Engages directly with the delicate intersections between homogenizing state policies and the extraordinary linguistic diversity on the ground.
This book provides the most comprehensive overview to date of multilingualism in Israel, spanning Hebrew-only ideologies, immigrant and heritage languages, and grassroots community initiatives. The first section ('Ideologies') examines the persistence of monolingual Hebrew language ideologies and state efforts to regulate Yiddish, Arabic and other languages, and how such efforts have been contested in domains such as cinema, theatre, the printed press and digital media.
The second section ('Realities') explores the resilience of community languages, from Amharic and Russian to Chinese, Ladino and local sign languages, and demonstrates how community resilience and linguistic practices often prove stronger than official ideologies or state policy.
By situating multilingual practices within current political tensions, migration debates and language ideologies, the book offers essential insights for scholars, students and those interested in sociolinguistics, language policy and the complexities of Israeli society.
Arvustused
An incisive tribute to Bernard Spolskys unparalleled legacy, Multilingual Israel is a brilliant contribution to the different aspects of multilingualism research he spent a lifetime studying and shaping. Bold, timely, and deeply insightful, this volume advances the critical conversations Spolsky championed. An essential reading for anyone interested in multilingualism, identity, and politics. * Tommaso M. Milani, Penn State, USA * More than 25 years after Spolsky and Shohamys book on multilingualism in Israel, this volume is far more than an update. It challenges the pursuit by some of uniformity, monolingualism, monoculturalism, nationalism, or extremism. The wide range of contributions and the multiple foci provide a compelling illustration of how, in Israel and beyond, multilingual policy and practice are shaped by the dynamics of globalization and mobility. This book implicitly and explicitly advocates a multilingual, multicultural, democratic, and internationally oriented society. * Piet Van Avermaet, University of Ghent, Belgium *
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Engages directly with the delicate intersections between homogenizing state policies and the extraordinary linguistic diversity on the ground
Chapter
1. Iair G. Or, Elana Shohamy and Bernard Spolsky: Israel: A
Multilingual Space Shaped by People, Media Technology, Policies, Ideologies
and Needs
PART 1: IDEOLOGIES
Chapter
2. Dafna Yitzhaki: 'This Clause Does Not Harm the Status Given to the
Arabic Language' The Nation State Law and the Status of the Arabic
Language A Language Ideology Perspective
Chapter
3. Yuval Rubovitch: The War of Languages and German-Speaking Jewry
Chapter
4. Rachel Rojanski: Was Yiddish Really Persecuted in Early Israel?
The Case of the Yiddish Press
Chapter
5. Abed al-Rahman Mari: Ideological Dilemmas in the Use of Arabizi
by Young Arab Citizens in Israel
Chapter
6. Oren Livio: Ideological Dilemmas in the Use of Arabizi by
Young Arab Citizens in Israel
Chapter
7. Sarit Cofman-Simhon: Jewish Languages and Inclusivity-Exclusivity
Dialectics in Israeli Theatre
Chapter
8. Sigal Yona: The Presence of Arabic in Israeli Cinema
PART 2: REALITIES
Chapter
9. Dolly Eliyahu-Levi: Abugida: Keeping the Tigrinya Language and
Culture Alive
Chapter
10. Yael Gaulan and Yuli Hatzofe: Hebrew at the Margins: Language
Instruction for Asylum Seekers in Israel
Chapter
11. Adam Ahmed and Lisa Richlen: Language Reclamation: A Response to
the Oppressive Sudanese State and a Coping Strategy for Darfurian Asylum
Seekers in Israel
Chapter
12. Belaynesh Mekonen, Monica Broido and Michal Tannenbaum: Keepers
of the Flame: Mitigating Language Shift in the Ethiopian Jewish Community in
Israel
Chapter
13. Wendy Sandler: The Sign Language Mosaic in Israel
Chapter
14. Marina Niznik: The Russian Israeli Community: A Language-Based
Phenomenon
Chapter 15 Ivonne Lerner and Rosalie Sitman: Spanish and the Spanish-Speaking
Community in Israel Today
Chapter 16 Ora (Rodrigue) Schwarzwald: Judeo-Spanish (Ladino) in Israel in a
Multilingual Society
Chapter
17. Tamar Cohen-Kehat: Patterns of Maintenance: Uses and Teaching of
Chinese as a Heritage Language in Chinese Communities in Israel
Chapter
18. Haitam Shehadeh: The Presence of Hebrew in the Arabic Discourse
of Staff Meetings in an Arab School
Epilogue: Iair G. Or and Elana Shohamy: Multilingualism in Israels Shifting
Realities
Iair G. Or is a Lecturer at Kibbutzim College of Education and Tel Aviv University, Israel. His research interests include the instruction and language planning of Hebrew and Arabic in Israel, as well as minority language communities.
Elana Shohamy is Professor in Tel Aviv University School of Education and The Lowy International School, Israel. She is the author of many books, most recently Developing Multilingual Education Policies (co-authored with Michal Tannenbaum, Routledge, 2023).
Bernard Spolsky (1932-2022) was a Professor of English at Bar-Ilan University, Israel. His authored works include The Languages of Israel: Policy, Ideology and Practice (1999, with Elana Shohamy, Multilingual Matters) and Rethinking Language Policy (Edinburgh University Press, 2021).
