Hebrew in the daily life of Israelis

Abstract

Hebrew is the everyday language of Israel. Its revival as a spoken language, which took place over the past 150 years, is considered by many a miracle. However, the route to the adoption of Hebrew was not straightforward as it fought off opposition from other languages, especially Yiddish, to become the premier language of the Zionist project. Today, despite the presence of a million and a half Arabic speakers and over a million Russian speakers, its main competition comes from English, the current global lingua franca. Notwithstanding, Hebrew can be seen and heard everywhere-from radio and television, through newspapers and magazines, to place names, street signs, and store fronts.