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Hebrew is a dirty language for dirty people.
{{Infobox Language
|name=Hebrew
|nativename=עברית ''‘Ivrit''
|pronunciation=[ʔivˈʁit] (standard Israeli (Ashkenazi)), [ʕivˈɾit] (standard Israeli (Sephardi)), [ʕivˈriθ] ([[Mizrahi Hebrew language|Oriental]]), [ivˈʀis] ([[Ashkenazi Hebrew language|Ashkenazi]])
|region=[[Israel]] and other countries, including [[France]], [[UK]], the [[United States]], and the [[West Bank]]
|speakers=around 15 million, (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. [http://www.census.gov/population/cen2000/phc-t37/tab01a.pdf Table 1a.]</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|Hebrew abjad]]
|nation=[[Israel]]
|agency=[[Academy of the Hebrew Language]]<br>(האקדמיה ללשון העברית ''HaAqademia LaLashon Ha‘Ivrit'')
|iso1=he|iso2=heb|iso3=heb|
<!-- Linguasphere code: 12-AAB -->
<!-- The Linguasphere code is for future reference, if Linguasphere codes are put into the infobox. -->}}

:''[[Hebrew]] redirects here. For other uses, such as ethnic [[Hebrews]], see [[Hebrew (disambiguation)]].''

'''Hebrew''' (עִבְרִית or עברית, ''‘Ivrit'') is a [[Semitic languages|Semitic language]] of the [[Afro-Asiatic languages|Afro-Asiatic language family]] spoken by more than seven million people in [[Israel]] and [[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 is spoken by an overwhelming majority of the population.

The core of the [[Tanakh]] (the [[Hebrew Bible]]) is written in [[Classical Hebrew]], and much of its present form is specifically in the dialect of [[Biblical Hebrew]] that scholars believe flourished around the [[6th century BCE]], near the [[Babylonian captivity|Babylonian exile]]. For this reason, Hebrew has been referred to by [[Jew]]s as ''Lĕshôn Ha-Kôdesh'' ({{Ivrit|לשון הקודש}}), "the Sacred Language," since ancient times.

Most linguists agree that after the 6th century BCE when the [[Babylonia|Neo-Babylonian Empire]] destroyed [[Jerusalem]] and exiled its population to Babylon and the [[Persia|Persian Empire]] allowed them to return, the Biblical Hebrew dialect prevalent in the Bible came to be replaced in daily use by new dialects of Hebrew and a local version of [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]]. After the [[2nd century CE]] when the [[Rome|Roman Empire]] exiled the Jewish population of Jerusalem and parts of the [[Bar Kokhba's revolt|Bar Kokhba State]], 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, long extinct outside of Jewish liturgical purposes, was revived at the end of the [[19th century]] by the [[Jew]]ish [[linguist]] [[Eliezer Ben-Yehuda]], owing to the ideology of [[Zionism]]. Eventually it replaced a score of languages spoken by Jews at that time, such as [[Ladino language|Ladino]] (also called Judezmo), [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]], [[Russian language|Russian]], and other languages of the [[Jewish diaspora]].

Because of its large disuse for centuries, Hebrew lacked many modern words. Several were adapted as [[neologisms]] from the Hebrew Bible or borrowed from other languages by Eliezer Ben-Yehuda. 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]].

==History==
As a nationality '''Hebrew''' refers to the ancient [[Israelite]]s, but as a language Hebrew refers to one of several dialects of the [[Canaanite languages|Canaanite]] language. Hebrew (Israel) and [[Moabite language|Moabite]] (Jordan) can be called Southern Canaanite dialects while [[Phoenician language|Phoenician]] (Lebanon) can be called a Northern Canaanite dialect. Canaanite is closely related to [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] and to a lesser extent South-Central [[Arabic language|Arabic]]. Whereas other Canaanite dialects have become extinct, Hebrew survived. Hebrew flourished as a spoken language in Israel from the 10th century BCE until just before the Byzantine Period in the 3rd or 4th century CE. (See below, [[Hebrew language#Aramaic displacing Hebrew as a spoken language|Aramaic displacing Hebrew as a spoken language]].) Afterward Hebrew continued as a literary language until the Modern Era when it revived as a spoken language in the 19th century.
[[Image:Hebrew speakers around the world.PNG|thumb|500px|Map of Hebrew speaking communities around the World]]

