latn|Aram Naharayim}}" in Upper Mesopotamia or from "Aram", an ancient name for Syria. Various dialects of Aramaic coevolved with Hebrew throughout much of its history. In fact, the words in Greek and Hebrew at the time corresponding to the word "Hebrew" (Εβραις, Εβραιστι, עברית) usually referred to Aramaic.<ref name=hebaram>
''A Pocket Lexicon to the Greek New Testament'' by [[Alexander Souter]] (1916),
''[[Wycliffe Bible Dictionary]]'' (1975),
''New Dictionary'' by [[Avraham Even-Shoshan]] (1988, in Hebrew).
Notice that in the [[Gospel of John]] some place names are said to be "in Hebrew", when they are in fact in Aramaic.</ref>
The language of [[Jesus]] and the [[Babylonia|Neo-Babylonian Empire]] was a dialect of Aramaic. The [[Persian Empire]] that captured Babylonia a few decades later adopted Imperial Aramaic as the official international language of the Persian Empire. The Israelite population, who had been exiled to Babylon from Jerusalem and its surrounding region of ''[[Kingdom of Judah|Judah]]'', were allowed to return to Jerusalem to establish a Persian province, usually called ''[[Iudaea Province|Judea]]''. Thus Aramaic became the administrative language for Judea when dealing with the rest of Persian Empire.
The Aramaic script also evolved from the Canaanite script, but they diverged significantly. By the 1st century [[CE]], the Aramaic script developed into the distinctive [[Hebrew square script]] (also known as '''Assyrian Script''', '''Ktav Ashuri'''), extant in the Dead Sea Scrolls and similar to the script still in use today.
=== Displacement ===
By the early half of the 20th century, modern scholars reached a nearly unanimous opinion that Aramaic became a spoken language in the land of Israel by the start of Israel's [[Hellenistic period|Hellenistic Period]] in the 4th century [[BCE]], and thus Hebrew ceased to function as a spoken language around the same time. However, during the latter half of the 20th century, accumulating archaeological evidence and especially linguistic analysis of the [[Dead Sea Scrolls]] has qualified the previous consensus. Alongside Aramaic, Hebrew may also have survived as a spoken language, since the [[Qumran]] evidence indicates that Hebrew texts were comprehensible to the rank-and-file. Some further evidence for this contention has been found in the Christian Bible story of Paul speaking to a crowd of Jews ''têi hebraïdi dialéktôi''<ref>Acts 21:40; 22:2; 26:14</ref> lit.'in the Hebrew dialect'. However, the standard translation for this Greek passage is 'in the Aramaic vernacular of Palestine' <ref>Geoffrey W.Bromley (ed.)''The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia'', W.B.Eeerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan 1979, 4 vols. vol.1 (sub.'Aramaic' p.233</ref>. In a groundbreaking article Griatz suggested that Hebrew, rather than Aramaic, lay behind the composition of the [[Gospel of Matthew]]<ref>J.M.Griatz, ‘Hebrew in the Days of the Second Temple’ QBI, 79 (1960) pp.32-47</ref>. Griatz dates the demise of Hebrew as a spoken language to the end of the [[Iudaea Province|Roman Period]]. Hebrew nonetheless continued on as a literary language down through [[History of Palestine#Byzantine Period|Byzantine Period]] from the 4th century [[CE]].
The exact roles of Aramaic and Hebrew remain hotly debated. A trilingual scenario has been proposed for the land of Israel. Hebrew functioned as the local [[mother tongue]], Aramaic functioned as the international language with the rest of the Mideast, and eventually Greek functioned as another international language with the eastern areas of the Roman Empire. Communities of Jews (and non-Jews) are known, who immigrated to Judea from these other lands and continued to speak Aramaic or Greek.
Many Hebrew linguists postulate the survival of Hebrew as a spoken language until the Byzantine Period, but some historians do not accept this. ''The Hebrew of the Dead Sea Scrolls'' distinguishes the Dead Sea Scroll Hebrew from the various dialects of Biblical Hebrew out of which it evolved: "This book presents the specific features of DSS Hebrew, emphasizing deviations from classical BH."<ref name=QimronDSS> Elisha Qimron, ''The Hebrew of the Dead Sea Scrolls'' (1986), p. 15.</ref> ''The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church'' which once said, in 1958 in its first edition, that Hebrew "ceased to be a spoken language around the fourth century BC", now says, in its 1997 (third) edition, that Hebrew "continued to be used as a spoken and written language in the New Testament period".<ref name=OxfordDictionaryChristianChurch> "Hebrew" in ''The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church'', edit. F.L. Cross, first edition (Oxford, 1958), 3rd edition (Oxford 1997).</ref> ''An Introductory Grammar of Rabbinic Hebrew'' says, "It is generally believed that the Dead Sea Scrolls, specifically the Copper Scroll and also the Bar Kokhba letters, have furnished clear evidence of the popular character of MH [Mishnaic Hebrew]."<ref name=Fenandez> Miguel Perez Fernandez, ''An Introductory Grammar of Rabbinic Hebrew'' (Leiden, Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill 1997).</ref> And so on.<ref name = "dvbrbw"/> It is widespread among Israeli scholars to treat Hebrew as a spoken language as a feature of Judea's Roman Period.
