(in Polish) Cywilizacja hebrajska i żydowska 2.3 3600-8-HE1-CHZ2.3

The course aims to familiarise students with the broader context of Hebrew language use and to present it from the perspective of its sister Semitic language, Aramaic. The course will cover the developmental phases of both languages and the communities that have spoken them over the centuries, as well as source texts and their editions/translations illustrating the sociolinguistic and cultural context of each text. Students will learn about the importance of Aramaic not only for Judaism but also for modern Hebrew, as well as about the legacy of Aramaic—once the lingua franca of the ancient Near East—which is also evident in European high and popular culture. The course will also cover the significance of Aramaic for the Church of the East and contemporary Aramaic dialectology. Classes are based on the following topics:
1. Introduction to Semitic Languages.
2. The Origins of Hebrew and Aramaic.
3. The Development and Periodization of the Hebrew Language.
4. Introduction to the Bible as a Text of Judaism and Christianity (canon, translations, languages, communities, cultural topos).
5. The Revival of the Hebrew Language—Facts and Myths.
6. The Contemporary Sociolinguistic Situation of the Hebrew Language.
7. The Development and Periodization of the Aramaic Language.
8. Aramaic as a Jewish Language.
9. Aramaic as the Language of the Samaritans.
10. Aramaic as the language of Eastern Christianity.
11. Contemporary Neo-Aramaic dialectology.
12. A Comparison of Hebrew and Aramaic—An Attempt at Comparison.
13. Reading and Analysis of Texts.

Course coordinators

Lidia Tuwalska-Napiórkowska

Type of course

obligatory courses

Mode

Classroom

Learning outcomes

The graduate knows and understands:
- at an advanced level, the most significant phenomena, trends, and literary texts of Israel and the Jewish diaspora.
- at an advanced level, the influence and role of historical processes, religion, and the philosophical systems of Judaism on the conditions of the contemporary world.
- jewish philosophy and religion.
- the impact of the natural environment, economy, international relations, as well as ethnic, demographic, and political situations on the social and cultural issues of Israel from both historical and contemporary perspectives.
- at an advanced level, methods of analysis and interpretation of various cultural products specific to native Jewish traditions.

The graduate is able to:
- correctly position the State of Israel within the context of its natural environment, geopolitical, and economic conditions.
- read and interpret literary texts and other works of cultural expression (film, press, social literature), correctly placing them within their cultural context, as well as analyze, compare, and identify correlations between them and the issues of tradition and modernity.
- present issues in the field of Israeli and Jewish cultural studies in Polish and Hebrew, taking into account the intellectual tradition of Judaism.

The graduate is ready to:
- explore cultural diversity, its sources, and its significance for the contemporary world.
- reflect on the place and significance of Jewish and Israeli culture within world culture.
- recognize the socio-cultural values of Judaism and Israel, drawing upon them for personal development and effective intercultural communication.

Assessment criteria

- Ongoing preparation for classes (reading of the assigned texts at home)
- Active participation in class discussions
- Short presentations on the lives and works of authors, as well as selected socio-historical issues concerning Israel
- Exam at the end of the semester

Admission to the final assessment is conditional upon meeting the minimum attendance requirement. The maximum allowed number of unexcused absences is 15%; the total number of both excused and unexcused absences permitting a student to take the exam is 30%.

The use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools is strictly prohibited when preparing papers and presentations. The course instructor reserves the right to conduct additional verification in the event of justified doubts regarding the authenticity and independence of the prepared project.

