Online StoreThe Constantly Adapting Hebrew Language
Sometimes, words from Indo-European languages are taken and modified to fit Hebrew. A good example is the common word “to telephone”, which in Heberw is “TILPHEN”. This practice is not new in 20th century. Even during Mishnaic times, we can find words borrowed from Greek. An example is “HIT’AKHSEN” (received hospitality) from the Greek word “XENIA” meaning hospitality.
Theodore Herzl published a Zionest novel, Altneuland. He selected this name for the new state since it symbolized both old (German: alt) and new (German: neu). The city Tel Aviv is a rough Hebrew translation, since “TEL” means mound or ruin (thus symbolizing old), and Aviv is the month of Spring, indicating new.
Just as English often uses prefix and suffixes to modify words, Hebrew often does the same. For example, you can often add the suffix “-ut” to a word. For example, SHELEMUT means “perfection” from the root verb SHALEM (meaning “perfect”). SIFRUT means “literature” from the noun SEFER meaning book.
Sometimes a word for an occupation is built by using changing the both vowels to the “AH” sound. Here are two examples: PASAL means “sculptor” from the word “PESEL” which means “idol”. The word “violinist” is KANNAR, which is taken from the noun “KINOR” meaning “violin”.
Adding the prefix letter “MEM” to a word often converts a verb to a noun. Those who study Biblical Hebrew will be familiary with words such as MISHKAN (tabernacle) from SHAKAN (dwell) and MIKDASH (temple) from KADASH (to sanctify/make holy). In Modern Hebrew, we can see such words as MAHBET (bat or tennis racklet, from the stem HABAT meaning “beat”).
As in English, two words are combined to form a new word. For example, “goodbye” is a shortend version of “God be with you”. KOLNOA (movie theater or sound pictures) is a blend of KOL (sound) and NO’A (motion). Interestingly, TAPUZ is an orange, from the word TAPUACH (apple) and the first letter of ZAHAV (gold).
English, Yiddish, Russian have contributed to new Hebrew words. SHWITZ means sweat in Yiddish, which inspired the Hebrew word MASHWITZ - a pretneious person. From English, Hebrew has borrowed words such as nylon, tractor, and bateriah (battery). From Russian, the suffix “Nik” is occassionaly used, such as MAPAMIK (a man belonging to the MAPAM party).
