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  • From: Shoshanna Walker <rosewalk AT concentric.net>
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] English to Hebrew?
  • Date: Fri, 1 Dec 2006 15:50:17 -0500

BIBLICAL Hebrew came first

Shoshanna



He ist absolutely right. We are to perceive Ancient Hebrew as a historical language - avtually there is no contemporary speaker of that language anymore. And as far as BIBLICAL Hebrew is concerned it is important to keep in mind that it is an artificial language, mixing up several synchronic and diachronic different layers (registers, dialects and so on). So, what is BIBLICAL Hebrew to speak? See, for instance, Edward Ullendorf's important studies "Is Biblical Hebrew a language?" and other papers in his: Is Biblical Hebrew a language?, Wiesbaden 1977, and, more recently, E.A.Knauf, War "Biblisch-hebräisch" eine Sprache? Empirische Gesichtspunkte zur linguistischen Annäherung an die Sprache der althebräischen Literatur: ZAH 3 (1990) 11-23.
Because there is no one to speak to who has a native speaker's competence in Biblical Hebrew, there is neither a sound reason to translate a paragraph of any language into Biblical Hebrew nor a chance to learn anything from that lest that we are ignorant.

Reinhard G. Lehmann
Academical Director
Forschungsstelle für althebräische Sprache
Johannes Gutenberg-University of Mainz

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