Israel’s Hebrew Revival A Potential Model To Save Languages

Revivalistics

Professor Zuckermann is a Professor of Linguistics and Chair of Endangered Languages at the University of Adelaide, Australia. He was awarded doctorates from Oxford and Cambridge Universities. He works tirelessly in the actual field rather than solely with scholars. He defines revivalistics as the field of language reclamation.

His new book is divided into two parts, one reflecting his journey from analyzing Modern Hebrew – which he calls ‘Israeli’ since he describes it as being a completely different language in a category of itself ‘revived language’ – but that’s another story!

The second part is about reclaiming “Dreaming, Sleeping Beauties” in Australia and beyond.

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/how-yiddish-influenced-modern-hebrew-yes-you-read-it-correct/

Why revive  

Zuckermann suggests that language revival has far-reaching effects beyond linguistics alone. He claims that it reduces delinquency, drunkenness, depression and suicide – common social issues among Aborigines today. Knowing the language of your ancestors instills a sense of pride and identity, and makes you more mentally fortified for the trials of life: Just like Israelis speaking the revived language of their ancestors. Studies have confirmed that there are cognitive and medical advantages to being multilingual. Zuckermann knows of an individual who had been in multiple run-ins with the law and a substance abuse problem, but after 2 years of learning his language, turned his life around.

Cultural tourism is another theater for revival – tourism provides an avenue for performance of the Haka (a Maori war) or buskers playing bagpipes in the Scottish Highlands. 

In the Sydney 2000 Olympics; Ngunnawal was used in the opening ceremony. Kaurna has been used in welcoming people to the Adelaide Festival of Arts since 1998, WOMADelaide (World Music Adelaide) and the Adelaide Language Festival – established by Zuckermann himself. 

The Barngarla in South Australia lost its native language by 1960. Their traditional lands were the Eyre Peninsula. Being a coastal community in Cape York, contact with European whalers and traders since the 19th century means that there was violent conflict accelerating language loss. Their traditional lands cover 17,500 square miles (45,000 sq. km) – roughly twice the size of Israel.

When I asked Zuckermann “Why can’t the Barngarla simply learn a related living neighboring language instead?”, he retorted: “It’s like telling Scottish to learn Russian. Do you think they’d be happy to use Russian lexical terms for ‘kilt’ and ‘bagpipe’?”

“Similarly, Barngarla would like to reconnect with their own language, rather than, say the neighboring Pitjantjatjara.

Zuckermann believes that this will help right the wrongs of the past. In fact, when Zuckermann first approached them in 2011, elders said “we have been waiting for you for 50 years.”

Westerners used technology for colonization such as ships, weapons and ‘black cars’ – which kidnapped mixed-race children and put them in foster homes in order to forcibly assimilate them. 

Today ironically, technology helps them reconnect with their cultural autonomy and sovereignty. Zuckermann has prepared a special app with a user-friendly, accessible Dictionary that can be used even by non-scholars.