===Dialects===
The international language of Aramaic radiated into various regional dialects. In and around Judea, various dialects of [[Aramaic#Late Old Western Aramaic|Old Western Aramaic]] emerged, including the Jewish dialect of [[Old Judean Aramaic]] during the Roman Period. [[Josephus Flavius]] initially drafted his account of [[The Wars of the Jews|The Jewish War]] in Old Judean Aramaic but later recast it into [[Koine Greek]] to publish it for the Roman imperial court. Unfortunately Josephus's Aramaic version has not survived.
Following the [[Destruction of Jerusalem|destruction of Jerusalem and the Second Temple]] in 70 [[CE]], the Jews gradually began to disperse from Jerusalem to foreign countries, especially after the [[Bar Kokhba Revolt|Bar Kokhba War]] in 135 [[CE]] when the Romans turned Jerusalem into a pagan city named ''Aelia Capitolina''.
After the Bar Kokhba War in the 2nd century [[CE]], the [[Jewish Palestinian Aramaic]] dialect emerged from obscurity out of the vicinity of Galilee to form one of the main dialects in the [[Aramaic#Western Middle Aramaic|Western branch of Middle Aramaic]]. The [[Jerusalem Talmud]] (by the 5th century) used this Jewish Palestinian Aramaic, as did the [[Midrash|Midrash Rabba]] (6th to 12th century). This dialect probably influenced the pronunciation of the 8th-century [[Tiberian Hebrew]] that vocalizes the Hebrew Bible.
Meanwhile over in Babylon, the [[Babylonian Talmud]] (by the 7th century) used [[Jewish Babylonian Aramaic]], a Jewish dialect in the [[Aramaic#Eastern Middle Aramaic|Eastern branch of Middle Aramaic]]. For centuries Jewish Babylonian remained the spoken language of Mesopotamian Jews and the [[Lishana Deni]]. In the area of [[Kurdistan]], there is a modern Aramaic dialect descending from it that is still spoken by a few thousand Jews (and non-Jews), though it has largely given way to Arabic.
Hebrew continues to strongly influence all these various [[Judeo-Aramaic language|Jewish dialects of Aramaic]].
==Other coexisting languages==
{{main|Jewish languages}}
Besides Jewish dialects of [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]], other languages are highly influenced by Hebrew, such as [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]], [[Ladino language|Ladino]], [[Karaim language|Karaite]] and [[Judeo-Arabic language|Judeo-Arabic]]. Although none is completely derived from Hebrew, they all make extensive use of Hebrew [[loanword]]s.
The revival of Hebrew is often cited by proponents of [[international auxiliary language]]s as the best proof that languages long dead, with small communities, or modified or created artificially can become living languages used by a large number of people.
==Phonology==
{{IPA notice}}
{{main|Hebrew phonology}}
Hebrew has two kinds of [[lexical stress|stress]]: on the last syllable (''{{lang|he-Latn|milra‘}}'') and on the penultimate syllable (the one preceding the last, ''{{lang|he-Latn|mil‘el}}''). The former is more frequent. Specific rules connect the location of the stress with the length of the vowels in the last syllable. However, due to the fact that Israeli Hebrew does not distinguish between long and short vowels, these rules are not evident in everyday speech. They usually cannot be inferred from written text either, since usually vowels are not marked. The rules that specify the [[vowel length]] are different for verbs and nouns, which influences the stress; thus the ''{{lang|he-Latn|mil‘el}}''-stressed ''{{lang|he-Latn|ókhel}}'' (="food") and ''{{lang|he-Latn|milra}}‘''-stressed ''{{lang|he-Latn|okhèl}}'' (="eats", masculine) differ only in the length of the vowels (and are written identically if vowels are not marked). Little ambiguity exists, however, due to nouns and verbs having incompatible roles in normal sentences. This is also true in English, for example, with the English word "conduct" in its nominal and verbal forms.