===Origins of Hebrew===
Hebrew is an [[Afro-Asiatic languages|Afro-Asiatic language]]. This language family is generally thought by linguists to have originated somewhere in northeastern [[Africa]], and began to diverge around the [[8th millennium BCE]], although there is much debate about the exact date and place. One branch of this family, [[Semitic languages|Semitic]], eventually reached the [[Middle East]]; it gradually differentiated into a variety of related languages.

By the end of the [[3rd millennium BCE]] the ancestral [[Aramaic]], [[Ugaritic]] and [[Canaanite languages|Canaanite]] languages were spoken in the [[Levant]] alongside the influential dialects of [[Ebla]] and [[Akkad]]. As the Hebrew founders from northern [[Harran|Haran]] filtered south into and came under the influence of the Levant, like many immigrants into Canaan including the [[Philistines]], they adopted Canaanite dialects.

===Hebrew as a distinct Canaanite dialect===
The first written evidence of distinctive Hebrew, the [[Gezer calendar]], dates back to the [[10th century BCE]] 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 BCE.]]
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 the hieroglyphs of the Egyptian writing, 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 BCE]].

===Classical Hebrew===
In its widest sense, ''Classical Hebrew'' means the spoken language of the ancient land of Israel flourishing between the 10th century BCE and the turn of the 4th century CE. [http://www.arts.ualberta.ca/JHS/Articles/article_36.pdf] 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 BCE, corresponding to the Monarchic Period until the Babylonian Exile and represented by certain texts in the Hebrew Bible ([[Tanakh]]), notably the Song of Moses (Exodus 15) and the Song of Deborah (Judges 5). Also called Old Hebrew or Paleo-Hebrew. Historically, it used a form of the [[Phoenician alphabet|Canaanite script]].
* '''[[Biblical Hebrew]]''' around the 6th century, corresponding to the Babylonian Exile and represented by the bulk of the Hebrew Bible that attains much of its present form around this time, give-or-take. Also called Classical Biblical Hebrew (or Classical Hebrew in the narrowest sense). It adopted the [[Aramaic alphabet|Imperial Aramaic script]].
*'''Late Biblical Hebrew''' from the 6th to the 4th century BCE, that corresponds to the Persian Period and is represented by certain texts in the Hebrew Bible, notably the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.
* '''Dead Sea Scroll Hebrew''' from the 3rd century BCE to the 1st century CE, 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 BCE evolved into the [[Hebrew square script]] of the later scrolls in the 1st century CE, still in use today.
* '''[[Mishnaic Hebrew]]''' from the 1st to the 3rd or 4th century CE, 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 BCE to 2nd century BCE and extant in certain Dead Sea Scrolls) and "Mishnaic Hebrew" (including several dialects from the 3rd century BCE to the 3rd century CE 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 CE, 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 CE.

===Amoraic Hebrew===
The term [[Rabbinic Hebrew]] generally refers to the Hebrew dialects found in the [[Talmud]], besides the quotes from the Hebrew Bible. The dialects organize into [[Mishnaic Hebrew]] (also called Tannaitic Hebrew, Early Rabbinic Hebrew, or Mishnaic Hebrew I), which was a [[spoken language]], and [[Amoraic Hebrew]] (also called Late Rabbinic Hebrew or Mishnaic Hebrew II), which was a [[literary language]].

The earlier section of the Talmud is the [[Mishnah]] that was published around 200 CE and was written in the earlier Mishnaic dialect. The Talmud also adds the [[Tosefta]] being other texts from this dialect. The dialect is also found in certain Dead Sea Scrolls. Mishnaic Hebrew is considered one of the dialects of Classical Hebrew that functioned as a living language in the land of Israel.

