The Hebrew Reclamation

This chapter introduces an original analysis of the Hebrew reclamation, resulting in ‘Israeli’, a term first used by Zuckermann (1999). A language is a col-lect-ion, an abstract ensemble of lects (idiolects, sociolects, dialects, and other lects) rather than an entity per se. It is more like a species than an organism. Still, the genetic classification of Israeli as a consistent entity has preoccupied linguists since the language emerged at the end of the nineteenth century. As a consequence, Israeli affords insights into the politics and evolution not only of language, but also of linguistics and revivalistics. The chapter proposes that the languages spoken in Israel today is a semi-engineered, Semito-European hybrid language. Its complexity should be acknowledged and celebrated, regardless of what one chooses to call it. The chapter also introduces two useful principles to the analysis of revival languages: The Founder Principle and the Congruence Principle. In revivalistics, the ...