===Vowels===
{{main|Niqqud}}
[[Image:Hebrew vowel chart.svg|right|The vowel phonemes of Modern Israeli Hebrew]]
The Hebrew word for [[vowel]]s is ''{{lang|he-Latn|tnu'ot}}'' (תְּנוּעוֹת). The [[orthography|orthographic]] representations for these vowels are called [[Niqqud]]. Israeli Hebrew has 5 vowel [[phoneme]]s, represented by the following Niqqud-signs:
{|class=wikitable style="text-align:center"
!rowspan=2|<small>[[phoneme]]</small>
!rowspan=2|<small>[[International Phonetic Alphabet for Hebrew|pronunciation]] in<br>[[Modern Hebrew|Modern Hebrew]]</small>
!rowspan=2|<small>approximate pronunciation<br>in English</small>
!colspan=3|<small>[[orthography|othographic]] representation</small>
|-
!<small>"long"</small> *!!<small>"short"</small> *!!<small>"very short"</small> / <small>"interrupted"</small> *
|-
|{{IPA|/a/}}||{{IPA|[a]}}||(as in "spa")
||{{lang|he-Latn|kamats}} ( ָ )
||{{lang|he-Latn|patach}} ( ַ )
||{{lang|he-Latn|chataf patach}} ( ֲ )
|-
|{{IPA|/e/}}
||{{IPA|[ɛ̝]}} <small>or</small> {{IPA|[e̞]}}
||(as in "bet")
||{{lang|he-Latn|tsere male}} (<span style="unicode-bidi:embed; direction:rtl;"> ֵי </span>) <small>or</small> {{lang|he-Latn|tsere chaser}} ( ֵ )
||{{lang|he-Latin|segol}} ( ֶ )
||{{lang|he-Latn|chataf segol}} ( ֱ ), <small>sometimes</small> {{lang|he-Latn|[[shva]]}} ( ְ )
|-
|{{IPA|/i/}}
||{{IPA|[i]}}
||(as in "ski")
||{{lang|he-Latn|khirik male}} <span style="unicode-bidi:embed; direction:rtl;">( ִי )</span>
||{{lang|he-Latn|khirik chaser}} ( ִ )
||
|-
|{{IPA|/o/}}
||{{IPA|[ɔ̝]}} <small>or</small> {{IPA|[o̞]}}
||(as in "gore")||{{lang|he-Latn|kholam male}} ( וֹ ) <small>or</small> {{lang|he-Latn|kholam chaser}} ( ֹ )
||{{lang|he-Latn|kamatz katan}} ( ָ )
||{{lang|he-Latn|chataf kamatz}} ( ֳ )
|-
|{{IPA|/u/}}
||{{IPA|[u]}}
||(as in "flu" but with no diphthongization)
||{{lang|he-Latn|shuruk}} ({{lang|he|וּ}})
||{{lang|he-Latn|kubuts}} ( ֻ )
||
|-
|colspan=6|<nowiki>*</nowiki> <small>The severalfold orthographic representation of each phoneme attests to the broader phonemic range of vowels in earlier forms of Hebrew. Some linguists still regard the Hebrew grammatical entity of [[Shva na]]—marked as [[Shva]] (<big>ְ</big>)—as representing a sixth phoneme, {{IPA|/ə/}}.<!--
This followig is not true. Listen to Hebrew radio via Internet with the speed turned down, and you can hear that they do use a vowel (for Shva) that is less than a segol.
, however the phonetic realisation of any Shva in modern Hebrew is never a [[Schwa]] (the [[mid central vowel]] denoted as {{IPA|[ə]}}) or any vowel otherwise phonetically distinguishable from the other phonemes, but is rather always either identical to those of the phoneme {{IPA|/e/}} or is mute, therefore there is no consensus in this matter.--></small>
|}
In [[Biblical Hebrew]], each vowel had three forms: short, long and interrupted (''{{lang|he-Latn|khataf}}''). However, there is no audible distinction between the three in modern Israeli Hebrew, except that {{lang|he|''tsere''}} is often pronounced {{IPA|[eɪ]}} as in [[Ashkenazi Hebrew]].
====Shva====
The [[Niqqud]] sign "[[Shva]]" represents four grammatical entities: resting (''nakh'' / נָח), moving (''na''' / נָע), floating (''merahef'' / מְרַחֵף) and "bleating" or "bellowing" ('ge'iya' / גְּעִיָּה). In earlier forms of Hebrew, these entities were phonologically and phonetically distinguishable. However, in [[Modern Hebrew]] these distinctions are not observed. For example,
the (first) [[Shva Nach]] in the word קִמַּטְתְ (fem. ''you crumpled'') is usually pronounced {{IPA|[ə]}} (or {{IPA|[ɛ]}}) ({{IPA|[ki'matɛt]}}) even though it should be mute, whereas the [[Shva Na]] in זְמַן (''time''), which theoretically should be pronounced, is usually mute ({{IPA|[zman]}}). Sometimes the shva is pronounced like a tsere when accented, as in the prefix "ve" meaning "and".
====One-letter words====
One-letter words are written attached to the following word. Such items include: the definite [[article (grammar)|article]] ''ha'' ({{IPA|/ha/}}) (="the"); [[preposition]]s ''be'' ({{IPA|/bə/}}) (="in"), ''mi'' ({{IPA|/mi/}}) (="from"), ''le'' ({{IPA|/lə/}}) (="to"); [[Grammatical conjunction|conjunction]]s ''she'' ({{IPA|/ʃe/}}) (="that"), ''ke'' ({{IPA|/kə/}}) (="as", "like"), ''ve'' ({{IPA|/və/}}) (="and"). The vowel that follows the letter thus attached depends in general on the beginning of the next word and the presence of a definite article which may be swallowed by the one-letter word.
The rules determining the vowels to follow these prepositions are complicated and vary with the formality of speech. In most cases they are followed by a moving schwa, and for that reason they are pronounced as ''be'' and ''le''. In more formal speech, if a preposition is put before a word which begins with a moving shva, then the preposition takes the vowel {{IPA|/i/}} (and the initial consonant is weakened), but in colloquial speech these changes often do not occur. For example, colloquial ''be-kfar'' (="in a village") corresponds to the more formal ''bi-khfar''. If ''l'' or ''b'' are followed by the definite article ''ha'', their vowel changes to {{IPA|/a/}}. Thus *''be-ha-matos'' becomes ''ba-matos'' (="in the plane"). However it does not happen to ''mé'' (the form of "min" or "mi-" used before the letter "he"), therefore ''mé-ha-matos'' is a valid form, which means "from the airplane".
:''* indicates that the given example is grammatically [[Standard language|non standard]]''
===Consonants===
The Hebrew word for consonants is ''{{lang|he-Latn|‘itsurim}}'' ({{lang|he|עיצורים}}). The following table lists the Hebrew consonants and their pronunciation in [[IPA]] transcription:
:{| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
!
! colspan="2" | [[Bilabial]]
! colspan="2" | [[Labiodental]]
! colspan="2" | [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! colspan="2" | [[Postalveolar|Post]]-<br>[[Postalveolar|alveolar]]<ref>Postalveolar sounds (with the exception of {{IPA|/ʃ/}}) are not native to Hebrew, and only found in borrowings.</ref>
![[Palatal]]
! colspan="2" | [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! colspan="2" | [[Uvular]]
! colspan="2" | [[glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|- align=center
|[[Nasal consonant|Nasals]]
| colspan="2" |{{IPA|m}}{{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:125%;"> מ</span>}}
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |{{IPA|n}}{{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:125%;"> נ</span>}}
| colspan="2" |
|
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
|- align=center
|[[Plosive|Stops]]
|{{IPA|p}}{{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:125%;"> פּ</span>}}
|{{IPA|b}}{{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:125%;"> בּ</span>}}
| colspan="2" |
|{{IPA|t}}{{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:125%;"> ט,ת,תּ</span>}}
|{{IPA|d}}{{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:125%;"> ד,דּ</span>}}
| colspan="2" |
|
|{{IPA|k}}{{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:125%;"> ק,כּ</span>}}
|{{IPA|g}}{{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:125%;"> ג,גּ</span>}}
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |{{IPA|ʔ}}{{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:125%;"> א,ע</span>}}
|- align=center