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]], generally comments on the Mishnah and Tosefta in Aramaic. Nevertheless, Hebrew survived as a liturgical and literary language in the form of later [[Amoraic Hebrew]], which sometimes occurs in the text of the Gemara.

===Medieval Hebrew===
[[Image:Aleppo codex.jpg|thumb|Aleppo Codex: 10th century Hebrew Bible with Masoretic pointing]]

After the Talmud, various regional literary dialects of [[Medieval Hebrew]] evolve. The most important is [[Tiberian Hebrew]] or Masoretic Hebrew, a local dialect of Tiberias in Galilee that becomes the standard for vocalizing the Hebrew Bible and thus influences all other regional dialects of Hebrew. This Tiberian Hebrew from the 7th to 10th century CE 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 BCE, whose original pronunciation must be reconstructed.

Tiberian Hebrew incorporates the remarkable scholarship of the [[Masoretes]] (from ''masoret'' meaning "tradition"), who add [[niqqudot|vowel points]] and 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]], whence 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.

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. Hebrew was also used as a language of communication among Jews from different countries, particularly for the purpose of international trade.

<div id="Modern Hebrew"></div>
===Modern Israeli Hebrew===
[[Image:Ben-yehuda.jpg|thumb|Eliezer Ben-Yehuda]]
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 and borrows (often technical) terms from European languages and (often colloquial) terms from Arabic to function as a modern language.

The [[revival of Hebrew language]] as a [[First language|mother tongue]] was initiated by the efforts of [[Eliezer Ben-Yehuda]] ([[1858]]-[[1922]]) ({{Ivrit|אליעזר בן–יהודה}}). He joined the [[Zionism|Jewish national movement]] and in [[1881]] immigrated to [[Land of Israel|Eretz Israel]], 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|vernacularization]] 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 syntax and form, was to take its place among the current languages of the nations.

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> (due to the fact that 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 pre-State Israel who at the turn of the [[20th century]] were arriving in large numbers from diverse countries and speaking different languages. However, it has been said that Hebrew unified the new immigrants coming to Israel, creating a common language and "culture." 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 pre-State Israel.

=== Hebrew language in the USSR ===
{{main|History of the Jews in Russia and the Soviet Union|Yevsektsiya}}

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 [http://www.jewish-heritage.org/prep26.htm]). 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 handled as a foreign language ([http://berkovich-zametki.com/Nomer16/MN31.htm]). 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 Hebrew language were pilloried and sentenced for "counter revolutionary" and later for "anti-Soviet" activities. {{fact}}

==Regional Hebrew dialects==
According to Ethnologue, dialects of Hebrew include Israeli Hebrew, Oriental Hebrew (Iraqi Hebrew, Yemenite Hebrew), Sephardi Hebrew (Spanish-orientated Hebrew) and Ashkenazi Hebrew.

[[Ashkenazi Hebrew]] is still widely used in Ashkenazi Jewish religious services and studies in Israel and abroad, particularly in the [[Haredi]] community. It was influenced by the [[Yiddish language]].

[[Sephardi Hebrew language|Sephardi Hebrew]] is the basis of Standard Hebrew and not all that different from it, although traditionally it has had a greater range of [[phoneme]]s. It was influenced by the [[Ladino language]].

[[Mizrahi Hebrew language|Mizrahi (Oriental) Hebrew]] is actually a collection of dialects (including [[Yemenite Hebrew language|Yemenite]] or Temanit) spoken liturgically by Jews in various parts of the [[Arab]] and [[Islam|Islamic]] world. It was possibly influenced by the [[Aramaic language]], although some linguists maintain that it is the direct heir of [[Biblical Hebrew]], and thus represents the true dialect of Hebrew.

