Abstract
In this paper, the author discusses the lexical codification work carried out in the Modern Hebrew period. The development of Modern Hebrew may be viewed as consisting of three periods, in each of which at least one language planning goal has been sought. The first of these periods is that of Language Revival (1890-1914) in which the revival of that language in Palestine took place. At the beginning of its revival the Hebrew lexicon was so gravely inadequate for modern life—lacking words for concepts such as tomato, serious, and newspaper—that some leaders questioned the capacity of the language to be restored. Therefore, much corpus planning had to be done to fill that vast lexical gap. This aspect of the was achieved through the cumulative efforts of educators, writers, translators, etc., as well as countless language-conscious individuals. This was carried out in various ways, retrieving old words and roots, creating new words from old words and roots, combining existing words, filling in pattern with root fillers, borrowing words and roots, etc. All this arduous, seemingly endless campaign eventually paid off, and Hebrew is now a modern language, standardized and normalized in every respect.
Highlights
The development of Modern Hebrew may be viewed as consisting of three periods, in each of which at least one language planning "goal" has been sought
The first of these periods is that of "Language Revival" (1890-1914; Nahir, 1978; 1984), in which the revival of the Hebrew language in Palestine ( Israel) at the turn of the 20th century took place, and my discussion here will deal with this period
At the beginning of its revival the Hebrew lexicon was so gravely inadequate for modern life—lacking words for concepts such as "tomato", "a match", "serious", "polite", and "newspaper"—that some leaders questioned the capacity of the language to be restored
Summary
The development of Modern Hebrew may be viewed as consisting of three periods, in each of which at least one language planning "goal" has been sought. In 1912, the Committee decided to become active in preparing its own critically needed Hebrew terminologies It first dealt with 150 terms in arithmetic, some proposed by teachers but mostly drawn from ancient literature. Many more lists were soon published, dealing with terms for one subject at a time They were viewed by professionals in the respective fields, and brought for final approval by the Committee, prior to publication. All a word coiner needs to do is use existing roots and fit them into existing but as yet unused patterns This typical feature multiplies the number of potential Hebrew words "waiting" to be created if and when the need arises. We will discuss briefly some of the most prolific lexical innovators and the methods applied generally in the process of lexical codification
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
