“Philologos" the Jewish Daily Forward November 29, 2014....A newly published book, Norman Berdichevsky's "Modern Hebrew: The Past and Future of a Revitalized Language," is an excellent survey of its subject. In just 200 pages, Berdichevsky manages to touch succinctly but informatively on nearly every aspect of Zionism's successful revival of Hebrew as the spoken language it had not been for two millennia.....a feat unparalleled in human history.
I am the author of a new book that deals with the social and political consequences of adopting Modern Hebrew as Israel’s National Language. I am available for 40 slide 50 minute power point presentation on the book. Modern Hebrew: The Past and Future of a Revitalized Language by Norman Berdichevsky McFarland & Company July, 2014, ISBN 978-0-7864-9492-7; ca. 25 photos, notes, bibliography, index. Softcover 6 x 9. Discounts for classroom use. This book is addressed to general audience and does not require any previous knowledge of the language. It enables new students and those interested in Israeli events and culture, an appreciation of the achievements, dilemmas and challenges facing the language. Among the questions the book answers are ....How different are Modern and Biblical Hebrew? What Biblical Hebrew words continue to be the source of so many disputes ? Why has Hebrew declined in the Diaspora? How did Hebrew become a modern language? How large a “Hebrew Gap” is there between Israel and the Diaspora? How did it win out over Yiddish? How did Modern Hebrew inspire other national language revivals? How has ignorance of Modern Hebrew by critics put Israel at a disadvantage? How did Hebrew survive in the USSR? What is the future of Hebrew instruction at the university level and in charter schools in the U.S. and the U.K.? Is Hebrew slang becoming more innovative? How fluent or proficient are Israeli Arabs in their mastery of Hebrew for professional and career purposes? Are you surprised that more Egyptian university students are studying Modern Hebrew than American students? Also discussed are the dilemmas facing the language arising from the fact that Israelis and Jews in the Diaspora "don't speak the same language," while Israeli Arabs and Jews do. See recent reviews and comments… Video on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtmn2hqnxis go to 23 minutes after start New English Review – Why I wrote this book…. http://www.newenglishreview.org/custpage.cfm/frm/161810/sec_id161810 Interview with Jamie Glazov in FrontPage magazine… http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/jamie-glazov/modern-hebrew-the-past-and-future-of-a-revitalized-language/ “The Epic Transformation of a Language”: review in Moment http://www.momentmag.com/hebrew-an-epic-transformation/ Interview “The Past and Future of Hebrew in Israel and Beyond” by Manuel Langendorf, Middle East editor of The Fair Observer… http://www.fairobserver.com/culture/the-past-and-future-of-hebrew-in-israel-and-beyond-64612/ Table of Contents 1 Modern Hebrew in American Popular Culture 2 The Magnificent Heritage of Biblical Hebrew Prior to the Modern Language 3 Modern Hebrew’s Influence on “Minor Language Revivals and Esperanto” 4 The Three Thousand Year Old Treasury 5 How Hebrew Became a Modern Language 6 Do the Israelis Speak Hebrew or Israeli? 7 The Great Yiddish-Hebrew Rivalry 8 Negation of the Golah (Exile); Hebraization 9 Baltic Training Grounds for a Hebrew State 10 The First Modern Hebrew Textbook With Real National-Cultural Content 11 Soviet Persecution of Hebrew 12 Israeli Arab Use of Hebrew 13 Towards a Hebrew Republic? 14 Slang and Profanity 15 The Current Assault on Hebrew at Home; Competition from English. 16. Outlook for Hebrew in the U.K. & U.S. 17 Epilogue This brilliant and insightful tome on the Hebrew language is unique ... KENNETH L HANSON on September 1, 2014 Amazon Books This brilliant and insightful tome on the Hebrew language is unique in its class. The author has adroitly produced a concise volume written equally for those who have familiarity with Hebrew, having studied it to some degree, and those who have no background whatsoever. Even those who know or have endeavored to know the language are often unaware of its "trajectory" of development, over the course of the last 130 years. It takes a special talent to bring such a subject to light in a compelling and accessible fashion, and this book succeeds in telling the story of Hebrew, its past and its future, with clarity and insight. With warmest best wishes Norman Berdichevsky [email protected]
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