26 TheLinguistFEBRUARY/MARCH www.iol.org.ukFEATURESJordan Lancaster learns Hebrew online through the ulpan system, designed to teach the language and culture to new immigrants to IsraelOne of the most infamous translation errorsof all time was made in Hebrew. The LatinVulgate translation of the biblical text ofExodus 34:29 by Saint Jerome states: 'Andwhen Moses came down from Mount Sinai,he held the two tables of the testimony, andhe knew not that his face was horned fromthe conversation of the Lord.' In fact, theoriginal Hebrew reads more like: 'Mosesknew not that the appearance of the skin ofhis face was radiant.' To give Saint Jerome hisdue, the original Hebrew word could meaneither 'horn' or 'irradiation'.1As a result,Michelangelo depicted Moses with horns inhis famous statue, located to this day in thechurch of Saint Peter in Chains, in Rome. The language of the modern state of Israel,Hebrew has been referred to as the HolyLanguage2since ancient times. Although itwas replaced by Aramaic as the everydaylanguage of the early Jews, it continued to beused for literary and religious purposes evenafter the fall of Jerusalem to the Romans in70AD. Today, Modern Hebrew is spoken bysome 7 million people in Israel, where it is anofficial language together with Arabic. Rebirth of Hebrew Modern Hebrew developed along with therise of Zionism in the late 19th century. EliezerBen-Yehuda (1858-1922) was the first to makeexclusive use of Hebrew in his home inJerusalemandhe devotedhis lifeto therevivalof the language through journalism, publishingand the establishment of schools. Thislinguistic hero 'made it possible for severalmillion people to order groceries, drive cattle,make love, and curse at their neighbours in alanguage which until his day had been fit onlyfor Talmudic argument and prayer.'3Ulpan and absorption Clearly, Zionism and Modern Hebrew areinextricably linked, and this is reflected in theIsraeli language teaching system to this day.An ulpan5is an institute or school for theintensive study of Hebrew, allowing newimmigrants to learn the language quickly andeffectively. The first ulpan was established inJerusalem in 1949, when the new countrywas faced with an influx of immigrants -refugees from war-torn Europe, oppressedcommunities from Africa and the MiddleEast, and others from all over the world.Although all were recognised as Jewish, theirlanguage and culture varied widely. More than 1.3 million immigrants have nowpassed through the ulpan system, which isoperated by the Ministry of ImmigrantAbsorption free of charge. Adults are taughtbasic language skills, together with thefundamentals of Israeli culture, history andgeography. According to the Ministry's Guideto Ulpan Study,6this represents a major step inthe assimilation process:'The importance of Hebrew ulpan as partof the absorption process cannot beoveremphasized. The language skills youacquire in ulpan will benefit you throughevery phase of your absorption, includingfinding a place to live, looking foremployment, and building relationships withveteran Israelis. During ulpan you will learnabout and experience Israeli society, politicsand culture, while getting to know thoseinstitutions, authorities and agencies thatyou will be dealing with in the future.'Yet it is not only those making aliyah(immigrating to Israel) who are interested instudying the language. Hebrew is learntmostly by students of Judaism and Israel, asQuestfor the holylanguageBen-Yehuda is therefore one of the mostimportant figures in the foundation of themodern Israeli state, and the main commercialthoroughfares of both Jerusalem and Tel Avivbear his name. Nonetheless, he wasostracised from the ultra-orthodox communityof the time, which viewed Hebrew as thelanguage of the prophets, not to be used foreveryday banalities. Ben-Yehuda spent much of his life creating aModern Hebrew dictionary. The language,which is written from right to left using the 22-letter Hebrew alphabet, had stoppeddeveloping its vocabulary when it had ceasedto be a spoken language almost two thousandyears previously. Words did not exist for manymodern concepts, so Ben-Yehuda borrowedwords from other Semitic languages, includingArabic, Assyrian and Coptic, and languagessuch as Greek, Latin, Polish and Yiddish. His legacy was famously defined by CecilRoth: 'Before Ben-Yehuda. Jews could speakHebrew; afterhim, they did.'4In1913, Hebrewbecame the official language of instruction inJewish schools in what was then Palestine. In1948, it became the official language of thenewly established State of Israel. © PRASENBERG, 'MOSES', 16/6/08 VIAWIKIPEDIA(CC BY 2.0)

