the HEBREW

LANGUAGE

language NAME

  • not "Jewish"
  • not "Israelish"
  • not even "Yiddish"

HISTORY

  • The Bible

(Old Testament, or TaNaKh)

*opens from right to left!

  • Timeline

 

  • Modern Hebrew - challenges

 

חשמל

מחשב

WRITING SYSTEM

You have your alphabet all to yourself?!

alphabet... 22 letters only!

 

(did you count?)

only consonants have graphic representation in the alphabet!

Texts are written without vowels, book are read without vowels...

TLPHN

How

can we read without vowels?

without vowels

with vowels

טֶלֶפוֹן

טלפון

But! There is a system for recording vowels:

"nikud"

Books for children, and the Bible, and poetry, and some foreign names appear with "nikud"

text without vowels

text with vowels

peculiarities

 

  • "sofiyot" - changing shapes at the end

more peculiarities

 

  •   "dagesh" - a dot that changes the sound

 

 

and more peculiarities

 

  • "vav" - cosonat serving as a vowel! :)

 

spelling challenges

 

  •  T         ט-ת
  •  KCH    ח-כ
  •  V         ו-ב
  •  K         כ-ק

 Kyôt der meister wol bekant

ze Dôlet verworfen ligen vant

in heidenischer schrifte

dirre âventiure gestifte.

der karakter â b c

muoser hân gelernet ê,

ân den list von nigrômanzî.

ez half daz im der touf was bî:

anders wær diz mær noch unvernumn.

Wolfram von Eschenbach, Parzival,

Buch IX, 453:11-19

"

"

PRONUNCIATION

in general - simple!

 

 

  • צ - ts
  • ח - kh

 

 

  • ר - "r"
  • ע

GRAMMAR

basics

Word Order

  • N+V

 

  • N+Adj

 

  • N+Adj+V

תלמיד שר

 

תלמיד טוב

 

תלמיד טוב שר

(talmid shar)

 

(talmid tov)

 

(talmid tov shar)

Gender

(talmid)

Fem.

Fem. Pl.   

Masc.

Masc. Pl.

תלמיד

תלמידים

(talmid-IM)

(talmid-A)

תלמידה

(talmid-OT)

תלמידות

(tov-IM)

טוב

שר

(shar)

טובים

שרים

(tov)

(shar-IM)

טובה

שרה

(tov-A)

(shar-A)

טובות

שרות

(tov-OT)

(shar-OT)

Therefore rhiming...

 

 

 

 

 

is not simple :)

(          )

kharuzim     חרוזים  

Drawings: Arye Navon  

Text: Lea Goldberg

© 

Good News

there is no

about the Hebrew grammar:

  • "am", "is", "are"
  • question order
  • there are no cases per ce:

"Modern Hebrew Grammar is partly analytical, expressing such forms as dative, ablative and accusative using prepositional particles rather than morphological cases"

                                                                                  

Wikipedia on Modern Hebrew Grammar

Bad News

there is the...

about the Hebrew grammar:

dreaded verb conjugation!

But! An intuitive understanding of the cojugation system is possible!

If we keep in mind one specialty of the Hebrew grammar:

The

"MERGING     TENDENCY"

1ST EXAMPLE:

Prepositions (and the "the" article)

IN the bus

be   ha   otobus

baOtobus

באוטובוס

are written together with the word

TO the bus

le   ha   otobus

laOtobus

לאוטובוס

2ND EXAMPLE:

Prepositions

IN

be

ב

are written together with the 

Personal Pronoun

TO

le

ל

I

ani

אני

IN + I

be         ani

bi

בי

TO + I

le          ani

li

לי

3RD EXAMPLE:

I spoke

ani + d.b.r.

dibarti

דברתי

written together with the 

I will speak

ani + d.b.r.

adaber

אדבר

Personal Pronoun

I suggest you view the conjugation

as a

Verbs

 TREATS

some Hebrew 

Grammar

  • special word for THERE IS

יש

  • special word for THERE IS NO

אין

  • special plural ending for DOUBLEs!

HEBREW 

and other languages

words

חוצפה

שרף

בלגן

KHUTSPA

SARAF

BALAGAN

שמירה

 

פראייר

 

תכל'ס

 

SCHMIERE stehen

FREIER

TACHLES

בסדר

 

סבלנות

beSEDER

SAVLANUT

להספיק

דווקא

מזגן

LEHASPIK

DAVKA

MAZGAN

recommended

free LEARNING RESOURCES on-line

A MUST

for EVERYONE -

 

Morfix

             best online dictionary so far                 http://www.morfix.co.il/

 

for BEGINNERS

 

for INTERMEDIATE learners

 

Root-based search (very limited)

http://www.hebrewatmilah.org/maskilon1/index.htm

(from the http://www.hebrewatmilah.org/ site)

 

Seems to be for beginners,  but no

Passing Phrase : a Hebrew phrase explained in English every week

www.learnhebrew.org.il

 

 

 

Slang words

 

A very good list here

http://www.buzzfeed.com/israelexperience/17-must-know-hebrew-slang-words-haku

 

and here is also OK

http://www.in-hebrew.co.il/videos/israeli-sayings.htm

 

Authentic Materials for learners

 

More Hebrew songs (sound, transcript and translations, no Hebrew lyrics)

http://www.hebrewsongs.com/

Best site for Hebrew lyrics  (Hebrew only, no nikud)

http://shironet.mako.co.il/

 

Childrens' books:

http://ovadbooks.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_7.html

 

Search YouTube for:

קצרים  (a comedy program called “Shorts” – humorous 5min sketches about Israeli everyday)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4LnQjLxfxw

ניר וגלי (animation channel, short humorous-cynical animations for grown-ups)

https://www.youtube.com/user/NirveGali

And for children’s series, such as

ארתור

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3478bB6zio

בילבי

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBWXP_5gxSw

for UPPER INTERMEDIATE 

To watch:

חדשות מהעבר   Chadashot MeHaAvar - News From the Past

about Ben Yehuda, for example

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzGD14XEMl4

 

the wonderful Educational Television!

http://www.23tv.co.il/2515-he/Tachi.aspx

 

IBA (Israeli TV and radio)

http://www.iba.org.il/index.aspx

 

for ADVANCED learners

To read:

אלכסון   Alaxon –

a very nice on-line journal

http://alaxon.co.il/

הידען   HaYadan

An on-line journal about science

Read this, for example: Limud Safa Chadasha

http://www.hayadan.org.il/new-language-discovery-reveals-linguistic-insights-2602146/

בלוג השפה העברית   Blog haSafa haIvrit shel Rav Milim

http://blog.ravmilim.co.il/qa/

Books classic:

http://www.benyehuda.org/

BOOKS

Ivrit min haHatkhala

Sheat Ivrit

Sikhot shel Yom Yom

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