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Academy of the Hebrew Language. Modern Hebrew is the primary official language of the State of Israel. As of 2013, there are about 9 million Hebrew speakers worldwide, of whom 7 million speak it fluently. Currently, 90% of Israeli Jews are proficient in Hebrew, and 70% are highly proficient.
Hebrew language, Semitic language of the Northern Central group. Spoken in ancient times in Palestine, Hebrew was supplanted by the western dialect of Aramaic beginning about the 3rd century BCE. It was revived as a spoken language in the 19th and 20th centuries and is the official language of Israel.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Hebrew Alphabet
- Notable Features
- The Hebrew Script
- Modern Cursive Hebrew Script
- Rashi
- Sample Texts in Hebrew
- Sample Videos in Hebrew
- Languages Written with The Hebrew Script
- Consonant Alphabets
The first alphabet used to write Hebrew emerged during the late second and first millennia BC. It is closely related to the Phoenician alphabet. The modern Hebrew alphabet was developed from an alphabet known as Proto-Hebrew/Early Aramaic. The Hebrew alphabet is also known as the Hebrew Square Script, the square script, the block script, the Jewish...
Type of writing system: abjad / consonant alphabetNumber of letters: 22 consonants, plus final letters and diacriticsUsed to write: Hebrew, Judeo-Arabic, Ladino, Yiddishand many other Jewish languages.Notes
1. het is officially pronounced [ħ], but many people pronounce it [x] 2. ʻayin is officially pronounced [ʕ], but many people pronounce it [ʔ] 3. ס׳ [sˤ] and ט׳ [ðˤ] are also used, but only for Arabic names
Hebrew vowel points / Niqqud
This system of indicating vowels was devised by the Masoretic scholars in Tiberias in around 750 AD. It is known as Tiberian vocalization, Tiberian pointing, or Tiberian niqqud, or נִיקוּד טְבֵרִיָנִי in Hebrew. Hear the Modern Hebrew alphabet, with example words:
Biblical Hebrew
Biblical or Classical Hebrew is the form of Hebrew used in Israel and Judah from about the 10th century BC until the 2nd century AD. Texts include the Hebrew Bible, and other religious and historical writings. It was written without vowel indication at first, and over time some consonants, known as matres lectionis, came to be used to indicate vowels. Biblical Hebrew was first written with the Phoenician script, which developed into the Paleo-Hebrew script by the 10th or 9th century BC. By th...
Tiberian Hebrew
This is the reconstructed pronunciation of the Hebrew used between 750-950 AD by Masoretic scholars living in the Jewish community of Tiberias in ancient Judea. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiberian_Hebrew Hear the Tiberian Hebrew alphabet:
The Rashi style is used mainly to write commentaries on texts. It is named after Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (1040-1105 AD) a.k.a. Rashi, one of the greatest medieval Jewish scholars and Bible commentators. Rashi did not use the Rashi sytle to write his commentaries but it is named in honour of him.
Transliteration
Kol benei ha'adam noldu benei xorin veshavim be'erkam uvizxuyoteihem. Kulam xonenu batevuna uvematspun, lefixax xova 'aleihem linhog ish bere'ehu beruax shel axava. A recording of this text by גל ויסברג(Gal Weisberg) Another recording of this text by Tal Barnea
Translation
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. (Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights) Corrections and text samples provided by Tal Barnea
Information about Hebrew | Phrases | Numbers | Time | Tower of Babel | Articles | Hebrew links | Hebrew learning materials
Aramaic, Bukhori, Domari, Hebrew, Jewish Neo-Aramaic, Judeo-Arabic, Judeo-Persian, Juhuri, Knaanic, Ladino, Mozarabic, Yiddish, Yevanic
Ancient Berber, Arabic, Aramaic, Chorasmian, Elymaic, Hatran, Hebrew, Manichaean, Nabataean, North Arabian, Pahlavi, Palmyrene, Parthian, Phoenician, Paleo-Hebrew, Proto-Sinaitic / Proto-Canaanite, Psalter, Punic, Sabaean, Samaritan, Sogdian, South Arabian, Syriac, Tifinagh, Ugaritic Other writing systems ALPHABETUM - a Unicode font for ancient scr...
- The Alphabet (Called the Aleph-Bet) Has 22 Letters. There are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet (commonly referred to as the aleph-bet, after the first two letters, aleph and bet).
- It’s Related to Arabic and Aramaic — and Originally Had No Vowels. Hebrew is a Semitic language — like Arabic and Aramaic — and like most ancient Semitic languages its alphabet has no vowels.
- It’s Read from Right to Left. Unlike English, Hebrew is read and written from right to left. There are numerous types of Hebrew script. The most familiar is the block letters used in Torah scrolls and most printed texts.
- It Dates Back to the Second Millennium BCE. The earliest Hebrew texts date from the end of the second millennium BCE. Hebrew was employed as both a written and spoken language until the destruction of the First Temple in 587 BCE.
Whatever the truth of the matter, we have to recognize that the exact beginnings of the Hebrew language are still surrounded by mystery. From the moment of its appearance in a documented written form, Hebrew offers clear evidence that it belongs to the Canaanite group of languages, with certain peculiarities of its own.
May 11, 2023 · By Allie Yang. May 11, 2023. • 7 min read. Today, Hebrew is a thriving language—used by millions of speakers around the world to communicate all their thoughts and desires. That may have...
Hebrew is a Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and remained in regular use as a first language until after 200 CE and as the liturgical language of Judaism and Samaritanism.
