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January 31, 2007

Language Immersion

I remain intrigued by Eliezer Ben Yehuda, compiler of The Complete Dictionary of Modern and Ancient Hebrew. It seems I’m not alone: Marc’s comment alerted me to a Rhode Island connection (go figure!); Meredith’s comment caused me to wonder about Eliezer’s wife, Devora.

I went to the The Jewish National and University Library at the Givat Ram Campus of Hebrew University and did some more reading. Although I have found conflicting stories about him, a few of the stories stand out and appear to be true, or at least interesting.

While I initially admired the pioneer spirit of Eliezer and Devora who committed themselves to speaking only Hebrew from the moment they began their journey from Europe to Palestine, I since learned of a small glitch in the system. Once they had a child, how would they ensure he spoke only Hebrew when the kids in the neighborhood were speaking Yiddish or Arabic or Russian? It was simple enough. Eliezer did not allow his son to leave the house or speak to anyone who did not speak Hebrew. This meant no playmates for the little guy until the children of Israel started to speak Hebrew too. This would take a while. Little Ben-Zion Ben Yehuda did not learn to speak at all until he was four, but it was in Hebrew. I don’t think Devora foresaw such results when her husband first proposed his language immersion plan.

There are many more little tales about Eliezer and I think about these stories when I learn a new word or phrase in Hebrew. I am, of course, luckier than Ben-Zion. To immerse myself in the language, I get to go outside and meet new friends. I’m going outside now and will dedicate my next Hebrew conversation to Devora Ben Yehuda and to her son who could not leave the house.

Joel Solomon Street in the Nachalat Shiva neighborhood of Jerusalem.

Another view of Nachalat Shiva.

Posted by Ilene Weismehl  at 3:14 PM | Permalink

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Posted by: Meredith at February 6, 2007 06:25 PM

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