|[[Affricate]]s
| colspan="2" |
|
|
|{{IPA|ʦ}}{{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:125%;"> צ</span>}}
|
|colspan="2" |
|
|colspan="2" |
|colspan="2" |
|colspan="2" |
|- align=center
|[[Fricative]]s
| colspan="2" |
|{{IPA|f}}{{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:125%;"> פ</span>}}
|{{IPA|v}}{{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:125%;"> ב,ו</span>}}
|{{IPA|s}}{{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:125%;"> ס,שׂ</span>}}
|{{IPA|z}}{{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:125%;"> ז</span>}}
|{{IPA|ʃ}}{{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:125%;"> שׁ</span>}}
|{{IPA|ʒ}}{{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:125%;"> 'ז</span>}}
|
|{{IPA|x}}{{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:125%;"> ח,כ,ך</span>}}
|
|
|{{IPA|ʁ}}{{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:125%;"> ר</span>}}
| colspan="2" |{{IPA|h}}{{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:125%;"> ה</span>}} {{IPA|ɦ}}
|- align=center
|[[Trill consonant|Trill]]s
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
|
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" | {{IPA|ʀ}}{{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:125%;"> ר</span>}}
|
|- align=center
|[[Approximant]]s
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
|{{IPA|j}}{{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:125%;"> י</span>}}
| colspan="2" |
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|[[Lateral consonant|Lateral]]s
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| colspan="2" |{{IPA|l}}{{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:125%;"> ל</span>}}
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The pairs {{IPA|/b, v/}}, {{IPA|/k, x/}} and {{IPA|/p, f/}} have historically been allophonic. In Modern Hebrew, however, all six sounds are phonemic, due to mergers involving formerly distinct sounds ({{IPA|/v/}} merging with {{IPA|/w/}}, {{IPA|/k/}} merging with {{IPA|/q/}}, {{IPA|/x/}} merging with {{IPA|/ħ/}}), loss of consonant gemination (which formerly distinguished the stop members of the pairs from the fricatives when intervocalic), and the introduction of syllable-initial {{IPA|/f/}} through foreign borrowings.
[[ayin|{{Hebrew|ע}}]] was once pronounced as a [[voiced pharyngeal fricative]]. Most modern [[Ashkenazi]] Jews do not differentiate between [[aleph|{{lang|he|א}}]] and {{lang|he|ע}}; however, [[Mizrahi Jew|Mizrahi]] Jews and Arabs pronounce these phonemes. [[Georgia (country)|Georgian]] Jews pronounce it as a glottalized q. Western European [[Sephardim]] and Dutch [[Ashkenazi]]m traditionally pronounce it {{IPA|[ŋ]}} (like ''ng'' in ''sing'') — a pronunciation which can also be found in the [[Italki]] tradition and, historically, in south-west Germany. (The remnants of this pronunciation are found throughout the Ashkenazi world, in the name "Yankl" and "Yanki", diminutive forms of [[Jacob]], Heb. {{lang|he|יעקב}}.)
Hebrew also has ''[[dagesh]],'' a strengthening. There are two kinds of strengthenings: light (''kal'', known also as ''dagesh lene'') and heavy (''khazak'' or ''dagesh forte''). There are two sub-categories of the heavy dagesh: structural heavy (''khazak tavniti'') and complementing heavy (''khazak mashlim''). The light affects the phonemes {{IPA|/b/}} {{IPA|/k/}} {{IPA|/p/}} (historically, also {{IPA|/g/}}, {{IPA|/d/}} and {{IPA|/t/}}) in the beginning of a word, or after a resting schwa. Structural heavy emphases belong to certain vowel patterns (''mishkalim'' and ''binyanim''; see the section on grammar below), and correspond originally to doubled consonants. Complementing strengthening is added when [[assimilation (linguistics)|vowel assimilation]] takes place. As mentioned before, the emphasis influences which of a pair of (former) [[allophone]]s is pronounced. Historical evidence indicates that {{IPA|/g/}}, {{IPA|/d/}} and {{IPA|/t/}} also used to have allophones marked by the presence or absence of ''dagesh kal'': these have disappeared from modern Hebrew pronunciation though the distinction in writing still appears in fully pointed texts. All consonants except [[guttural]]s and {{IPA|/r/}} may receive the heavy emphasis (''dagesh khazak'').
