It’s All Hebrew to Me

I’ve always loved learning new languages. Between English, Spanish, Arabic, and some basic Hindi, I’ve been able to get around most places I’ve traveled. Israel is a completely different story. Hebrew is the major national language here and it’s unlike any language I’ve encountered (besides Bahasa Indonesia, which is another story I won’t delve into now.) The most complicated part is that Hebrew has its own unique script, unshared with any Romance languages, so I can’t really use my knowledge of Spanish or English to figure things out. Often times, a trip to the grocery store involves a bit of a guessing game, because there’s no English to be found on the packaging of food items. This came as quite a surprise to me, because I know Israel to be quite Europe-friendly; it’s a popular destination for many English-speaking people, so I figured the environment would be friendlier towards English. I anticipated having an easier time with the language, so my higher expectations have made it more difficult to assimilate to the written language.
Surprisingly, despite the lack of English in writing, most people have a basic knowledge of spoken English. So, for example, when I can’t understand a food label, there’s usually someone in the store with the ability to translate for me. I find this to be quite interesting too – Israelis are required to start learning English around third grade, so most of them have the verbal capacity, but it’s not as present in writing. According to one theory from my professor, the passage of time has contributed to the increase in use of Hebrew. When Israel first became a state, it was a country of immigrants, so multiple languages were being used. English was one of them, and in the beginning, it was used much more frequently to connect with the Western world. Perhaps, as time has passed and Israel has become more established, it’s become more comfortable using Hebrew in every day life.
Ironically, even though Israel has a contentious relationship with many Arab states, their languages share a lot in common. Knowing Arabic, I’ve been able to pick up on several words that are similar or identical. The biggest one comes from slang – in both Hebrew and Arabic, “yalla” means “let’s go.” Through times of conflict and politicization, language is still a bridge that transcends boundaries.