Glyn MoodyCan a dead language be revived? - https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=57004 #hebrew was, others can if there's a will (and some financial support...) #aleut #linguistics
Arieh Kovler@glynmoody I think the case for Hebrew sometimes overstates how dead it was. People were writing letters, books and poetry in Hebrew consistently for 2000 years.
@ariehkovler fair point; aleut is certainly nowhere near that level. but it could be brought back, I think, with enough work...
Joel M. Hoffman, PhD@glynmoody #Hebrew was only sort-of revived, and more in writing (which never completely died) than in speech. It's unlikely that a Modern Hebrew speaker could understand the spoken Hebrew of the Bible. And modern Israelis often find it easier to read parts of the Bible in English than in the original Hebrew.
I still think the revival of Hebrew was an amazing feat. Equally, it demonstrates the difficulty.
@JoelMHoffmanPhD indeed, and a fascinating story
Oren Levine@glynmoody for more on the creation of modern Hebrew see "Language in Time of Revolution" by Benjamin Harshav (likely out of print) - details the process of creating a modern language from liturgical roots, including deciding how to "officially" pronounce it https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520079588/language-in-time-of-revolution
Language in Time of Revolution
This book deals with two remarkable events--the worldwide transformations of the Jews in the modern age and the revival of the ancient Hebrew language. It is a book about social and cultural history addressed not only to the professional historian, and a book about Jews addressed not only to Jewish readers.
@ohljazz thanks for that