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 some Ashkenazic consonant sounds with Yiddish-style influence&mdash;its recurring feature being simplification of differences among a wide array of pronunciations. This simplifying tendency also accounts for the collapse of the Ashkenazic /t/ and /s/ pronunciations of unaspirated and aspirated ת into the single phoneme /t/. Most Sephardic and Mizrahi dialects share this feature, though some (such as those of Iraq and Yemen) differentiate between these two pronunciations as /t/ and /θ/. Within Israel, the pronunciation of "Standard" Hebrew, however, 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 ר as {{unicode|[ʀ]}}, (a uvular trill, as in Yiddish and some varieties of [[German language|German]]) or as {{unicode|[ʁ]}} (a uvular fricative, as in [[French language|French]] or many varieties of German), rather than as [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.

==Coexistence with Aramaic==
[[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] is a North-West [[Semitic language]], like Canaanite. Its name derives either from "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.

===Aramaic as the international language of the Mideast===
The language of 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 ''Judah'', were allowed to return to Jerusalem to estabilish a Persian province, usually called ''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 borrowed 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.

=== Aramaic displacing Hebrew as a spoken language ===
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]] 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 archeological evidence and especially linguistic analysis of the [[Dead Sea Scrolls]] has qualified the previous consensus. Alongside Aramaic, Hebrew also flourished as a living spoken language. Hebrew flourished until near the end of the [[Iudaea Province|Roman Period]], when it continued on as a literary language by the [[History of Palestine#Byzantine Period|Byzantine Period]] in 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.

Although the survival of Hebrew as a spoken language until the Byzantine Period is well-known among Hebrew linguists, there remains a lag in awareness among some historians who do not necessarily keep up-to-speed with linguistic research and rely on outdated scholarship. Nevertheless, the vigor of Hebrew is slowly but surely making its way through the academic literature. ''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 1997 in its third edition, that Hebrew "continued to be used as a spoken and written language in the New Testament period".<ref name=OxfordDictionaryChristianChruch> "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.[http://www.arts.ualberta.ca/JHS/Articles/article_36.pdf] Israeli scholars now tend to take it for granted that Hebrew as a spoken language is a feature of Israel's Roman Period.

===Jewish Dialects of Aramaic===
The international language of Aramaic radiated into various regional dialects. In and around Israel, 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 wrote and published his book [[Jewish War]] in Old Judean Aramaic but later translated it into Koine Greek to publish it for the Roman imperial court. Unfortunately Josephus's Aramaic version does not survive.

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 Middle 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 languages coexisting with Hebrew==
''See main article [[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|Karaim]] 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.

==Sounds in Israeli Hebrew==
{{IPA notice}}

''See main article [[Hebrew phonology]]''

Hebrew has two kinds of [[lexical stress|stress]]: on the last syllable (''milra‘'') and on the penultimate syllable (the one preceding the last, ''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 ''mil‘el''-stressed ''ókhel'' (="food") and ''milra‘''-stressed ''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, however, also true in English, in, for example, the English word "conduct," in its nominal and verbal forms.

===Vowels===
[[Image:Hebrew vowel chart.png|right|The vowel phonemes of Modern Israeli Hebrew]]
The Hebrew word for [[vowel]]s is ''tnu'ot''. The marks for these vowels are called [[Nikud]]. Israeli Hebrew has 6 vowel [[phoneme]]s:

* /a/ (as in "spa") - The vowels kamats (ָ) and patakh (ַ)
* /e/ (as in "pet") - The vowels segol (ֶ) and tsere (ֵ)
* /i/ (as in "ski") - The vowel khirik (ִ)
* /o/ (as in "go") - The vowel kholam (ֹ)
* /u/ (as in "flu") - The vowels shuruk (·) and kubuts (ֻ)
* /ə/ (as in "about") - The vowel shva na' (ְ)

Recently many Israeli speakers have merged /ə/ into /e/, reducing the vowel phonemes to 5.
<!-- schwa is widely used in Modern Israeli Hebrew and although it is sometimes pronounced as /e/, it is still pronounced by Hebrew speakers of any origin -->

In [[Biblical Hebrew]], each vowel had three forms: short, long and interrupted (''khataf''). However, there is no audible distinction between the three in modern Israeli Hebrew, except that [[niqqud|tsere]] is often pronounced [{{IPA|eɪ}}] as in [[Ashkenazi Hebrew]].

