Hebrew Slang for the Workplace
Posted inBlog Hebrew

Hebrew Slang for the Workplace

So you got a job in Israel, mazal tov! That’s very exciting for you. You’re going to hear a lot of new Hebrew slang words around the office, as well as official work phrases and jargon. It’s important to understand what your coworkers are saying — whether it’s during a meeting or even at lunch.
What does the name Esther mean?
Posted inBlog Hebrew Persian Religion

What does the name Esther mean?

Queen Esther from the Bible wasn’t really called "Esther" -- or was she? Well, firstly, yes, we know she had two names: a Hebrew one, Hadassah, and a Persian one, Esther. But the way we pronounce the Persian one, “Esther,” (es-ter) is most likely the Hebraicized version of the original Persian. So what was her real name in Persian? And what does the name "Esther" mean?
Cross-linguistic influence meets diminished input: A comparative study of heritage Russian in contact with Hebrew and English
Posted inEnglish Hebrew Research Russian

Cross-linguistic influence meets diminished input: A comparative study of heritage Russian in contact with Hebrew and English

While it is known that heritage speakers diverge from the homeland baseline, there is still no consensus on the mechanisms triggering this divergence. We investigate the impact of two potential factors shaping adult heritage language (HL) grammars: (1) cross-linguistic influence (CLI), originally proposed for second language acquisition (SLA), and (2) background factors associated with input.
Contact between Old Persian and Hebrew? A Rejoinder to A. Wilson-Wright
Posted inHebrew History Persian Religion Research

Contact between Old Persian and Hebrew? A Rejoinder to A. Wilson-Wright

A recent article in Vetus Testamentum by Aren Wilson-Wright reconsiders the Persian influence on Biblical Hebrew. The author challenges existing proposals and expands the dataset for analysis. By blending philology and sociolinguistics, the study reveals a complex, multifaceted linguistic interaction between Old Persian and Hebrew, shedding light on previously unknown aspects of this historical period.