Vol/51 No/1 2012FEBRUARY/MARCHTheLinguist27FEATURESto sing along to. Recent topics have includedthe history of Masada, bird migration in Israeland biographies of famous Israelis. Zionism is not in evidence, as the audiencefor this type of course is varied and learnersare not necessarily interested in making aliyah.eTeacher Hebrew offers additional culturalseminars, with topics including the Dead Seascrolls, Israeli cookery and aspects of Biblicalstudies. There is a sister programme ofClassical Hebrew for those interested inreading biblical texts in their original language. Sense of identity The teaching of Hebrew in Israel is a source ofconstant debate, as the language is one of thedefining features of the Israeli identity. Therewere difficulties in the 1990s when almost amillion immigrants came from Russia,prompting a new joke: 'What is the secondmost widely spoken language in Israel?Hebrew!' In 2007, the Israeli Parliament, theKnesset, established an inter-ministerialcommittee to make recommendations for theimprovement of the ulpan system. Severalalternative teaching systems are beingconsidered, among them a system ofaccelerated learning. From 2004, many ulpans were closedfollowing budget cuts by the Jewish Agency.Nonetheless, the Hebrew language continuesto be a source of pride and cohesion amongIsraelis from all walks of life. Israel is also oneof the most satisfying places in the world to bea language student, because many inhabitantseither learned Hebrew as a second languageor have parents who did. This makes themuniversally patient and polite with yourattempts to converse. They often assumelanguage learners are new immigrants andoffer words of welcome and encouragement. Given its history as the language spoken byMoses and the prophets, Hebrew has longbeen a source of fascination as a holylanguage. Along with this historical prestige, inIsrael today it is a dynamic, daily, secularlanguage. One of the first expressions newlearners encounter is the greeting L'Haim?????); 'Here's to life'). This is much moremeaningful than its English equivalent,'cheers', giving a sense of the vitality ofeveryday life in Israel -an energy which isexpressed in the vibrancy and innovation of itsulpan language learning system. Notes1karan `ohr panav ((??? ??? ????2leshon hakodesh ((???? ?????3St John, R, 1952, Tongue of the Prophets,Wilshire Book Company, Hollywood, 12 4Roth, C, 'Was Hebrew Ever a DeadLanguage' in Roth, Personalities and Events inJewish History, 1953, Jewish PublicationSociety of America, Philadelphia, 136-1425Ulpan(?????; plural ulpanim, ???????) means'studio' or 'teaching/instruction' in Hebrew6A Guide to Ulpan Study, 2005, 4th Ed, Ministryof Immigrant Absorption, Jerusalem, 5Israel is one of themost satisfying placesto be a languagestudent. Inhabitantsare universally patientEFFECTIVE STUDYStudying at a Talmudic workshop (left).Michelangelo gave Moses horns in thisstatue in Rome (far left) because of atranslation error from the Hebrewwell as academics studying Middle Easterncivilisation, theologians and seminarians. The ulpan framework's culture-based,intuitive approach to language teaching ishighly innovative. Developed over the last 60 years to great effect, the fast and effectivemethodology has even been copied inWales, where Wlpan offers Welsh languageand culture programmes to thousands ofadult learners. In recent years the ulpan system has comeon apace and it is now possible to study atulpan online from anywhere in the world. I decided to enrol with Hebrew Online (noweTeacher Hebrew) to consolidate myknowledge of the language, picked up onlong trips to Israel. Gadgets such as a specialheadset began arriving in the post and I wassent links to my virtual classroom and studentlocker. A toolbar enabled me to access Israelinews programmes and radio (the army station,Galgalatz, has a surprisingly good playlist). For someone from a traditional linguisticbackground, it took time to adjust to theintuitive method used, but within a fewweeks I became familiar with the dialoguesand question-and-answer exercises. Thevirtual classroom works like a conference callin Skype, with features allowing you to raiseyour hand or even to pass notes to friends,and to replay the entire class at leisure. Myclassmates lived in Australia, Greece, theNetherlands and the United States. The online ulpan is not geared towardsimmigration, but this does not mean that theprogramme skimps on cultural segments. Ireceive a weekly e-zine in English, focusing onvarious aspects of Israeli life, followed by a listof new vocabulary, word games and a song inHebrew, with lyrics and a link to an audio file