Hebrew is written with a special vowel called "shva". Depending on its context in a word, it can be pronounced in two ways, called resting ("nakh"), and moving ("na'"). The resting shva is silent, while the moving shva is pronounced /ə/.

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 /b/ /k/ /p/ 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 /g/, /d/ and /t/ used to have strengthened versions of their own, however they had disappeared from virtually all the spoken dialects of Hebrew. All other consonants except [[guttural]]s may receive the heavy emphasis, as well.

One-letter articles are always attached to the following word. Such words include: the definite [[article (grammar)|article]] ''ha'' (="the"); [[preposition]]s ''be'' (="in"), ''me'' (="from"), ''le'' (="to"); [[Grammatical conjunction|conjunction]]s ''she'' (="that"), ''ke'' (="as", "like"), ''ve'' (="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 for the 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'', ''me'' 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 /i/ (and the initial consonant is weakened), but in colloquial speech these changes do not occur. For example, colloquial ''be-kfar'' (="in a village") becomes ''bi-khfar''. If ''l'' or ''b'' are followed by the definite article ''ha'', their vowel changes to /a/. Thus *''be-ha-matos'' becomes ''ba-matos'' (="in the plane"). However it does not happen to ''m'', therefore ''me-ha-matos'' is a valid form, which means "from the plane".

:''* indicates that the given example is not grammatically correct''

===Consonants===
The Hebrew word for consonants is ''‘itsurim'' (עיצורים).

{| 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]]
! colspan="2" | [[Uvular]]
! colspan="2" | [[Glottal]]
|- align=center
|[[Plosive|Stops]]
|{{IPA|p}}
|{{IPA|b}}
| colspan="2" |
|{{IPA|t}}
|{{IPA|d}}
| colspan="2" |
|
|{{IPA|k}}
|{{IPA|g}}
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |{{IPA|ʔ}}
|- align=center
|[[Fricative]]s
| colspan="2" |
|{{IPA|f}}
|{{IPA|v}}
|{{IPA|s}}
|{{IPA|z}}
|{{IPA|ʃ}}
|{{IPA|ʒ}}
|
| colspan="2" |
|{{IPA|χ}}
|{{IPA|ʁ}}
|{{IPA|h}}
|
|- align=center
|[[Affricate]]s
| colspan="2" |
|
|
|{{IPA|ʦ}}
|
|
|
|
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
|
|
|- align=center
|[[Nasal consonant|Nasals]]
| colspan="2" |{{IPA|m}}
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |{{IPA|n}}
| colspan="2" |
|
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
|- align=center
|[[Lateral]]s
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |{{IPA|l}}
| colspan="2" |
|
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
|- align=center
|[[Approximant]]s
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
|{{IPA|j}}
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
|}

The pairs {{IPA|/b, v/, /k, x/ and /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.

ע was once pronounced as a [[voiced pharyngeal fricative]]. Most modern [[Ashkenazi]] Jews ignore this and do not differentiate between א and ע; however, [[Mizrahi Jew|Mizrahi]] Jews and Arabs pronounce these phonemes. [[Georgia (country)|Georgian]] Jews pronounce it as a glottalized g. 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.

====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|/χ/}}
* 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.

==Grammar==
''See main article [[Hebrew grammar]]

'''Hebrew grammar''' is mostly [[analytic language|analytical]], 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 does play an important role in the formation of the verbs, nouns and the [[genitive case|genitive]] construct, which is called "smikhut". Words in smikhut are often combined with [[hyphen]]s.

