Learn to Speak Hebrew

As the language of the Jewish faith, Hebrew is spoken by about 7 million people within Israel and is studied by Jewish communities for use in prayer and Judaic studies around the world. Referred to by Jews as the "Holy Language," Hebrew has been spoken since the days before the Babylonian Empire, though the language went extinct for several centuries before it revived in the 1880s, combining classical Hebrew, the language was adapted with strong influences from Aramaic and Arabic and incorporated many new words from English, Russian, German and French. The language was not declared an official language of any country until 1921 in British-ruled Palestine and then later became the official language of Israel in 1948.

Hebrew is the sole surviving spoken language of the Canaanite group of languages, which once included Phoenician, Philistine and Carthaginian. While these languages from the region died with their civilizations, Hebrew remained alive at least in religious texts and was continually learned by Jews until it was revived as a spoken language in the 19th century. This makes Hebrew relatively unique in that no very closely languages survive today. However, much like Arabic, Hebrew is written and read from right to left and is typically written without vowels. The other tricky part in learning Hebrew as an English speaker is that some words are spelled differently, but sound the same. This is because spelling follows ancient historical conventions, which represent conventions that no longer exist.

There are many ways to learn Hebrew. Because the language is used frequently as a religious text, the language is often taught in synagogues and temples, where young and old study the language in the context of a religious perspective. Because most of those interested in learning Hebrew have some interest in the Jewish faith and/or Israel, learning the language through a synagogue could be a good way to go. While it depends on you r location whether or not local community colleges may offer courses in Hebrew, this can also be a good way to go. The best way to learn Hebrew is through immersion. A few weeks spent communicating in Hebrew on a daily basis in Israel could be worth more than a year in the classroom. Another option is to hire a private tutor, or to invest in a program like Rosetta Stone, which can help you learn the basics of pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary.