The schizoid nature of Modern Hebrew

A Slavic language in search of a Semitic past

by Paul Wexler

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Extent: 146 pages

Publisher: Heinrich-Barth Institute

Subjects: Language & Linguistics

Series: Mediterranean Language and Culture Monograph Series

Series volume number: 4

Language: English

Paperback (Published)

(December 1990)

ISBN: 9783447030632

9.45 x 9.45 inches

Price: $55.00

Out of stock

Hebrew is regarded as a former living language which ceased to be a native language 1800 years ago, only to be given a spoken function anew in the late 19th century. Since the re-acquisition of a lost colloquial function has never been documented, Modern Hebrew has become an object of fascination among linguists and laymen alike.In this book the author claims- Modern Hebrew is not a direct continuation of monolingual Semitic Hebrew- Modern Hebrew was created when Yiddish speaker re-lexified their language to Biblical and Mishnaic Hebrew- Yiddish is a Slavic language, derived from Sorbian and thus, Modern Hebrew is a Slavic LanguageThese claims raise a number of interesting questions: why do most speakers believe that Modern Hebrew is a Semitic language, what are the contributions of Modern Hebrew to the typology of diglossia, historical and genetic linguistics, universal grammar, 2nd language acquisition and political science?

  • By (author) Paul Wexler