==Writing system==
Modern Hebrew is written from right to left using the [[Hebrew alphabet]]. Modern scripts are based on the "square" letter form. A similar system is used in handwriting, but the letters tend to be more circular in their character, and sometimes vary markedly from their printed equivalents. Biblical Hebrew text contains nothing but consonants and spaces, and most modern Hebrew texts contain only consonants, spaces and western-style [[punctuation]]. A pointing system (nikud, from the root word meaning "points" or "dots") developed around the 5th Century CE is used to indicate vowels and syllabic stresses in some religious books, and is almost always found in modern poetry, children's literature, and texts for beginning students of Hebrew. The system is also used sparingly 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.

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 /b/ and /v/ — the two sounds are always related "hard" ([[plosive]]) and "soft" ([[fricative]]) forms, their pronunciaton being very often determined by context. In fully pointed texts, the hard form normally has a dot, known as a [[dagesh]], in its center.

The letters hei, vav and yud can represent consonantal sounds (/h/, /v/ and /i/, respectively) or serve as a markers for vowels. In the latter case, these letters are called "emot qria" ("[[mater lectionis|matres lectionis]]" in Latin, "mothers of reading" in English). The letter hei at the end of a word usually indicates a final /a/, which in turn is usually indicative of feminine gender. Vav may represent /o/ or /u/, and yod may represent /i/. Sometimes a double yud is used for /ej/. In some modern Israeli texts, the letter alef is used to indicate long /a/ sounds in foreign names, particularly those of Arabic origin.

Terminal syllabic emphasis is most common, penultimate emphasis being the only other official option. Fully pointed texts will note variations with a vertical line placed underneath the first consonant of the emphasized syllable, to the left of the vowel mark if there is one. Spoken Hebrew admits of more stress variation than the official dialect.

===Romanization===
''See also [[Romanization of Hebrew]]''

The Hebrew language is normally written in the [[Hebrew alphabet]]. Due to publishing difficulties, and the unfamiliarity of many readers with the alphabet, there are many ways of transcribing Hebrew into [[Roman alphabet|Roman letters]]. The most accepted method is the [[International Phonetic Alphabet]]. It is used (in a simplified [[ASCII]] form) in the section concerned with [[Hebrew language/Phonology|phonology]], to describe the sounds of the Hebrew language. However, the [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]] is not well known, and is often considered cumbersome for transcribing pronunciations for a general audience. Therefore this article uses a different system to express Hebrew pronunciation, and at least some orthographic peculiarities. The system comes down to the following:
* The letter tsadi (צ) is transcribed as "ts" (although "tz", "z" or "s" is usually acceptable).
* The letter ayin (ע) is transcribed as ', the same as alef. In word-final position, this phoneme is always preceded by the vowel /a/.
* The letter shin (ש) is transcribed as "sh", and the letter sin as "s".
* Both the letter tav (ת) and the letter tet (ט) are transcribed as "t".
* The letter khet (ח) is transcribed by "kh" (although "ch" or "h" is usually acceptable).
* The letter kuf (ק) is transcribed by "k" (although "q" is usually acceptable).
* The letter vav (ו) is transcribed as "v", but is omtted when silent.
* The letter yod (י) is transcribed as "y", but is omitted when silent.
* The letter he (ה) is transcribed as "h", but is omitted when silent at the end of a word.
* Single-letter prepositions and the definite article are separated with a dash (-) from their subject.
* Syllable stress and shva are not marked.
* The vowels are always written.

==See also==
*[[Cantillation]]
*[[List of common phrases in various languages#Hebrew (Semitic)|Common phrases in Hebrew]]
*[[Hebrew alphabet]]
*[[Hebrew literature]]
*[[Niqqud]] (vowel pointing)
*[[Study of the Hebrew language]]
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Hebrew Wikipedia:Hebrew]
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(Hebrew) Wikipedia:Naming conventions (Hebrew)]

==Notes==
<references />

==Bibliography==
* [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0814736548 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.), ''The Corpus of Spoken Israeli Hebrew (CoSIH): Working Papers I'' (2001) [http://www.tau.ac.il/humanities/semitic/cosih.html]
*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.
* [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0521556341 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}}
{{wikibookspar||Hebrew}}

