HEBREW 81
Topics in Hebrew Literature and Culture(Senior seminar)
Language in time of revolution: The rebirth of spoken Hebrew
Lewis Glinert
Office: 305 Bartlett Hall
Description
The rebirth of Hebrew early this century as a mother tongue, after nearly 2000 years, is an event unique in sociolinguistic history. It happened through a constellation of radical political and ethnic aspirations, dire economic forces, and educational circumstances that may never be repeated, but none of which are in any way 'miraculous'. This course examines how it happened, through the eyes of those who made it happen and contemporary sociolinguists and historians, and draws conclusions for language policy in other developing societies.
No knowledge of Hebrew is required.
Textbooks
You will be given various papers to photocopy.
The following books are required and can be purchased at the bookstore:
-
Harshav, Benjamin , Language in Time of Revolution
The following have been placed on 24-hour reserve in Baker Library:
- Bar-Adon, Aaron The rise and decline of a dialect.
- Chomsky, William. Hebrew: The Eternal Language.
- Elon, Amos The Israelis: Founders and Sons, Penguin, 1981
- Fellman, Jack. Eliezer Ben-Yehuda and the Revival of a Classical Tongue
- Fishman, Joshua A. Language and Nationalism.
- Schechtman, Joseph Jabotinsky: Rebel and statesman
- Seidman, Naomi. A marriage made in heaven: The sexual politics of Hebrew and Yiddish
- Sivan, Reuven. The revival of the Hebrew language.
- Spiegel, Shalom. Hebrew Reborn.
Schedule
Week1:
Topic: On the eve of the Revival
Reading :
Rabin, A Short History of the Hebrew Language
Chomsky, Hebrew, 207-244
Fellman, J. ‘A sociolinguistic perspective on the history of Hebrew’ [paper]
Harshav, Language in Time of Revolution, pp....
Seltzer, Jewish People, Jewish Thought, 634-642
Glinert, Hebrew in Ashkenaz, pp. 111-40
Listening: Glinert, Tongue of Tongues (BBC documentary, cassette)
Week 2:
Topic: Nationalism, Zionism, and anti-Yiddishism
Reading:
Glinert, Hebrew in Ashkenaz, pp. 141-66
Dundes, Alan. ‘From etic to emic units in the Fishman, Language and Nationalism (ignore notes). Harshav, Language in Time of Revolution, pp....
Rabin, C. The national idea and the revival of Hebrew [paper]
Week 3:
Topic: First a modern literature
Reading:
Spiegel, Hebrew Reborn, ch....
Bar-El, The national poet: The emergence of a concept in Hebrew literary criticism [paper]
Patterson, Modern Hebrew literature goes on Aliyah [paper]
Week 4 :
Topic: Ben-Yehuda -- 'Father of Modern Hebrew?'
Reading:
Fellman, The Revival of a Classical Tongue Glinert, Hebrew in Ashkenaz, pp. 193-207
Glinert, Lexicographic function and the relation between supply and demand [paper]
Weeks 5:
Topic: How native spoken Hebrew emerged in Eretz-Israel
Reading:
Bar-Adon, The nativization of Israeli Hebrew [paper]
Harshav, Language in Time of Revolution, pp....
Glinert, The first congress for Hebrew, or When is a congress not a congress? [paper]
Week 6:
Topic: Which Hebrew?
Reading:
Glinert, Hebrew in Ashkenaz, pp. 208-221
Bar-Adon, The rise and decline of a dialect
Rabin, The origins of present-day Hebrew [paper]
Glinert, Hebrew-Yiddish diglossia: type and stereotype [paper]
Cooper, Language and Social Stratification among the Jewish population of Israel [paper]
Weeks 7 and 8:
Topic: Was Hebrew planned?
Reading:
Chomsky, Hebrew, 184-205
Alony-Fainberg, Official Hebrew Terms for Parts of the Car [paper]
Blanc, The Israeli koine as an emergent national standard [paper]
Morag, Planned and unplanned development in Modern Hebrew [paper]
Glinert, The Back-to-the-future syndrome in language planning [paper]
Nahir, Lexical modernization in Modern Hebrew and the extra- Academy contribution [paper]
Fellman & Fishman, Language planning in Israel: Solving terminological problems [paper]
Fellman, The Academy of the Hebrew Language [paper]
Fellman, Hebrew Language Planning and the Public [paper]
Week 9:
Topic: Hebrew Politics under the British Mandate
Reading:
Nash, Hebrew language and literature and the origins of Jewish resistance to the British [paper]
Shavit, Hebrew and Phoenicians: An ancient historical image and its usage [paper]
Elon The Israelis: Founders And Sons, ch 6 (106-147)
* If you have any questions about this course, you can reach Prof. Glinert at Lewis.H.Glinert@Dartmouth.EDU.
Back to Hebrew at Dartmouth home.