Pizza
Cafe
Radio
Internet
Telephone
Incidentally, The Academy for Hebrew Language, the institute responsible for creating Modern Hebrew words, created an authentic Hebrew word for the telephone. The academy called the telephone a שָׂח-רָחוֹק (sahch-rah-chohk), which put together the words for conversation and long distance. So, telephone translated as “long-distance conversation.” Pretty clever, huh? This word didn’t stick with the Israeli public, however, so הֵלֵפוֹן (telephone) it is.
INTRODUCING THE ACADEMY FOR HEBREW LANGUAGE
Hebrew, the language of the Bible, is spoken today in Israel and around the world as a modern language. The question, of course, is where all these modern words come from? Who decides? The answer is הָאָקָדֶמְיָה לַלָּשׁוֹן הָעִבְרִית, (ha-ah-kah-dee-mee-yah la-lh-shon hah-eev-reett; The Academy for Hebrew Language), an institute founded in Israel in 1953 to oversee the language’s development and to create new words as the need arose in a manner consistent with Hebrew’s historical development. So, although Hebrew is an ancient biblical language, new words needed to be developed, such as high tech (תַּעֲשִׂיָּהעָלִית; tah-ah see-yat ee-leet) and start-up company (חֶבְרַת הֶזְנֵק; hehv-raht hehz-nehk), surfboard (גַּלְשָׁן; gahl-shan), jet lag (יַעֶפֶת; yah-eh-feht), and even — when you’ve had a few too many — hangover (חֲמַרְמֹרֶת; ḥah-mahr-moh-reht).
Other timely words include נְגִישׁוּת (neh-shee-goot; affordability), חֲרִיגָנוּת (ḥahr- ree-gahn-oot; exceptionalism), נְתוּנֵי עָתֵק (nee-too-nee ah-tahk; big data), תַּג הַקְבָּצָה (tahg-hahk -bahk-tzah; hashtag), הַעֲלָמַת זֶהוּת (heet-ahm-aht zah-hoot; anonymization), עִילוּת (ee-loot; gentrification), אַחֲוָה (ah-vah; solidarity), and ְ תַּצלוּם מָסָךְ (tahtz-loom mahḥ screen shot).
The Israeli public doesn’t accept all the words the academy invents, of course, although the academy’s decisions are binding for government documents and the official Israel Broadcasting Authority.
Israelis aren’t above taking matters into their own hands and creating words of their own. In the 1990s, Motorola Israel Corporation introduced wireless phones, coining the new word פֶּלֶא-פוֹן pela-phone (meaning “wonder phone).” You can find out more about the academy at: https://hebrew-academy.org.il/. Here’s a great video on the Academy (it’s in Hebrew, but there are English subtitles); https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cY62gLh10CM You can even check out their Facebook page and “like” it at www.facebook.com/AcademyOfTheHebrewLanguage.
Speaking Hebrew Like a Native
When speaking a foreign language, you want to sound as authentic as possible. Use the tips in the following sections to start. The most important parts of sounding like a native are persistence and practice — and then some more practice! Listen to the dialogues from this book (available online) as much as possible. Spend as much time listening to Hebrew spoken by native speakers as you can.
Memorizing vocabulary and certain stock phrases and repeating them to yourself until you can say them at quite a clip is also helpful. In no time at all, you may fool people into thinking that you speak Hebrew fluently — or close to fluently, anyway.
Stressing out (not)
The first tip I give you has to do with the way syllables are stressed. In American English, we often stress or place emphasis on the first syllable in each word, as in “When speaking a foreign language … .” But Hebrew often places the emphasis on the last syllable. So, if you were speaking that previous phrase with an Israeli accent, you’d place your emphasis on the last syllable: “When speaking a foreign language … .”
GESTURING LIKE THE BEST OF THEM
Gestures provide the flourishing touch to help you seem like a native speaker. Use the following gestures when you‘re speaking in Israel:
Holding one hand at about shoulder level with the palm upright and all the fingers cupped together in the center means ! רֶגַע (reh-gah; wait a minute).
When you want to catch a cab, point your index finger down at the ground, indicating that you want the cab to stop where you’re pointing.
In Israel, the American thumbs-up sign has traditionally been seen as an unfriendly gesture that means you’re בְּרֹגֶז (broh-gehz; mad or pissed off at someone).Interestingly, an ad campaign in Israel once encouraged kids to make a thumbs-up sign to drivers when they’re crossing the street, with the drivers returning the thumbs-up as an indication that they see the children and will let them cross without running them over. So, thumbs-up is taking on a positive connotation!
Getting out the gutturals
The second piece of advice I’ll give you has to do with certain Hebrew letters that are pronounced at the back of the throat. Use these tips to pronounce them:
ע (eye-yeen): This letter makes a barely audible guttural sound in the back of the throat. For practical purposes, this letter is nearly a silent syllable.
כ (ḥahf ): This letter makes a sound you don’t hear in English. It’s a hard H sound, like the one you make when you clear your throat. In this book it is written as an ḥ.
ח (ḥeht): This letter makes a strong throaty H sound. In this book, this syllable is written as ḥ.
ר (raysh): Traditionally this letter makes an R sound as in round. To sound like a native, roll this syllable like a Spanish R, and try to produce the sound from the back of your throat.
Find out about the rest of the Hebrew alphabet in “Recognizing Tips to Help You Read Hebrew” later in this chapter.
Hebrew served as the vernacular during the ancient Jewish commonwealth until it was conquered by the Romans in 70 CE (Common Era). Then Jews fanned out across the globe to Asia, Africa, and Europe. Even though they were dispersed, the Jewish people continued to practice their religion (Judaism) and remained literate in their language (Hebrew).
Hebrew continued to be the language of prayer, study, and correspondence for Jewish people. Gradually, Jews adopted the languages of their