When asked to name Jewish languages, most people would say Hebrew and Yiddish. Some might also mention Ladino or Aramaic. It’s unlikely that they would know about Juhuri, Bukhori and Judeo-Median — and that is precisely why the Jewish Languages Project of the Endangered Language Alliance has come into being. Juhuri, Bukhori and Judeo-Median are…
Elderly. Senior. Senior citizen. Aged. Oldster. Old. The words rile. They’re not me. I ski, bike, climb mountains, blog, freelance and, yes, enjoy sex — even as I qualify for Social Security. Nor do they describe an energized generation of 60- and 70-somethings and beyond, many of whom shun the word “retirement.” These men and…
Ancient Greek and Latin, yes. Hebrew, no. That’s the headline from a new British government proposal that excludes Hebrew from plans to encourage primary school children to learn a second language. The plan, which remains under discussion and would come into effect in September 2014 if implemented, would mandate that pupils aged 7 to 11…
The British government reportedly is planning to exclude Hebrew from a list of recognized foreign languages in the national education system. Board of Deputies of British Jews warned last week that the exclusion of Hebrew could damage Jewish education in the country, the Jewish Chronicle reported. Education Minister Elizabeth Truss announced plans last month to…
Joshua Henkin is the author of “The World Without You,” “Matrimony,” and “Swimming Across the Hudson.” Earlier this week he explored the question, “Are you a Jewish writer?” His blog posts are featured on The Arty Semite courtesy of the Jewish Book Council and My Jewish Learning’s Author Blog Series. For more information on the…
A crowd will gather in downtown Toronto on June 7 for the 2012 Helen and Stan Vine Canadian Jewish Book Awards. One of the winners will be Rebecca Margolis, an associate professor in the Vered Jewish Canadian Studies Program at the University of Ottawa, who will be honored for “Jewish Roots, Canadian Soil” (McGill-Queen’s University…
Israeli scholarship is widely cited the world over. But if state linguists have their way, much of that research will become a whole lot less accessible to those who don’t speak Hebrew. The Academy of the Hebrew Language is asking the Education Ministry to require universities to use less English — the language in which…
Ido Plazental, a history and civics teacher at Ziv High School in Jerusalem, has an innovative way of raising gender awareness among his students: He addresses them all as female. Native English speakers who are not familiar with Hebrew may miss the inventiveness of this form of speech. In Hebrew, as in many European languages,…
100% of profits support our journalism
