journal # 7

[Alexander Allen]

My culture presentation allowed me to more thoroughly study the history of Hebrew in order to understand the cultural relevance to the modern version of the language. Understanding the history of Hebrew also allows me to become more affluent in comprehending, and explaining Judaism and Israeli culture in general. Because of the religious history of Hebrew, I understand the meaning behind many words, because in many cases, the root of the word has some sort of religious reference or connotation. I also understand the reason why many words for simple things such as "market" or "excellent" are identical, or very similar to the words in Arabic that carry the same meaning. Modern Hebrew brings the history of the jewish tradition, the multicultural relevance which was drawn from it's nomadic beginnings, and the revolutionary adaptiveness of a language which has died and subsequently been revived in a more modern setting.