Courtesy of JNS. Photo credit: Roman Yanushevsky/Shutterstock
Torah pointer (“yad”) marking the place early on in Chayei Sarah, the fifth parsha in the book of Genesis
(JNS) — As English dominates technology, global media and international communication, Israeli scholars say that Hebrew faces growing pressure and that the state-backed Academy of the Hebrew Language is playing a more urgent role in preserving the language’s distinct identity while guiding its evolution.
“The Hebrew language has absorbed over the years words derived from other languages such as Persian, Greek and even Yiddish,” Esther Boylan, instructor in Judaic studies at Touro University’s Lander College for Women, told JNS.
“With the great explosion of words in English associated with modernity and technology, if the academy would not seek to foster continuity with the past, Hebrew would be overwhelmed and could lose its unique identity altogether,” Boylan said.
Founded in 1953 and based at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Givat Ram campus, the Academy of the Hebrew Language is Israel’s official authority on Hebrew grammar, spelling, transliteration and terminology.
The institution now operates against the backdrop of widespread English-language technology, expanding social media use and intense global cultural exchange.
The academy introduces new Hebrew terms through a structured process that combines professional expertise with public inquiry, according to Barak Dan, academic secretary of the academy.
“The academy determines the need for new Hebrew words through both professional demand and public inquiry,” Dan told JNS.
Professional committees composed of specialists and grammarians from fields that include medicine, engineering, finance, archaeology and geography identify gaps in terminology and craft appropriate Hebrew forms.
A separate committee addresses general-use vocabulary requested directly by the public. The academy receives roughly 800 monthly inquiries, though only some involve term requests, according to Dan.
New proposals pass through a central terminology committee and then the academy committee of linguists, poets, translators and other experts. Because the academy prioritizes precision and clarity, approval can take months or even years, Dan said.
Much professional terminology goes unnoticed by the public, while general-use terms enter everyday speech frequently. When possible, the academy tries to revive older Hebrew words, according to Dan.
“When coining new words and terms, it is always best if one can revive words with close meaning in ancient Hebrew texts and compositions, such as the Bible and Mishnah,” he said.
He cited chemet, a biblical Hebrew term for a vessel to carry water, which means a hydration pack in modern Hebrew. The latter was chosen despite common colloquial use of the Yiddish-influenced shluker to mean water vessel, he said.
When no historical equivalent exists, the academy uses Hebrew’s root-and-pattern system to form new terms, weighing historical depth, clarity and linguistic integrity, according to Dan.
The continued rise of English, which is accelerated by digital platforms, adds new unpredictability to public adoption, according to Boylan.
“In the past, adoption by the masses has been a most significant factor. However, social media is a new phenomenon in the history of Hebrew, and it is difficult to predict the role it will ultimately play,” she told JNS. “I would think adoption by the Hebrew-speaking public will remain the determinant factor.”
