Learn Hebrew

Are you bound to go to Israel for personal or business reasons? English is rarely spoken in Israel, and is probably used only in state meetings with other diplomats or Israelis who have contacts with English-speaking people. Other than that, the de facto language used in the State of Israel and Jewish population throughout the world is Hebrew. Whether there’s an immediate need to learn Hebrew or not, learning to speak the language requires a lot of work but you should be able to pull it through just fine.

Why Learn Hebrew Online?

What options are available to learn Hebrew? With the onset of online education, many have recognized the benefits of learning Hebrew through online courses. This can be a valuable opportunity for busy professionals who are unable to attend on-campus Hebrew language classes. Hebrew is an ancient language, and was in fact the language Christ used and all the books in the bible were written in. Whether your intention to learn Hebrew is simply for curiosity or out of demand, begin your journey by taking online Hebrew language classes.

The effectiveness of distance learning, specifically online classes, has long been debunked. In fact, studies have shown that with the right attitude, time management, and self-discipline online classes can be a potent alternative to advance learning. On the other, online learning is low-cost and is hence more affordable than university classes. Before you go serious in learning Hebrew, make it a point to familiarize with the language first through online learning.

There is a profusion of Hebrew language resources on the Internet such as an English to Hebrew online translator or an online Hebrew dictionary. Both of these can help with your translation problems. Furthermore, there are free online short courses devoted to propagating Hebrew.

Modern Hebrew Characteristics

Unlike the manner in which the English language is written and read from left to right, the Hebrew language is written and read from right to left. The revival of the Hebrew in the 19th century sparked many changes in the language, such as the incorporation of major Hebrew characteristics of all time as well as European languages, principally Yiddish. What is spoken today is Modern Hebrew or Israeli Hebrew.

The Hebrew alphabet (or alef-bet) consists of 22 letters and an additional 5 others that are slight modifications of some of the letters through the inclusion of dots and dashes. Alef and Bet are the first two letters of the alphabet. Similar to early writing systems in Semitic, the ancient Hebrew alphabet has no vowels. However, after the Jews were driven out of Israel by Romans, the Rabbis decided to add pronunciation aids to the letters by adding a system of dots and dashes in some of the letters. The Jews refer to letters with dots and dashes as “pointed” texts. The dots appearing at the center of a few letters are termed as “dagesh”, which denotes a hard sound.

Furthermore, unlike English where vowels can appear inconsistently in words, Hebrew follows a strict pattern in which vowels always follow a consonant except when the final letter is a consonant, which may no longer require a succeeding vowel. An example is the Hebrew word “melek” (meaning king), which can also be written as meleko (his king0 and hamelek (the king). An exception to this rule is the letter Yud that can stand as a consonant or vowel just like the letter “Y” in English.

Learning the language through a Hebrew online translator can be fun and helps you appreciate the ancient language of the Bible. If you’re a religious buff or someone driven by curiosity to translate the Hebrew bible as they are written by original authors is probably the topmost benefit once you learn Hebrew. So go ahead and rekindle the life in biblical times.