Re: [Jewish Languages] Digest for jewish-languages@googlegroups.com - 1 update in 1 topic

[RCK]

I am very interested in some of these questions because I am working on my Master's dissertation on the ambiguous place of Ivrit in Orthodox Jewish High Schools. Such high schools typically have a dual curriculum comprised of religious (kodesh) and secluar (chol) classes, and Ivrit sort of straddles the line between those two categories. It comes out that in many ways, Ivrit is part of the kodesh curriculum, but in many ways it is part of the chol curriculum.

In my dissertation, I want to argue that this ambiguity makes a lot of sense given the traditional attitude towards Hebrew that can be dated back to pre-Modern Ashkenazi communities, in which Hebrew was not studied as language. Rather, it was something students picked up through their studies, but was not emphasized as something to learn in its own right. This is because Yeshivas typically focused on the content (Talmud), while things like language skills are related to form, not content. Obviously, students had to be trained in the basics of reading and grammar, but there did not typically study more than that in a formal way. For example, Stampfer, S. (1993) “What did 'knowing Hebrew' mean in Eastern Europe?" in Glinert, L. (ed.), Hebrew in Ashkenaz: A Language in Exile argues that students did not typically learn how to write Hebrew, even they learned how to read the language because writing is a less essential skill to the goal of studying Talmud. The rejection of studying Hebrew as a language in traditionalist circles became even more enshrined with the rise of the Haskalah that promoted Hebrew as something to be study in its own right (even if devoid of religious content/meaning)

You also have to bear in mind that almost any specimens of Medieval Hebrew that you come across (especially in Ashkenazi circles) will come from the rabbinic elite who are not just trained in Biblical Hebrew but also Rabbinic Hebrew, and they likely spend much more time working in Rabbinic Hebrew than in Biblical Hebrew, such that RH is more familiar to them than Biblical Hebrew. I recommend you look at Maimonides' introduction to Sefer HaMitzvos where he explains why he wrote that work in Rabbinic Hebrew, as opposed to Biblical Hebrew or Talmudic (Judeo-)Armaic.

I would love to hear what the more learned members of this email list have to say on the topic. I'm always looking for more sources. If I've made any mistakes, they are just the results of my own misimpressions, so please feel free to correct me.

Zei Gezunt & Kol Tuv,

Reuven Chaim Klein

Beitar Illit, Israel

Author of: God versus Gods: Judaism in the Age of Idolatry & Lashon HaKodesh: History, Holiness, & Hebrew 

ORCiD | LinkedIN | Google Scholar | Amazon

On Fri, Jun 25, 2021 at 11:08 AM <jewish-l...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

jewish-l...@googlegroups.com

Google Groups

Topic digest
View all topics

• How medieval Hebrew was acquired? - 1 Update

How medieval Hebrew was acquired?

"Dr. Biró Tamás Sándor" <biro....@btk.elte.hu>: Jun 24 04:55PM Dear List members,   I am seeking your opinion (or pointers to literature) on medieval Hebrew from a language acquisition perspective.   Naively, I would assume that Jewish kids (boys -- sorry) started to learn the Humash at the age of 3 to 5, and so they would develop an early L2 competence in Biblical Hebrew (its classical stage). As they would be exposed to other varieties of Hebrew only much latter (liturgy, Mishna and further rabbinic literature, archaic and late BH etc.), that knowledge must be only secondary to their knowledge of Biblical Hebrew. Consequently, I would naively expect medieval Hebrew to be strongly influenced by BH. And yet, this is clearly not the case.   Naively, I would also assume that Rashi was copying the language of the text being commented when he was writing his commentaries. His commentaries on the Talmud is full of Aramaism, while his commentaries on the Bible is plain Hebrew. And yet, it is not Biblical Hebrew, but rabbinic Hebrew. It seems as if rabbinic Hebrew was simpler for him, as well as for his audience, than a language variety imitating Biblical Hebrew. Biblical Hebrew wasn't alive, but rabbinic Hebrew was, in some sense.   Do we have evidence for the late spoken Hebrew (the variety that became rabbinic / Mishnaic Hebrew, when used as a literary language) to survive into the middle ages, say, in the yeshivot? Do we know about how the students developed their active writing skills in Hebrew? Were they supposed to "hand in essays" in something like rabbinic Hebrew? Did they have discussions in Hebrew, comparable to the discussions in Latin at the medieval European universities? Was rabbinic Hebrew alive in this sense, more than Biblical Hebrew?   By the way, do we have sources about the oral language competences of (educated / less educated) people in Hebrew in the Middle Ages?   Are we aware of rabbis with dyslexia, who were unable to acquire Hebrew, so that they could compose their own work, although otherwise they were erudite and able to teach or to deliver psakim?   Thanks for your suggestions and ideas,   Tamas Biró     ____________________________ | Tamás Biró | biro....@btk.elte.hu | http://birot.web.elte.hu/

Back to top

You received this digest because you're subscribed to updates for this group. You can change your settings on the group membership page. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it send an email to jewish-languag...@googlegroups.com.