Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Naama Zahavi-Ely <nxzaha AT wm.edu>]

Naama Zahavi-Ely wrote:

Hello!

As a native speaker of Hebrew:  I suspect you don't learn to read unvocalized texts, you just read them.  That certainly is the way it is with children:  you start reading vocalized texts, and eventually start reading unvocalized texts without being taught to, and without consciously learning any new technique.  This also seems to be the way it worked throughout the generations with people who knew prayer Hebrew and Bible Hebrew but were not speakers of Hebrew:  otherwise one cannot account for the fact that, even though the nikud system had been around for over 1000 years and was known by all who knew Hebrew, it was never used for most texts or for writing other than of poetry.

It might be worth while to just take the leap and try;  I find that my better students surprise themselves when they find that yes, they can read without nikud, even though they were never taught to.

Best wishes,

Naama

jharper AT ix.netcom.com wrote:

I'm at the end of my second year of BH in graduate school, and I'd like to make the transition
both to unvocalized texts and to modern Hebrew as expeditiously [and painlessly?] as possible.
I'd love to have any suggestions those on the list might offer.  Also, have any of you used
Muraoka's Modern Hebrew for Biblical Scholars?

Thanks,

Jane Harper

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