| Languages of Israel | |
|---|---|
 Map showing languages inIsrael,Golan Heights,West Bank andGaza Strip. Blue shows dominantly Hebrew speaking areas, lighter blue shows mixed Hebrew and Arabic speaking areas, white shows dominantly Arabic speaking areas. | |
| Official | Hebrew[1] |
| Semi-official | Arabic |
| Immigrant | Russian |
| Foreign | English[2] |
| Signed | Israeli Sign Language |
| Keyboard layout | |
TheIsraeli population is linguistically and culturally diverse.Hebrew is the country's official language, and almost the entire population speaks it either as a first language or proficiently as asecond language. Its standard form, known asModern Hebrew, is the main medium of life in Israel.Arabic is used mainly by Israel'sArab minority which comprises about one-fifth of the population. Arabic has a special status underIsraeli law.
English is known as a foreign language by a significant portion of the Israeli population as English is used widely in official logos and road signs alongside Hebrew and Arabic. It is estimated that over 85% of Israelis can speak English to some extent.[2]Russian is spoken by about 20% of the Israeli population, mainly due to the large immigrant population from the formerSoviet Union. In addition, the 19th edition ofEthnologue lists 36 languages and dialects spoken through Israel.[3]
According to a 2011Government Social Survey of Israelis over 20 years of age, 49% report Hebrew as their native language, Arabic 18%,Russian 15%,Yiddish 2%,French 2%, English 2%,Spanish 1.6%, and 10% other languages (includingRomanian, andAmharic, which were not offered as answers by the survey). This study also noted that 90% ofIsraeli Jews and over 60% ofIsraeli Arabs have a good understanding of Hebrew.[4]
Several laws determine the official status of languages andlanguage policy in Israel. This confusing situation has led to several appeals to theSupreme Court, whose rulings have enforced the current policies of national and local authorities.
On 19 July 2018, theKnesset passed aBasic Law under the titleIsrael as the Nation-State of the Jewish People, which definesHebrew as "the State's language" andArabic as a language with "a special status in the State" (Article 4). The law further says that it should not be interpreted as compromising the status of the Arabic language in practice prior to the enactment of the Basic Law, namely, it preserves the status quo and changes the status of Hebrew and Arabic only nominally.[5]
Before the enactment of this Basic Law, the status of official language in Israel was determined by the 82nd paragraph of theConstitution of Mandatory Palestine, which was promulgated by anOrder in Council of theBritish Crown on14 August 1922, as amended in 1939:[6]
All Ordinances, official notices and official forms of the Government and all official notices of local authorities and municipalities in areas to be prescribed by order of the High Commissioner, shall be published in English, Arabic and Hebrew.
This law, like most other laws of theBritish Mandate, was adopted in the State of Israel, subject to certain amendments published by theProvisional State Council on 19 May 1948. The amendment states that:
Any provision in the law requiring the use of the English language is repealed.[7]
Apart from Hebrew, Arabic and English, the use ofRussian dramatically increased with massive arrivals of Jewish immigrants from the formerSoviet Union. Today, Russian TV channels and media are widely available alongside Hebrew and Arabic media.
InitiallyFrench was used as a diplomatic language in Israel, and was also used alongside Hebrew on official documents such aspassports until the 1990s, even though most state officials and civil servants were more fluent in English. However, theIsraeli-French alliance unraveled in the runup to the 1967 Six-Day War, leading to decreased use of French. Israeli passports switched from French to English during the 1990s.