====Historical sound changes====
Standard (non-Oriental) Israeli Hebrew (SIH) has undergone a number of splits and mergers in its development from [[Biblical Hebrew]].<ref>[[Robert Hetzron]]. (1987). Hebrew. In ''The World's Major Languages'', ed. [[Bernard Comrie]], 686–704. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-520521-9.</ref>
* BH {{IPA|/b/}} had two [[allophone]]s, {{IPA|[b]}} and {{IPA|[v]}}; the {{IPA|[v]}} allophone has merged with {{IPA|/w/}} into SIH {{IPA|/v/}}
* BH {{IPA|/k/}} had two allophones, {{IPA|[k]}} and {{IPA|[x]}}; the {{IPA|[k]}} allophone has merged with {{IPA|/q/}} into SIH {{IPA|/k/}}, while the {{IPA|[x]}} allophone has merged with {{IPA|/ħ/}} into SIH {{IPA|/x/}}
* BH {{IPA|/t/}} and {{IPA|/tˤ/}} have merged into SIH {{IPA|/t/}}
* BH {{IPA|/ʕ/}} and {{IPA|/ʔ/}} have usually merged into SIH {{IPA|/ʔ/}}, but this distinction may also be upheld in educated speech of many [[Sephardim]] and some [[Ashkenazim]]
* BH {{IPA|/p/}} had two allophones, {{IPA|[p]}} and {{IPA|[f]}}; the incorporation of loanwords into Modern Hebrew has probably resulted in a split, so that {{IPA|/p/}} and {{IPA|/f/}} are separate phonemes.
===Stress===
Terminal syllabic stress is by far the most common, penultimate stress being the only other grammatically acceptable option. The two options have names: Terminal stress is called ''milera'' (מלרע) and penultimate ''mil'eil'' (מלעיל). Spoken Hebrew admits of more stress variation than the official dialect. Stress has phonemic value, e.g. "ילד", when pronounced {{IPA|/'jeled/}}, means "boy", whereas when pronounced {{IPA|/je'led/}} it means "will give birth to".
==Grammar==
{{main|Hebrew grammar}}
'''Hebrew grammar''' is partly [[analytic language|analytic]], expressing such forms as [[dative case|dative]], [[ablative case|ablative]], and [[accusative case|accusative]] using [[preposition]]al particles rather than [[grammatical case]]s. However, inflection plays a decisive role in the formation of the verbs and nouns. E.g. nouns have a construct state, called "smikhut", to denote the relationship of "belonging to": this is the converse of the [[genitive case]] of more inflected languages. Words in smikhut are often combined with [[hyphen]]s. In modern speech, the use of the construct is sometimes interchangeable with the preposition "shel", meaning "of". There are many cases, however, where older declined forms are retained (especially in idiomatic expressions and the like), and "person"-[[enclitic]]s are widely used to "decline" prepositions.
==Writing system==<!-- This section is linked from [[Universal Character Set]] -->
{{main|Hebrew alphabet}}
Modern Hebrew is written from '''right''' to '''left''' using the [[Hebrew alphabet]]. Modern scripts are based on the "square" letter form (which was developed from the Aramaic script). A similar system is used in handwriting, but the letters tend to be more circular in their character, when written in cursive, and sometimes vary markedly from their printed equivalents.
===Vowel signs===
Original Biblical Hebrew text contained nothing but consonants and spaces and this is still the case with [[Sefer Torah|Torah scrolls]] that are used in synagogues. A system of writing vowels called [[niqqud]] (from the root word meaning "points" or "dots") developed around the 5th Century CE. It is used today in printed Bibles and some other religious books and also in poetry, children's literature, and texts for beginning students of Hebrew. Most modern Hebrew texts contain only consonant letters, spaces and western-style [[punctuation]] and to facilitate reading without vowels [[mater lectionis|matres lectionis]] (see below) are often inserted into words which would be written without them in a text with full niqqud. The niqqud system is sometimes used when it is necessary to avoid certain ambiguities of meaning (such as when context is insufficient to distinguish between two identically spelled words) and in the transliteration of foreign names.
===Consonant letters===
All Hebrew consonant phonemes are represented by a single letter. Although a single letter might represent two phonemes — the letter "bet," for example, represents both {{IPA|/b/}} and {{IPA|/v/}} — the two sounds are always related "hard" ([[plosive]]) and "soft" ([[fricative]]) forms, their pronunciation being very often determined by context. In fully pointed texts, the hard form normally has a dot, known as a [[dagesh]], in its center.
There are twenty-seven symbols, representing twenty-two letters, in the Hebrew alphabet, which is called the "aleph bet" because of its first two letters. The letters are as follows: Aleph, Bet/Vet, Gimel, Dalet, He, Vav, Zayin, Chet, Tet, Yod (pronounced Yud by Israelis), Kaf/Chaf, Lamed, Mem, Nun, Samekh, Ayin, Pe/Fe, Tzadi, Qof (pronounced Koof by Israelis), Resh, Shin/Sin, Tav.
*The letters Bet, Kaf and Pe (historically, also the letters Gimel, Dalet and Tav) are softened to [[fricative]]s when following a vowel (except when doubled). In a fully pointed text, this distinction is indicated by the use of ''dagesh'' to denote the hard sound. (Occasionally, a horizontal line called ''[[Rafe (diacritic)|rafe]]'', written above the letter, is used to indicate the softened sound.) This has led to the misconception that there are separate letters "Vet", "Chaf" and "Fe".
