Translation:

Ivrit (Heb.)

Definition:

Hebrew is the Semitic language spoken in Israel. The bible is written in an ancient version of the language, often referred to as Biblical Hebrew. Many Jewish texts and prayers are written in Hebrew.

Hebrew is one of a family of Semitic languages that are written from right to left. It consists of 22 consonants, 5 of whom have distinct versions when they occur at the end of a word: א ב ג ד ה ו ז ח ט י כ/ך ל מ/ם נ/ן ס ע פ/ף צ/ץ ק ר ש ת

Originally, Hebrew was not written with any vowels. Still today, in Torah scrolls and in many most Hebrew writing, this holds true. Vowel markings developed around the 5th century CE. These vowel markings are groupings of dots and lines that are written below, inside or above the consonants. For example, the word for Hebrew, Ivrit, written without vowels - עברית or with vowels - עִבְרִית - illustrates the difference.

Within the Jewish tradition, Hebrew is often referred to as lashon hakodesh, the holy language. Traditional texts say that God spoke Hebrew words to create the world. Because of this, much of the prayer service is written in Hebrew. In countries where Hebrew is not the primary spoken language, siddurim, prayer-books, usually contain translations of the prayers. In addition, many siddurim, including Forms of Prayer, offer transliteration, Hebrew written in English phonetics, to enable people who may not be fluent in Hebrew reading to follow along with the reading and singing in the service.

Modern Hebrew is a constantly evolving language. It is based in part upon the Hebrew found in the Bible and Mishnah, but these contain static language consisting of a finite number of words. They do not include, for example, the words for computer or internet. Like all languages spoken in the modern world, modern Hebrew must adapt and expand along with society. In 1953, the Israeli Government created a unique institution to oversee this adaptation of the language called The Academy of the Hebrew Language. The Academy create new words and establish the correct spelling and usage thereof.

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