Language Contact and Lexical Enrichment in Israeli Hebrew [Hardcover]

Israeli Hebrew is a spoken language, 'reinvented' over the last century. It has responded to the new social and technological demands of globalization with a vigorously developing multisourced lexicon, enriched by foreign language contact. In this detailed and rigorous study, the author provides a principled classification of neologisms, their semantic fields and the roles of source languages, along with a sociolinguistic study of the attitudes of 'purists' and ordinary native speakers in the tension between linguistic creativity and the preservation of a distinct language identity.Acknowledgements Abbreviations Introduction New Perspectives on Lexical Enrichment The Case of Israeli: Multisourced Neologization (MSN) as an Ideal Technique for Lexical Enrichment Addition of Sememe Versus Introduction of Lexeme MSN in Various Terminological Areas Sociolinguistic Analysis: Attitudes Towards MSN in 'Reinvented Languages' The Source Languages Statistical Analysis Conclusions and Theoretical Implications Appendix: Transcription, Transliteration and Translation References Index

'...this is the first time that anyone has drawn attention to the extent to which 'phono-semantic matching' applies in word formation...a most important contribution to the study of Israeli Hebrew word formation in particular and of language change in general.' - Shmuel Bolozky, Professor of Hebrew, University of Massachusetts

'This book will interest not only researchers and graduate students in the topic but also Hebraists. Moreover, any layman who loves words will find it absorbing and entertaining... it is both scholarly and original [and] an outstanding contribution to the science of etymology.' - Professor Geoffrey Lewis, St Antony's College, Oxford

'..fascinating and multifaceted... a paean to linguistic creativity. It is especially timely in the present historical context of rapid globalization and linguistic inter-influence.' - Professor James A. MlsÄ