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Hebrew |
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| Language Notes |
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| Geographical Distribution |
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Israel |
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| No. of Speakers |
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6 million (including approximately 500,000 non-Jewish speakers in Gaza/West Bank/Israel). Nearly 200,000 in the United States. |
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| Origin |
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Hebrew is an Afro-Asiatic language. Linguists and archaeologists generally believe that this language family originated somewhere in northeastern Africa and began to diverge around the 8th millennium BCE. (This theory is however, at odds with traditional reading of the Torah.) One branch of this family, Semitic, eventually reached the Middle East; where it gradually differentiated into a variety of related languages.
By the end of the 3rd millennium BCE the ancestral languages of Aramaic, Ugaritic and other various Canaanite languages were spoken in the Levant alongside the influential dialects of Ebla and Akkad. As the Hebrew founders from northern Haran filtered south into and came under the influence of the Levant, like many sojourners into Canaan including the Philistines, they adopted Canaanite dialects. The first written evidence of distinctive Hebrew, the Gezer calendar, dates back to the 10th century BCE, the traditional time of the reign of David and Solomon. It 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 one that through the Greeks and Etruscans later became the Roman script. The Gezer calendar is written without any vowels and it does not use consonants to imply vowels even in the places where more modern spelling requires it. |
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| Dialects / Variations |
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According to Ethnologue, dialects of Hebrew include Standard Hebrew (also known as General/Modern Israeli Hebrew or Europeanized Hebrew), and Oriental Hebrew (also know as Arabized Hebrew or Yemenite Hebrew).
In practice, there is also Ashkenazi Hebrew, still widely used in Ashkenazi Jewish religious services and studies in Israel and abroad. It was influenced by the Yiddish language.
Sephardi Hebrew language is the basis of Standard Hebrew and not all that different from it, although traditionally it has had a greater range of phonemes. It was influenced by the Ladino language.
Mizrahi (Oriental) Hebrew is actually a collection of dialects (including Yemenite) spoken liturgically by Jews in various parts of the Arab and Islamic world. It was influenced by the Arabic language.
Nearly every immigrant to Israel is 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 Ashkenazic consonant sounds—its recurring feature being simplification of differences among a wide array of pronunciations. Within Israel, the pronunciation of "Standard Hebrew", however, more often reflects the national or ethnic origin of the individual speaker, rather than the specific recommendations of the Academy. The pronunciation of certain phonemes is often used as a determinant among Israelis when ascertaining the national origin of perceived foreigners. |
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| Alphabet / Script |
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Modern Hebrew script was derived from a script known as proto-Hebrew or Early Aramaic. Like the old Semitic/Phoencian script, it is written from right to left in horizontal lines and has alphabet consisting of 22 letters.
Five of the letters have a “final form” (a different “letter”) that is used when they appear at the end of a word.
Standard western numerals (1,2,3 etc.) are used, as the script does not contain notations for numerals. |
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| Learn Hebrew at Cambridge Institute : |
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Hebrew Lessons
The Basic Hebrew Course offers lessons specially designed for beginners and for those who intend to brush up their language skills. The course covers simple dialogue (with the aid of English translation), basic grammar, vocabulary and expressions. You will also learn about formal introductions and addressing people.
In each lesson, illustrations of the Jewish culture and customs will be presented, offering you a glimpse of their distinct lifestyle and diverse experiences. This will allow you to have a better “feel” of the language as it is used in its native context.
fter completing the basic level, you have the option of progressing to our Intermediate Hebrew Course.
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