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Hebrew Language & Usage

Proposed Q&A site for students, teachers and linguists wanting to discuss the finer points of the Hebrew language.
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Just to be clear, I believe this should be an in-depth Hebrew language Q&A site, this has nothing to do with Judaism or Israel, just Hebrew. – Madara Uchiha Feb 6 '12 at 19:54

2
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answer

If a site needs 12 Questions of rank 10, and it has 28, why does it not advance?

apr 4 at 17:14 Robert Cartaino♦ 477
6
votes
1
answer

Translating Hebrew t o English

apr 1 at 21:50 Robert Cartaino♦ 477
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answers

Should the existence of hermeneutics.stackexchange.com (where questions about Biblical Hebrew are on-topic) affect the choice of scope here?

apr 1 at 9:19 caseyr547 149
5
votes
1
answer

What can we do to attract more participants?

jan 2 at 12:37 Community♦ 1
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Should questions on the rules and usage of Lashon HaKodesh be on topic?

nov 19 at 10:38 mmdanziger 331

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67 Example Questions

active oldest votes
up vote 1 down vote
In teaching modern Hebrew, how soon should we teach reading and writing without vowels?
added by Reb.Cabin Jul 23 '12 at 14:55
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I don't know about should, but I'm onto my second formal lesson, and we've already been told that we won't be learning to read/write with vowels at all! – anthony-arnold Mar 19 at 6:27
up vote 1 down vote
Have any words been introduced into Hebrew after having their shorashim discovered in other semitic languages?
added by mmdanziger Nov 11 '12 at 11:13
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up vote 1 down vote
Why does the Hebrew language is also called the tongue of sanctity (Leshon HaKodesh)?
added by yair Nov 21 '12 at 21:47
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I happened to also answer this on Judaism.SE: judaism.stackexchange.com/a/20480/1569 – b a Jan 1 at 6:46
up vote 0 down vote
<W> means "Z" in Biblical Hebrew; the similar word <X> means "Z" in [Y] Hebrew. Why the change?
added by msh210 Jan 29 '12 at 19:21
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E.g., W=טנא; X=טני; Y=Mishna; Z=basket. – msh210 Jan 29 '12 at 19:22
I feel like I'm reading the BOOST documentation. – mmdanziger Nov 19 '12 at 10:26
up vote 0 down vote
What is the most accurate Hebrew word for 'poke'?
added by Roy Apr 17 '12 at 16:06
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You can look that one up in a dictionary. I don't think it's a question for this site... Unless you mean poking on facebook, which I doubt has a different word in Hebrew, but I can understand why there would be. – Ari A Apr 18 '12 at 3:25
well I'm not sure about it, tried looking it in the dictionary and couldn't find anything that is really a good translation for this word. Anyway I'll edit the title – Roy Apr 18 '12 at 13:25
up vote 0 down vote
What is the grammatical rule regarding the אתה in yoda-esq sentences?
added by Ari A, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Sep 16 '12 at 18:49
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To clarify: Usually when the word אתה appears in Tanach and tfilah, we pronounce it מלרע (a-TAH or a-TOH. whichever you like, that's not really my point. The emphasis is on the end of the word.). Why in yoda-esq sentences* do we emphasize the first syllable instead and pronounce it מלעיל (A-tah, with emphasis on the beginning of the word)? I'm looking for a specific grammatical rule that doesn't involve star wars references. *Such as מְחַיֵּה מֵתִים אַתָּה (resurrecter of the dead you are) and מוחֵל וְסולֵחַ אָתָּה (a mighty redeemer you are) – Ari A Apr 18 '12 at 2:39
I'm not sure this covers all cases, but changing a word that is normally milera' to be mil'eil usually signifies that there is a strong pause (disjunction) following the word (e.g., end of sentence, or where a semicolon might go in an English translation). This obviously doesn't apply to words that are always (or usually) mil'eil (like MA-yim or E-retz). – Ted Hopp Sep 2 '12 at 18:42
Obviously this question would have to be rephrased to be a bit more serious sounding--ie as VOS instead of yoda-esque. But it's an interesting point. – mmdanziger Nov 12 '12 at 18:35