TheBritish Mandate articles, issued by the Council of theLeague of Nations in 1922, and the 1922 Palestine Order in Council were the first in modern times to acknowledgeHebrew as an official language of a political entity. This was a significant achievement for theZionist movement, which sought to establishHebrew as the national language of the Jewish people and discouraged the use of otherJewish languages, particularlyYiddish.[8] The linguistic dualism between Hebrew and Yiddish was similar to that of Hebrew and Aramaic in ancient times.[9]
The movement forthe revival of Hebrew as a spoken language was particularly popular among new Jewish Zionist immigrants who came toOttoman ruledMutasarrifate of Jerusalem beginning in the 1880s.Eliezer Ben-Yehuda (born in theRussian Empire) and his followers created the first Hebrew-speaking schools, newspapers, and other Hebrew-language institutions.Max Weinreich notes in his bookHistory of the Yiddish Language, Volume 1, the "very making of Hebrew into a spoken language derives from the will to separate from theDiaspora".[10] After Ben Yehuda's immigration to Israel, and due to the impetus of theSecond Aliyah (1905–1914), Hebrew prevailed as the single official and spoken language of the Jewish community ofMandatory Palestine. When the State of Israel was formed in 1948, the government viewed Hebrew as thede facto official language and initiated amelting pot policy, where every immigrant was required to study Hebrew and often to adopt a Hebrew surname. Use of Yiddish, which was the main competitor prior toWorld War II, was discouraged,[11] and the number of Yiddish speakers declined as the older generations died out. However, Yiddish is still often used in AshkenaziHaredi communities worldwide, and is usually the first language for the members of the Hasidic branches of such communities.
Today,Hebrew is the official language used in government, commerce, court sessions, schools, and universities. It is the language most commonly used in everyday life inIsrael. Native Hebrew speakers comprise over 63% of the population.[12] The vast majority of the rest speak Hebrew fluently as a second language. Native-born Israeli Jews are typically native speakers of Hebrew, but a significant minority of Israelis are immigrants who learned Hebrew as a second language. Immigrants who come under theLaw of Return are entitled to a free course in anulpan, or Hebrew language school. Most of them speak fluent Hebrew, but some do not. MostIsraeli-Arabs, who comprise a large national minority, and members of other minorities are also fluent in Hebrew. Historically, Hebrew was taught in Arab schools from the third grade onward, but it has been gradually introduced from kindergarten onward starting in September 2015. A Hebrew exam is an essential part of the matriculation exams for students of Israeli schools. The state-affiliatedAcademy of the Hebrew Language, established in 1953 by a Knesset law, is tasked with researching the Hebrew language and offering standardized rules for the use of the language by the state.
A survey by the Central Bureau of Statistics released in 2013 found that 90% ofIsraeli Jews were proficient in Hebrew and 70% were highly proficient. It also found that 60% ofIsraeli Arabs were proficient or highly proficient in Hebrew, while 17% could not read it and 12% could not speak it.[13]
Literary Arabic, along with Hebrew, has special status underIsraeli law. Various spoken dialects are used, and Arabic is the native language amongIsraeli-Arabs. In 1949, there were 156,000 Arabs in Israel,[14] most of whom did not speak Hebrew. Today, the figure stands at about 1.6 million, and although most are proficient in Hebrew, Arabic remains their primary native language.
In addition, a significant number of Israeli Jews know spoken Arabic, although only a very small number are fully literate in written Arabic. Arabic is the native language of older generations of thoseMizrahi Jews who immigrated fromArabic-speaking countries. Arabic lessons are widespread in Hebrew-speaking schools from the seventh through ninth grades. Those who wish to do so may opt to continue their Arabic studies through the twelfth grade and take an Arabic matriculation exam. A 2015 study found that 17% ofIsraeli Jews can understand Arabic and 10% can speak it fluently, but only 2.5% can read an article in the language, 1.5% can write a letter in it, and 1% can read a book in it.[15]
For many years, the Israeli authorities were reluctant to use Arabic, except when explicitly ordered by law (for example, in warnings on dangerous chemicals), or when addressing the Arabic-speaking population. This has changed following a November 2000 supreme court ruling which ruled that although second to Hebrew, the use of Arabic should be much more extensive.[16] Since then, all road signs, food labels, and messages published or posted by the government must also be translated into Literary Arabic, unless being issued by the local authority of an exclusively Hebrew-speaking community. As of December 2017, 40% of digital panels on public buses list their routes in bothHebrew andArabic across the country, and, starting in 2015, Arabic has been increasingly featured in signs along highways and in railway stations.[17]
