Glossary; 1. Is Hebrew an endangered language?; 2. The emergence of Hebrew; 3. Hebrew-Aramaic bilingualism and competition; 4. Three languages in Hellenistic and Roman Palestine; 5. From statehood to diaspora; 6. The Arabian and African connections; 7. The spread of Islam; 8. The Jews of France; 9. The Jews of Spain and their languages; 10. Loter-Ashkenaz and the creation of Yiddish; 11. The Yavanic area - Greece and Italy; 12. Jews in Slavic lands; 13. Linguistic emancipation and assimilation in Europe; 14. Britain, its former colonies and the New World; 15. Islam and the Orient; 16. The return to Zion and Hebrew; Appendix: estimated current status of Jewish languages.
A vivid commentary on Jewish survival and Jewish speech communities, investigating difficult questions about language varieties and choices.
Bernard Spolsky is Professor Emeritus of the English Department at Bar-Ilan University and editor of The Cambridge Handbook of Language Policy.
'Bernard Spolsky's magnum opus shows us the complexities of a
globalized sociolinguistic system within a relatively small
community of people. It is a sobering book for those who still
cherish a one culture - one language image of societies, and an
encouragement to all those who take delight in the unexpected
intricacies of language in society.' Jan Blommaert, Tilburg
University
'… an impressive tour de force through time and space, tracing
three millennia of multilingualism of the Jewish people.' Benjamin
Hary, Emory University
'An engaging and panoramic vade mecum through four millennia of
Jewish history, the languages they spoke, and the essential
formative role of Hebrew throughout … laced with intimate and
questioning reflections of a distinguished scholar.' Norman A.
Stillman, Schusterman/Josey Professor of Judaic History, University
of Oklahoma
'… a masterpiece that in one fell swoop replaces the earlier
partisan, parochial works emanating from this or that theory-pusher
… Spolsky lays out on his generous table the vast universe of ideas
and facts, beautifully structured. Yet for all his love of the
languages covered, he is able to stand back and give the reader a
meticulously honest selection of interpretations and sources from
which to choose. [This] is the first (and only) work to tell the
general reader about the ongoing robust debates about each language
and period (and indeed about all of them), with fairness to all
sides and PR for none; with clarity … about each position, and with
careful compilation of bibliography enabling you to continue study
of whichever language (or theory) attracts you. A magnificent
contribution to the study of Jewish languages. At long last.' Dovid
Katz, formerly Vilnius University
'Spolsky's book is an important addition to the literature of [the]
field, a must-have reference for historians of the Jews and
scholars of Jewish languages.' Sarah Bunin Benor, Marginalia Review
of Books
'For the first time we have a remarkable book summarizing in a very
clear way the complex history of Jewish languages, and presenting
to specialists an erudite and breathtaking sociolinguistic study. I
hope that this important book will raise debate and discussion
among specialists of general linguistics helping to understand the
birth, evolution and structure of languages. It will become,
without a doubt, one of the most important books on the languages
spoken by Jewish people, past and present, studied from a
sociolinguistic perspective.' Jean Baumgarten, Journal of
Sociolinguistics
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