Learning Modern Hebrew
Author: Jacob Lumbroso

Modern Hebrew is an excellent language to learn if you are
interested in studying a beautiful, historic foreign
language. While modern Hebrew is somewhat different than
the historical language known to many as the language of
the Hebrew Bible, learning Hebrew means you will be
learning a language that has been used since Biblical
times. However, if you are a native English speaker, you
will find that there are some difficulties associated with
learning this beautiful language simply because of how
different it is from modern English.

Before you can begin studying Hebrew, you need to know a
little about the language you will be learning. Today, 6
million people speak the Hebrew language, with most of
these people living in Israel. The language almost
completely disappeared in everyday speech between the ninth
and nineteenth centuries due to lack of use. While the
language was used by religious Jews for religious
ceremonies and during prayer, it was not commonly spoken
outside of the home and synagogue. In the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries, Zionists worked hard to restore the
language, making modern Hebrew the official language of the
new State of Israel. Today, modern Hebrew somewhat
resembles the Biblical variety, with subtle changes to
allow the language to work in today's society.

Learning Hebrew usually starts with learning the Hebrew
alphabet. The modern Hebrew alphabet contains 22 letters,
all of which are consonants. When vowels need to be
represented, which is rarely done in written Hebrew, they
are represented by dots and dashes known as nikkud. There
is no upper or lower case to the letters, but a few of them
have a different form when they come at the end of a word.
People who are learning Hebrew with English as the first
language often struggle with the fact that the language is
written from right to left, rather than from left to right.
Also, the lack of written vowels poses problems for many
new learners.

As with most languages, the best way to learn modern Hebrew
is to both study the grammar and syntax of the language and
to practice speaking and listening to the language being
spoken. You can study grammar until you know everything
perfectly, but if you do not learn how to properly
pronounce the language, you will not be able to function in
a situation where you are required to speak the language.
Simply studying Hebrew grammar is not enough. You need the
conversational component as well.

In fact, the conversational component of learning Hebrew is
almost more important than learning the language's grammar,
as most situations where you will need to know the language
will require you to speak or understand it.

As you are looking for something to help you reach your
goal of learning Hebrew, look for a course that will give
you the chance to speak Hebrew and listen to it being
spoken. This should be combined with some grammatical
instruction, but immersion into the spoken language is one
of the best ways to learn a complex language like modern
Hebrew. Once you can fluently speak the language, it is far
easier to learn how to read and write it as well.


About the Author:

Jacob Lumbroso writes articles on history, foreign
cultures, and Judaism for http://www.judaicaquest.com/