*[http://talkhebrew.net/ Online Hebrew community] To learn Hebrew and find Hebrew partners.
*[http://www.ethnologue.org/show_language.asp?code=heb Ethnologue report for Hebrew]
*[http://hebrew-academy.huji.ac.il/english.html Academy of Hebrew Language], see [[Academy of the Hebrew Language]]

*History of the Hebrew Language
**[http://www.adath-shalom.ca/history_of_hebrew.htm History of the 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

*Grammar
**[http://foundationstone.com.au/HtmlSupport/FrameSupport/onlineHebrewTutorialFrame.html Online Hebrew Tutorial] (foundationstone)
**[http://perso.wanadoo.fr/babel-site/ Hebrew is easy] (babel-site)
**[http://www.adath-shalom.ca/gk_cont.htm Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar]
**[http://www.hebrew-verbs.co.il Learn Hebrew Verbs]

*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.hebrewatmilah.org/maskilon4/index.htm English-Hebrew] (Maskilon)

*General
**[http://www.yiwoodmere.org/library/cybrary/hebrew.html Learning Hebrew - Links], Young Israel
**[http://koti.phnet.fi/petripaavola/hebrewalpahbets_aleph.html Hebrew alphabeths with numeral values and literal- and symbolic meanings]
**[http://www.mikledet.com Mikledet.com - Send Hebrew emails without having a Hebrew keyboard.]

{{Jewish language}}

[[Category:Canaanite languages]]
[[Category:Hebrew language| ]]
[[Category:Judaism]]
[[Category:Languages of Israel]]
[[Category:Semitic languages]]
[[Category:Old Testament topics]]

[[ang:Hebrēisc sprǣc]]
[[ar:لغة عبرية]]
[[be:Іўрыт]]
[[bs:Hebrejski jezik]]
[[br:Hebraeg]]
[[bg:Иврит]]
[[ca:Hebreu]]
[[cs:Hebrejština]]
[[cy:Hebraeg]]
[[da:Hebraisk (sprog)]]
[[de:Hebräische Sprache]]
[[arc:ܗܒܪܘ]]
[[et:Heebrea keel]]
[[el:Εβραϊκή γλώσσα]]
[[es:Idioma hebreo]]
[[eo:Hebrea lingvo]]
[[eu:Hebreera]]
[[fa:عبری]]
[[fr:Hébreu]]
[[ga:Eabhrais]]
[[gd:Eabhra]]
[[gl:Lingua hebrea]]
[[ko:히브리어]]
[[hy:Եբրայերեն]]
[[hi:इब्रानी]]
[[id:Bahasa Ibrani]]
[[it:Lingua ebraica]]
[[he:עברית]]
[[kw:Ebrow]]
[[lad:Idioma ebreo]]
[[la:Lingua Hebraica]]
[[lt:Hebrajų kalba]]
[[li:Hebreeuws]]
[[ln:Liébeleo]]
[[hu:Ivrit nyelv]]
[[ms:Bahasa Ibrani]]
[[nl:Hebreeuws]]
[[ja:ヘブライ語]]
[[no:Hebraisk språk]]
[[nn:Hebraisk språk]]
[[ug:ئىبرانى تىلى]]
[[nds:Hebrääsche Spraak]]
[[pl:Język hebrajski]]
[[pt:Língua hebraica]]
[[ro:Limba ebraică]]
[[ru:Иврит]]
[[sq:Hebraishtja]]
[[simple:Hebrew language]]
[[sk:Hebrejčina]]
[[sl:Hebrejščina]]
[[sr:Хебрејски језик]]
[[sh:Hebrejski jezik]]
[[fi:Heprea]]
[[sv:Hebreiska]]
[[tl:Wikang Hebreo]]
[[ta:எபிரேய மொழி]]
[[th:ภาษาฮีบรู]]
[[tr:İbranice]]
[[uk:Гебрейська мова]]
[[yi:העברעיש]]
[[zh:希伯来语]]

Revision as of 20:52, 17 September 2006

Hebrew is a dirty language for dirty people.

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