up vote 0 down vote
How is מסורה pointed? With a qamats under the mem? With a shva under the mem? With a patach under the mem and a dagesh in the samekh? I've seen all 3.
added by Ted Hopp Sep 2 '12 at 17:47
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And as a follow-on: If all the spellings are acceptable, what (if any) are the differences in meaning and/or grammatical function? – Ted Hopp Sep 2 '12 at 21:37
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What is the etymology of the word שלומך?
added by AdamRedwine Oct 1 '12 at 13:22
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At first glance, this is simply שָׁלוֹם with a pronominal suffix attached (it's definitely 2nd person, but could be masculine or feminine; one would only determine the gender of the pronominal suffix either by context or the inclusion of nikkud). – H3br3wHamm3r81 Mar 24 at 19:50
up vote 0 down vote
Is it true that most Hebrew swear words are borrowed from Arabic?
added by AdamRedwine Oct 2 '12 at 3:24
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up vote 0 down vote
Is there any evidence that Hebrew changes more slowly than other languages because of the large number of new learners?
added by AdamRedwine Oct 2 '12 at 3:25
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Any reference on the premise of "large number of new learners"? large compared to what? – Nir Levy Oct 4 '12 at 13:57
I don't have any reference, but you are correct that that would be good to add in the body of the question. – AdamRedwine Oct 5 '12 at 20:20
up vote 0 down vote
Allomancy is an invented word describing the fictional act of using metals to enhance one's physical/mental skills. Any ideas on how to translate it?
added by Nir Levy Oct 4 '12 at 13:54
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Shouldn't you trace the origins of this word and use the same method in Hebrew? – Zeev Nov 19 '12 at 15:34
Actually the origins of this word is a combination of "allo-" prefix and "-mancy" suffix. "Allo-" is (wrongly) used to imply "metal" and "-mancy" is (wrongly) used to imply "magic". So that "Allomancy" means "metal-magic". However, since Hebrew is very poor in combining words into a single word, I come here to ask the masters if they can think of any appropriate Hebrew word for this. מתכקסם sounds too childish... – Nir Levy Nov 22 '12 at 9:27
Why not just transliterate it instead? You'll just have to hope the reader can deduce the actual meaning from the context, or perhaps the author would explain the word. – H3br3wHamm3r81 Mar 24 at 19:42
up vote 0 down vote
What is the origin for the cantillation pattern <xxxx> on passage <ra:xy> ?
added by NewAlexandria Nov 5 '12 at 15:20
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up vote 0 down vote
Aside from scribal error how else can we understand the hataf-hirik found in the Aleppo Codex on the word לקחי (King 1:17:11)? see http://goo.gl/etG6r
added by Double AA Nov 13 '12 at 0:35
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up vote 0 down vote
Why are nouns categorized as masculine or feminine? i.e. shulchan is masculine and agala is feminine.
added by yair Nov 20 '12 at 23:14
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Same question could be asked of Spanish, Italian, Greek, etc. – H3br3wHamm3r81 Mar 24 at 19:47
true enough. However, other languages do not necessarily have the same answer (or any answer, for that matter). – yair Mar 25 at 0:36
up vote 0 down vote
Are there any scientific, archeologic etc. evidence / researches that backs Massoret's statement that Hebrew is the first langauge in the world?
added by yair Nov 21 '12 at 21:56
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up vote 0 down vote
What is / Is there a modern Hebrew word for [international/biblical word]
added by JNF Nov 27 '12 at 11:37
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up vote 0 down vote
What is the historic source of <insert slang here>?
added by Madara Uchiha Nov 27 '12 at 19:46
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up vote 0 down vote
What's the meaning of "Chashmal" (electricity in modern Hebrew) in the bible? (Yechezkel 1:4)
added by Roy Dec 31 '12 at 8:52
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up vote 0 down vote
How strongly is an association with "lord" in any other meaning than title/atribute of God present in word "Adonai"?
added by Pavel Jan 29 at 11:55
