Its revival is often hailed as one of the greatest feats of the Zionist enterprise; today Hebrew is the first language of millions of Israelis, a loquacious and literary nation that is said to publish an average of 5,500 books a year.
But in a country where self-doubt and insecurity run deep, even a linguistic triumph can be a cause for concern. After such a meteoric comeback, some worry that the common language may already be in decline, popularized to the point where many Israelis can no longer cope with the rich complexities of traditional Hebrew prose.
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But he and other Hebrew watchers point to a potentially more disturbing trend: living Hebrew has moved at a fast pace, and in the process, it has become increasingly estranged from its loftier ancient form.
Much food for thought.“We used to understand the biblical language better, and our language was closer to it,” said Ronit Gadish, academic secretary of the Academy of the Hebrew Language, the state’s supreme guardian of the national tongue. “Now, what can we do to keep up the continuity?”
All?All languages change.
All languages still in use change over time, including Latin. The Vatican continually develops new Latin words in order to cope with modernity; for example, they invented the word for “computer” a while back.All?
Not at all. Latin *does *develop, but it is *controlled *development. The development of Latin is governed by people who can read and write it. But there are no native Latin speakers – There is no Latin baby-talk.All languages still in use change over time, including Latin. The Vatican continually develops new Latin words in order to cope with modernity; for example, they invented the word for “computer” a while back.
Hebrew will be the same. Ancient languages need updating to cope with the modern world.