Arabic was always considered a legitimate language for use in theKnesset alongside Hebrew, but only rarely have Arabic-speaking Knesset members made use of this privilege as while all Arabic-speaking members of the Knesset are fluent in Hebrew, fewer Hebrew-speaking members of the Knesset can understand Arabic.[18][19]
In March 2007, the Knesset approved a new law calling for the establishment of anArabic Language Academy similar to theAcademy of the Hebrew Language. This institute was established in 2008, and its centre is inHaifa. It is currently headed by Mahmud Ghanayem.[20][21]
In 2008, a group of Knesset members proposed a bill to remove Arabic's status as an official language, making it an "official secondary language".[22][23] That bill did not pass.[citation needed]
In 2009,Israel Katz, the transport minister, suggested that signs on all major roads in Israel, East Jerusalem and possibly parts of the West Bank would be amended, replacing English and Arabic place names with straight transliterations of the Hebrew name. Currently most road signs are in all three languages.Nazareth, for example, would become "Natzeret".[citation needed] The Transport Ministry said signs would be replaced gradually as necessary owing to wear and tear. This has been criticized as an attempt to erase the Arabic language and Palestinian heritage in Israel.[24] Israel's governmental names' committee unanimously rejected that suggestion in 2011.[25]
Over 20% of Israelis are fluent in Russian after mass Jewish immigration from theUSSR (Russian Jews in Israel) and itssuccessor states in the 1970s, 1990s, and 2000s. The government and businesses often provide both written and verbal information in Russian. There is also anIsraeli television broadcast channel in Russian. In addition, some Israeli schools also offer Russian language courses. The children of Russian immigrants to Israel generally pick up Hebrew as their dominant language, but most still speak Russian, and a majority still use Russian instead of Hebrew with family and Russian-speaking friends.[26] As of 2017 there are up to 1.5 million Russian-speaking Israelis.[27]
Most Jewish immigrants from theSoviet Union were highly educated,[28] with almost 45 percent of them having some kind of higher education.[29] Despite the fact that the native language of a significant part of the country's population is Russian, the language occupies a modest role in Israel's education system.Hebrew University started teaching Russian in 1962. In public schools, the first Russian-language classes were opened in the 1970s in large cities. The number of students enrolled in these programs dropped in the 1980s as immigration from the Soviet Union slowed down. In the 1990s, a Russian-language program carried out by local governments calledNa'leh 16 included some 1,500 students. In 1997, about 120 schools in Israel taught Russian in one way or another.[30]
Traditionally, Russian speakers read newspapers and listen to radio more often than Hebrew speakers.[31]Nasha strana was the major Russian-newspaper in Israel during the 1970s, when it competed withTribuna for the immigrant reader.[32] In 1989, there was only one daily in Russian, and 6 in 1996.[33] Since the 2000s, the number of Russian-language newspapers started to decline due to the increasing number of television and online media.[34] Israeli television provides daily translation in Hebrew, Arabic, and Russian.[35] In 2002, the Israeli Russian-speaking commercial Channel 9 was launched. It is also known asIsrael Plus.[34] In November 2007, a typical digital package included 45 channels in foreign languages, with 5 in Russian.[35] At 2004 there were four dailies, 11 weeklies, five monthlies and over 50 local newspapers published in Russian in Israel, with a total circulation of about 250,000 during weekends.[32] Daily radio services in Russian are also available throughout Israel.[28]
Yiddish has been traditionally the language ofAshkenazi Jews in Eastern Europe and the second most widely spoken Jewish language after Hebrew. Currently, it is spoken by approximately 200,000 Israelis, mostly inHasidic communities. In Hasidic communities, speaking Yiddish is a form of "linguistic protection", separating the community and preventing integration into mainstream Israeli society.[36] Yiddish is a Germanic language, but incorporates elements of Hebrew andSlavic languages. Yiddish saw a decline in its prevalence among the Israeli population in the early statehood of Israel, due toits use being banned in theatres, movies and other cultural activities. It has undergone a cultural revival in recent years. Yiddish is the primary language in someHaredi Ashkenazi communities in Israel. However, despite state-sponsored initiatives for preserving Yiddish culture, the number of Yiddish-speaking Israelis is in decline as older generations of Ashkenazi Jews die. In addition, due to greater integration of Haredim, many families in Yiddish-speaking Haredi communities have switched to using primarily Hebrew at home, which has led to the launch preservation campaigns among these communities.[37] In a 2013 survey, about 2% of Israelis over the age of 20 recorded Yiddish as their native language.[13]