*The letter Shin/Sin is usually pronounced Sh, but occasionally S. In fully pointed texts, this distinction is indicated by a dot at the top left hand corner (for Sin) or the top right hand corner (for Shin). This may indicate that the pronunciation prevailing when the consonantal spelling of Hebrew was fixed was different from that prevailing when the system of pointing was devised, so that the Sin dot is a permanent reminder saying "this letter is spelled Shin but pronounced Samech". (In [[Samaritan Hebrew]] Shin is pronounced Sh wherever it occurs, and there is no "Sin".) Others regard Sin as a genuine phoneme separate from both Shin and Samech and believe that it must once have had a distinct pronunciation.
*There are two written forms of the letters Kaf/Chaf, Mem, Nun, Pe and Tzadi. Each of these is written differently when appearing at the end of a word than when appearing at the beginning or in the middle of the word. The version used at the end of a word is referred to as Final Kaf, Final Mem, etc. Except in the case of Mem, the difference is that the final form has a tail pointing straight down, whereas in the normal form it bends to the left to point to the next letter.
===Mater lectionis===
The letters he, vav and yod can represent consonantal sounds ({{IPA|/h/}}, {{IPA|/v/}} and {{IPA|/j/}}, respectively) or serve as a markers for vowels. In the latter case, these letters are called "{{lang|he-Latn|emot q'ria}}" ("[[mater lectionis|{{lang|la|matres lectionis}}]]" in Latin, "mothers of reading" in English).
The letter he at the end of a word usually indicates a final {{IPA|/a/}}, which usually indicates feminine gender, or {{IPA|/e/}}, which usually indicates masculine gender. In rare cases it may also indicate {{IPA|/o/}}, such as in {{lang|he|שְׁלֹמֹה}} (''Shlomo'', [[Solomon]]). It may also indicate a possessive suffix for 3rd person feminine singular ({{lang|he|סִפְרָהּ}}, ''her book''), but in that case the he is not a mater lectionis but the consonant {{IPA|/h/}}, although in spoken Hebrew the distinction is rarely made. In texts with niqqud the he is written with a [[mappiq]] in the latter case. Correct pronunciation must be guessed according to context and niqqud may be used for disambiguation.
Vav may represent {{IPA|/o/}} or {{IPA|/u/}}, and yod may represent {{IPA|/i/}} or {{IPA|/e/}}. Sometimes a double yud is used for {{IPA|/ej/}} or {{IPA|/aj/}} (this convention is derived from Yiddish). In some modern Israeli texts, the letter alef is used to indicate long {{IPA|/a/}} sounds in foreign names, particularly those of Arabic origin.
In some words there is a choice of whether to use a mater lectionis or not, and in modern printed texts matres lectionis are sometimes used even for short vowels, which is considered to be grammatically incorrect though instances are found as far back as Talmudic times. Spelling with matres lectionis is called ''male'' (full), while spelling without matres lectionis is called ''haser'' (defective). In Talmudic times texts from Palestine were noticeably more inclined to ''male'' spellings than texts from Babylonia: this may reflect the influence of Greek, which had full alphabetic spelling. Similarly in the Middle Ages Ashkenazim tended to use ''male'' spellings under the influence of European languages, while Sephardim tended to use ''haser'' spellings under the influence of Arabic.
===Indicating stress===
There is no one universally accepted sign for indicating stress in Hebrew texts. Usually [[stress (linguistics)|stress]] is unmarked. In some vocalized texts, such as prayer books, when the stress is not on the last syllable it is marked with a small stroke placed underneath the first consonant of the stressed syllable to the left of the vowel mark (occasionally, as in [[Andrew B. Davidson|Davidson]]'s grammar, a different sign is used, to avoid confusion with ''meteg'', see next paragraph). In vocalized Biblical texts stress is shown by the appropriate [[cantillation]] mark.
A secondary stress in a word may be marked with a vertical stroke, called a ''meteg'' (מתג), placed to the left of the vowel: this symbol is available in Unicode. ''Meteg'' is most usually found two syllables before the main stress: thus, when the following consonant carries a [[Niqqud|shva]], it follows that that ''shva'' is a sounded one. (For example, the word ''ochlah'', her food, is written in the same way as ''āchěla'', she ate, but ''meteg'' on the first syllable shows that ''āchěla'' is intended.)
