Yampolskaya, S;
(2016)
The concept of “dead language” as exemplified by Hebrew.
Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University, Series 13, Asian Studies, African Studies
(3)
pp. 16-30.
10.21638/11701/spbu13.2016.302.
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Abstract
This paper examines the problematic concept of dead language as exemplified by the Hebrew language. The first section presents a brief history of the concept of dead language in European linguistic thought. Originating in Italy of the 15th century, the term became common in European linguistic writings during the 16th to 18th centuries as an epithet for Latin, Ancient Greek and Hebrew. During the Haskala (Jewish Enlightenment) in the 19th century it was adopted by Jewish intellectuals and was current in linguistic controversies throughout the 20th century. Sections 2 and 3 show the key role the label dead as applied to Hebrew played in wide-spread polemics on Jewish language choice in Russia during the first quarter of the 20th century (§ 2) and in the discourse about a Hebrew “revival” in Palestine at the same period (§ 3). Later works on the history of Hebrew published in the 19th and 20th centuries proposed novel conceptualizations but nevertheless followed the idea of the “deadness” of the Hebrew language of previous periods, discussed in § 4. Examples of Hebrew usage which contradict Hebrew’s functioning exclusively as a language of religion and high-level writings are provided in § 5. The last section is a humble attempt to outline a possible direction for a description of Hebrew language history, avoiding the problematic term dead language and other related terms. Refs 69. // В статье на примере иврита анализируется проблематичный для лингвистики термин «мертвый язык». В первом разделе дана история данного понятия с момента его возникновения. Появившись в ходе полемики итальянских гуманистов в XV в., оно вошло в обиход европейских филологов XVI–XVIII вв. как эпитет для латыни, древнегреческого и иврита. В XVIII–XIV вв. понятие «мертвый язык» было акцептировано еврейскими просветителями. В первой четверти XX в. термин «мертвый» применительно к ивриту сыграл ключевую роль в полемике о выборе еврейского национального языка в России (§ 2) и в становлении идеологии «возрождения иврита» в Палестине (§ 3). Новейшие трактовки истории иврита XIX–XX вв. наследуют идее «мертвости» иврита предыдущих периодов (§ 4). Примеры, опровергающие представления, будто бы иврит использовался только в литературе высоких жанров и в религиозной сфере, приведены в § 5. В последнем параграфе предлагаются подходы к изучению истории иврита без использования проблематичного термина «мертвый язык». Библиогр. 69 назв.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | The concept of “dead language” as exemplified by Hebrew |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.21638/11701/spbu13.2016.302 |
| Publisher version: | http://hdl.handle.net/11701/3894 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the version of the record. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | biological metaphor in linguistics, linguistic terminology, dead language, Hebrew language “revival”, Yiddish language, diglossia, dissolution of diglossia, history of linguistics // мертвый язык, возрождение иврита, диглоссия, иврит |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of Arts and Humanities UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Dept of Hebrew and Jewish Studies |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10069684 |
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