In 2018, the director of theIsraeli Ministry of Education stated that graduates who lacked English proficiency were effectively "handicapped" in today's economy. An October 2017 report by theIsrael Central Bureau of Statistics showed that 38% of Israelis ages 16 to 65 said they lacked basic English skills like speaking, reading, or writing and 13% reported that they do not know any English whatsoever.[38] English retains a role comparable to that of an official language.[39][40][41]
In 1999, theHigh Court of Justice ruled that English, Arabic and Hebrew were inherited as official languages by Israel, but that English had been removed by the Law and Administration Ordinance of 1948.[42] The Ordinance said:
"Any provision in the law requiring the use of theEnglish language is repealed."[7]
In practice, the use of English decreased dramatically during the state's early years. At first,French was used as a diplomatic language, even though most state officials and civil servants were more fluent in English. During the late 1960s, the Israeli-French alliance was undermined, leading to a stronger Israeli-United States alliance and paving the way for the English language to regain much of its lost status. Today, English is the primary language for international relations and foreign exchange, but it is not sanctioned for use in Knesset debates or in drafting legislation. Some British Mandate laws are still formulated in English, and the process of their translation into Hebrew has been gradual.English is required as a second language in schools and universities, for both Hebrew and Arabic-speaking students.
Although English does not enjoy the same status as Hebrew and Arabic do, English proficiency is a core requirement in the public education system and road signs are generally written in English after Hebrew and Arabic. English is taught in public schools from the third grade to high school, and passing an English oral and written test is a prerequisite for receiving aBagrut (matriculation certificate). Most universities also regard a high level of English as a prerequisite for admission. Exposure toAmerican culture has been massive in Israel in recent decades, and foreign language television shows are generally presented in the original language with Hebrew subtitles rather than dubbed, which means that there is a high level of exposure to English in the media.[43][44][45]
Due to immigration from English-speaking countries, a small but significantminority of Israeli Jews are native English speakers. One survey found that about 2% of Israelis spoke English as their native language.[13]
Themelting pot policy, which governed the Israel language policy in its early days, was gradually neglected during the late 1970s. While in the 1950s Israeli law banned Yiddish-language theaters and forced civil servants to adopt Hebrew surnames, the new policy allowed immigrants to communicate with the authorities in their language of origin and encouraged them to keep their original language and culture. This new practice has become evident since the early 1990s withmassive immigration from the former Soviet Union and the additionalimmigration from Ethiopia (Ethiopian Jews in Israel). Israeli authorities began to use Russian andAmharic extensively when communicating with these new immigrants. During the 1991Gulf War, warnings and instructions were issued in at least seven languages. In 1991, a new radio station was erected, called "REKA", which is a Hebrew acronym for "Aliyah Absorption Network". At first, it broadcast exclusively in Russian, also containing programming aimed at teaching Hebrew, which included veteran Israel radio broadcasters recapping news in "easy Hebrew"; some years later, Amharic andTigrinya time slots were introduced. Just as news in Arabic existed onArutz 1, news programmes appeared in Russian, Amharic and Tigrinya. Several newspapers and magazines were published in Russian and easy Hebrew withNiqqud. In the early 2000s,the first Russian-language TV channel was created.
Many other languages are used by large sectors of the Israeli population, including:
and severalvillage sign languages,[65]
The linguistic dualism between Hebrew and Yiddish was similar to that of Hebrew and Aramaic in former generations.
In 1948, the newly independent state of Israel took over the old British regulations that had set English, Arabic, and Hebrew as official languages for Mandatory Palestine but, as mentioned, dropped English from the list. In spite of this, official language use has maintained a de facto role for English, after Hebrew but before Arabic.
English is not considered official but it plays a dominant role in the educational and public life of Israeli society. ... It is the language most widely used in commerce, business, formal papers, academia, and public interactions, public signs, road directions, names of buildings, etc. English behaves 'as if' it were the second and official language in Israel.
In terms of English, there is no connection between the declared policies and statements and de facto practices. While English is not declared anywhere as an official language, the reality is that it has a very high and unique status in Israel. It is the main language of the academy, commerce, business, and the public space.
Israeli Sign Language and Hebrew are the languages of the Israeli Deaf community
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