Hebrew
Language - Study of Hebrew
Study of the Hebrew
language has an ancient history. Since Hebrew is the original language
of the Hebrew Bible (known as the Torah and Tanakh), it is therefore a
language that has always been central to Judaism and valued by the
Jewish people for over three thousand years, (and later by Christian
scholars as well).
Jewish scholars of Hebrew
The beginnings of the study of Hebrew are found in the Talmud and
Midrash, which have some grammatical notes. The Masoretes continued the
study as they fixed the text and vocalization of the Hebrew Bible. Under
the influence of the Arab grammarians, Rabbi Saadia Gaon (tenth century)
made the Jewish study of Hebrew grammar almost scientific. Later Jewish
grammarians include David Qimhi (known as the Radak), Abraham ibn Ezra,
and Hayyuj.
Non-Jewish scholars of Hebrew
The first major non-Jewish grammarian was John Reuchlin (16th century),
but it was not until the early 19th century that Hebrew linguistics was
studied on a secular, scientific level. The pioneer of this movement was
Wilhelm Gesenius, who published thirteen editions of his Hebräische
Grammatik. After Gesenius' death in 1842, the 14th through 21st editions
were published by E. Rödiger, and the 22nd through 28th editions were
published by Emil Kautzsch. Many of these editions were translated into
English; the 28th edition was done in 1910 by A. E. Cowley and is known
today simply as Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar. This has become the standard
Hebrew reference grammar in English even though it is obsolete.
The largest compendium of Hebrew grammatical material is E. König's
Historisch-Kritisches Lehrgebäude der Hebräischen Sprache (1881-97).
Paul Joüon's Grammaire de l'hébreu biblique (1923) was recently edited
and translated into English by T. Muraoka as A Grammar of Biblical
Hebrew (1991). Muraoka made this into the most complete and up-to-date
reference grammar. Also quite modern is Rudolf Meyer's Hebräische
Grammatik (1966-72), but it is not quite as thorough as Joüon-Muraoka.
Of note as well is Mayer Lambert's Traité de grammaire hébraïque (1931).
The most thorough, well-organized, and analytically incisive Hebrew
grammar is the 29th edition of Gesenius' grammar by Gotthelf
Bergsträsser. However, the author only managed to complete the sections
on Phonology (1918) and the Verb (1929) before his untimely death.
Although other grammars are more current, Bergsträsser's is unsurpassed
due to its depth and insight. Another excellent grammar is Hans Bauer
and Pontus Leander's Historische Grammatik der Hebräischen Sprache des
Alten Testaments (1917-22) although it, too, lacks syntax. Neither
grammar has been translated into English, although Bergsträsser's has
been translated into Hebrew (Jerusalem, 1972).
Israeli Hebrew scholars
One must note the contributions, in recent years, of Israeli scholars to
the field of Hebrew linguistics, most notably Naftali Herz Tur-Sinai,
Chaim Rabin, E. Y. Kutscher, Shelomo Morag and Joshua Blau.
The Israeli Academy of the Hebrew Language
The Academy of the Hebrew Language (האקדמיה ללשון העברית) in modern
Israel is the "Supreme Foundation for the Science of the Hebrew
Language" founded by the Israeli Government in 1953. This academy is
responsible for creating new Hebrew words to keep up with today's
rapidly changing society. In addition, the academy has the "final say"
concerning matters of spelling and grammar.
From:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_study_of_Hebrew
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