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Word "Hospodin" is used as a substitute for God's name in modern Czech, but it's origin (it meant "lord") is almost forgotten now. I wonder to which extent is this similar with "Adonai" in Hebrew. – Pavel Jan 29 at 12:02
Genesis 18:3; according to one explanation of Rashi it does not refer to G-d. – b a Jan 30 at 2:59
@Pavel "Hospodin" is translated as "Adon" in hebrew. Same root, but slightly different word. – jutky Feb 4 at 21:13
up vote 0 down vote
Can a "Chazakah" apply to the possession of qualities that are undesirable, and require cleansing / remediation?
added by NewAlexandria Mar 21 at 20:06
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up vote 0 down vote
How do you say [English word] in Hebrew?
added by Daniel Apr 11 at 19:08
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up vote 0 down vote
What meanings for פְּלֵיטָ֖ה (pə le tah) should influence our understanding of its use?
added by NewAlexandria Apr 15 at 3:21
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up vote -1 down vote
How does Hebrew rate in "difficulty for English speakers to learn" compared to the difficulty of Chinese or Spanish, for example?
added by Reb.Cabin Jul 23 '12 at 14:39
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A somewhat vague question. Spoken or written? Comprehending or generating? A Google search for "relative language difficulty" turns up lots of results. For instance, the Foreign Service Institute at the University of Florida has this table rating class time required for English speakers to reach "almost working professional" proficiency in various languages. Spanish is easiest: 720 hours; Hebrew: 1320 hours; Chinese: 1950 hours. – Ted Hopp Sep 2 '12 at 18:32
up vote -2 down vote
Are there similarities to the famous "Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo" sentence in Hebrew?
added by Khaloymes Dec 25 '11 at 20:14
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אץ קוצץ בן קוצץ of the Yotzer of P' Zachor. – b a Jun 19 '12 at 21:28
3  
נערה נעלה נעלה נעלה נעלה את הדלת לפני בעלה -- the fancy young lady lost her shoe and unlocked the door before her husband – Reb.Cabin Jul 24 '12 at 5:44
שמלה שלמה שלמה שלמה שלמה – Nir Levy Oct 4 '12 at 13:48
מצא מצא מצא מצע ובתוך המצע - מצא מצה. - a guy named Matza Matza has found a bedding, and in the bedding he's found a Matza. Yeah, it's weak, but we were children :-) – yair Nov 20 '12 at 23:05
@yair A guy named Matza Matza? Come on :) – Daniel Apr 11 at 19:10
up vote -2 down vote
Is the word Dafka unique to the Hebrew language?
added by Roy Apr 17 '12 at 14:28
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I've heard that many times and I don't understand why people think it. Maybe the word has some additional meaning that I don't know about , but I'm pretty sure it means 'specifically' (as in 'Why did he chose that one specifically?') – Ari A Apr 18 '12 at 3:22
It also has, somethimes, additional negative meaning - 'Why did you hit 'davka' me?' as in why me of all people? And there's also the phrase 'Laasot Davka', to do davka, to do something in order to make somebody angry or upset – Roy Apr 18 '12 at 13:28
That question seems to be less about Hebrew than about every other language . . . – ruakh Apr 23 '12 at 19:56
@ ruakh. I don't think so. You can rephrase it to say "Is there an accurate translation of the word 'Davka' and if so, what is it?" – Ari A May 15 '12 at 2:29
I'd give +1 to the question if I wasn't limited... I think it's great, should only maybe be rephrased like ruakh suggested. And I'd ask the same for the word staaaaaaam (pronounced with a long patach; like: סתאאאאם, צוחקים איתך!) – yair Nov 20 '12 at 23:08
up vote -4 down vote
Which word in Hebrew has the largest variety of meanings?
added by GMNoob Jan 9 '12 at 11:54
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2  
Just for comparison... would you ask this question about English? – sq33G May 2 '12 at 12:04
Sure, why not? In fact, now you have made me curious. – GMNoob Nov 15 '12 at 8:39
up vote -5 down vote
Most of the documents we'll encounter as amateurs are in the medieval/modern script. Is there benefit in learning the more ancient character designs?
added by cwallenpoole Dec 19 '11 at 7:14
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I'd go with off topic. Recommendations etc are usually off topic in those kinds of things. – Madara Uchiha Dec 22 '11 at 18:55
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