These signs are used, if at all, only in texts with niqqud.
==See also==
*[[Cantillation]]
*[[Hebrew alphabet]]
*[[Hebrew literature]]
*[[Niqqud]] (vowel pointing)
*[[Study of the Hebrew language]]
*[[Hebrew phonology]]
*[[Romanization of Hebrew]]
*[[Hebraization of English]]
*[[International Phonetic Alphabet for Hebrew]]
*[[Cursive Hebrew]]
==Notes==
{{reflist}}
==References==
* Hoffman, Joel M, ''In the Beginning: A Short History of the Hebrew Language.'' New York: NYU Press. ISBN 0-8147-3654-8.
*Izre'el, Shlomo, "The emergence of Spoken Israeli Hebrew", in: Benjamin Hary (ed.), ''[http://www.tau.ac.il/humanities/semitic/cosih.html The Corpus of Spoken Israeli Hebrew] (CoSIH): Working Papers I'' (2001)
*Kuzar, Ron, ''Hebrew and Zionism: A Discourse Analytic Cultural Study''. Berlin & New York: Mouton de Gruyter 2001. ISBN 3-11-016993-2, ISBN 3-11-016992-4.
* Sáenz-Badillos, Angel, ''A History of the Hebrew Language'' (trans. John Elwolde). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-55634-1
*Laufer, Asher. "Hebrew", in: Handbook of the International Phonetic Association. Cambridge University Press 1999. ISBN 0-521-65236-7, ISBN 0-521-63751-1.
==External links==
{{InterWiki|code=he}}
{{Wiktionarylang|code=he}}
{{WikisourceWiki|code=he}}
{{wikibooks|Hebrew}}
{{too many links|date=December 2007}}
===Hebrew Learning===
*[http://www.milingua.com Hebrew on the Web] - largest online Hebrew learning site - 2,200 pages
===General===
*[http://pagesperso-orange.fr/babel-site/ivrit.htm Hebrew is Easy]
*[http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/index.html Ancient Hebrew Research Center] Research and Learning Hebrew Resources
===Dictionaries===
*[http://www.hebrewatmilah.org/maskilon1/index.htm Root-based] (Maskilon)
*[http://milon.morfix.co.il/ Word-search] English-Hebrew and Hebrew-English (Morfix)
*[http://www.hebrewatmilah.org/maskilon3/index.htm Hebrew-English] (Maskilon)
*[http://www.faithofgod.net/davar/ Hebrew-English] (DAVAR freeware, English)
*[http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/Hebrew-english/ Hebrew-English] (Webster's Rosetta Edition)
*[http://www.jewishdictionary.co.il English-Hebrew] (Online)
*[http://www.hebrewatmilah.org/maskilon4/index.htm English-Hebrew] (Maskilon)
*[http://www.dicts.info/dictlist1.php?l=Hebrew Collection of Hebrew bilingual dictionaries]
===History of the Hebrew language===
*[http://www.adath-shalom.ca/history_of_hebrewtoc.htm History of the Ancient and Modern Hebrew Language], David Steinberg
*[http://www.adath-shalom.ca/rabin_he.htm Short History of the Hebrew Language], [[Chaim Menachem Rabin|Chaim Rabin]]
*[http://www.adath-shalom.ca/israeli_hebrew_tene.htm Israeli Hebrew], David Tene
*[http://www.adath-shalom.ca/israel_lang_policy_rosen.htm Israel Language Policy and Linguistics], Haiim B. Rosén
*[http://www.adath-shalom.ca/hebrew_words_history.htm Words and their History], E. Y. Kutscher
*[http://www.adath-shalom.ca/hebrew_slang_sappan.htm Hebrew Slang and Foreign Loan Words], Raphael Sappan
*[http://www.sup.org/search/blogthis.cgi?search=0804735409 Language in Time of Revolution], Benjamin Harshav
*[http://www.gm.fh-koeln.de/hebrewtype/englisch/e_willkommen.html Hebrew typography in German speaking regions]
===Complete texts in Hebrew===
*[http://www.mechon-mamre.org Mechon Mamre] - The Bible, Mishnah, Talmud (Babylonian and Palestinian), Tosefta, and Mishneh Torah
*[http://jnul.huji.ac.il/dl/newspapers/eng.html Early Hebrew Newspapers] Thousands of pages of mid- to late-19th-century and early 20th-century newspapers written in Hebrew and readable on line. Including contemporary accounts of the Battle of Gettysburg, the assassination of Czar Alexander II, the Dreyfus affair, etc.
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