Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Paul Zellmer <zellmer AT cag.pworld.net.ph>]

Peter_Kirk AT sil.org wrote:

Matthew Anstey asked:

     1. how can one best be immersed in a dead language?
     2. how can one best teach others in this way?
     3. at what point does one move to linguistic description, particularly
discourse analysis stuff and how?

I've read several proposed answers, but I'm not convinced, except
perhaps by Randy Buth's ideas. When I learned Azerbaijani, a living
language of course, I started with the basic grammar and conversation
(helped by a teacher), and after that I did a lot of reading, guided
at first by another teacher who also helped with further grammar
studies. I was also able to learn some by speaking to people on the
streets, but it was hardly "immersion" - the "immersion" was by
reading simple texts.
 

Peter, we both know that this is a third option to what Matthew proposed. 
It is probably how most of us who live in a foreign country learn the local
language.

Most of this could be repeated with b-Hebrew, perhaps using a grammar
book instead of a teacher. Either drop the conversational part or
replace by modern Hebrew. (In Azerbaijani also there is a contrast
between the relatively "pure Turkic" written language and a spoken
form which is much influenced by Indo-European (Farsi and Russian)
syntax and vocabulary; but one learns that different registers are
different.) So my key recommendation is: read a lot of b-Hebrew, at a
level you can just understand, i.e. start with the simple and work up
to the complex.
 

IMHO, I concur, and Matthew seems to be at this level.  But, as far
as passing it on to new students, most grammars seemed more designed to
memorization with the implied caveat, "Trust me.  This really is significant." 
I find that this leads to quick discouragement of many, who eventually
stop studying.  Why else do people marvel at the tenacity of those
who "teach" themselves Hebrew?

One reason for discouragement is surely that the Hebrew alphabet is so
difficult for us westerners. For years our attention is primarily on
getting the correct pronunciation, and understanding takes a second
place. So how about reading the Hebrew in a good clear
transliteration? It is not hard to make a complete (readable)
transliterated Bible text from e.g. the Oxford Text Archive BHS - I
have one myself.
 

Were it not for this paragraph, I wouldn't have responded again to this
thread.  Peter, I respectfully disagree with you.  I have heard
many students moan and groan over the "aleph-beth," but I personally have
not found one who stopped his study of Hebrew because of it.  I routinely
have my students read the text being investigated, starting with the second
lesson, and they have never balked at the requirement.  I think the
cause of discouragement lies elsewhere.

As for question 3, I must disagree with Bryan: first get to know the
language well, and then start looking at discourse analysis type
things.
 

I asked my students today what they thought of this.  This particular
class has been studying Bryan's book for about three months now, and, for
the past month, I have supplemented it with an old classical grammar (Weingreen)
just to help them review some of the concepts to which they have already
been introduced.  To a man, they stated that, had they started with
Weingreen, they would not be as anxious to continue learning the language. 
Yet, of the entire class, the only dropout that we have had was due to
an extended illness.  He has already made arrangements to start his
studies anew now that he is better physically.

You must realize that Bryan's book is discourse analysis only at a very basic level.  It does not approach the technicalities of Longacre or Niccacci.  But it does force the student to look a longer passages than the simple verse.  Imagine the advantage to your work if your main native-language assistant/translator could do what I just saw today: read three examples of hortatory discouse, one unmitigated, one partially mitigated, and one so mitigated as to be almost entirely procedural, recognize each for what they are, and translate each one into the target language *with the correct levels of honorifics/respect and relative intensity.*  It appears to me like the simplified introduction to "discourse analysis," which actually does very little real analysis, takes the place of the feedback we get when we are learning "living" languages.

Paul

--
Paul and Dee Zellmer, Jimmy Guingab, Geoffrey Beltran
Ibanag Translation Project
Cabagan, Philippines

zellmer AT faith.edu.ph