Bibliography

Source texts:
Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (BHS). 1997, wyd. 5, red. A. Schenker.
Biblia Tysiąclecia, 2003. Pod kierunkiem Benedyktynów Tynieckich. Poznań: Pallottinum.
Tora: Pięcioksiąg Mojżesza, 2006. Tł. Izaak Cylkow. Kraków: Austeria.
Further reading:
The Academy of teh Hebrew Language. האקדניה ללשון העברית. https://hebrew-academy.org.il/.
Bar-Asher, Moshe. „Mishnaic Hebrew.” The Semitic Languages: An International Handbook, ed. Stefan Weninger et al., 515-22, Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton, 2011.
Blau, Joshua. Phonology and Morphology of Biblical Hebrew: An Introduction. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 2010.
Daniels, Peter T. „Scripts of Semitic Languages.” The Semitic Languages, ed. Robert Hetzron, 16-46. London: Routledge, 1997.
—. „The Origin of Alphabet.” Encyclopedia of Hebrew Language and Linguistics, 4 vols, ed. Geoffrey Khan, 87-95, vol. 1. Leiden: Brill, 2013.
Encyclopedia of Hebrew Language and Linguistics, 4 vols, ed. Geoffrey Khan, 585-6, vol. 3. Leiden: Brill, 2013.
Fellman, Jack. „A Sociolinguistic Perspective on the History of Hebrew.” Readings in the Sociology of Jewish Languages, ed. Joshua A. Fishman, 29-34. Leiden: Brill, 1985.
—. The Revival of Classical Tongue: Eliezer Ben Yehuda and the Modern Hebrew Language. The Hague: Mouton de Gruyter, 1973.
Florentin, Moshe. „Biblical Samaritan Hebrew.” Encyclopedia of Hebrew Language and Linguistics, 4 vols, ed. Geoffrey Khan, 445-52, vol. 3. Leiden: Brill, 2013.
Gzella, Holger. Tempus, Aspekt und Modalitaet im Reicharamaeischen. Wiesbaden: Harrassovitz, 2004.
—. „Northwest Semitic in General.” The Semitic Languages. An International Handbook, ed. Stefan Weninger et al., 425-451, Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton, 2011.
—. Languages from the World of the Bible, ed. Holger Gzella, 1-13. Berlin: de Gruyter, 2012.
—. A Cultural History of Aramaic: From the Beginnings to the Advent of Islam. Leiden: Brill, 2015.
Haramati, Shlomo. Hebrew- A Spoken Language. Ministry of Defence: Israel, 2000. שלמה הרמרתי. עברית שפה מדוברת. משרד הביטחון: ישראל תש''ס
Henkin, Roni. „Sociolinguistics of Modern Hebrew.” Usage-Based Studies in Modern Hebrew, ed. Ruth A. Berman, 51-95. John Benjamins: Amsterdam, 2020.
—. „The Re-Emergence of Hebrew as a National Language.” The Semitic Languages. An International Handbook, red. Stefan Weninger et al., 546-54, Berlin: De Gruyter, 2011.
Kahn, Lily and Aaron Rubin (eds). Handbook of Jewish languages. Leiden: Brill, 2015.
Khan, Geoffrey. „North-Eastern Neo-Aramaic.” The Semitic Languages. An International Handbook, ed. Stefan Weninger et al., 708-72, Berlin: De Gruyter, 2011.

—. The Tiberian Pronunciation Tradition of Biblical Hebrew: Including a Critical Edition and English Translation of the Sections on Consonants and Vowels in the Masoretic Treatise Hidāyat al-Qāriʾ ‘Guide for the Reader’, vol. 1. Cambridge: Open Book Publishers, 2020.

Niesiołowski-Spanó, Łukasz i Krystyna Stebnicka. Historia Żydów w starożytności. Od Thotmesa do Mahometa. Warszawa: PWN, 2020.
Rubin, Aaron. „Genetic Affiliation.” Usage-Based Studies in Modern Hebrew, ed. Ruth A. Berman, 41-9. John Benjamins: Amsterdam, 2020.
Sáenz-Badillos, Angel. A History of the Hebrew Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996.
—. „Hebrew as the Language of Judaism.” The Semitic Languages. An International Handbook, ed. Stefan Weninger et al., 537-545, Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton, 2011.
Schwarzwald Rodrigue, Ora. „Modern Hebrew.” The Semitic Languages. An International Handbook, ed. Stefan Weninger et al., 523-536, Berlin: De Gruyter, 2011.
Berma, Ruth (ed.). Usage-Based Studies in Modern Hebrew: Background, Morpho-lexicon, and Syntax. John Benjamins: Amsterdam, 2020.
Van Pelt, Miles V. Basics of Biblical Aramaic: Complete Grammar, Lexicon, and Annotated Text. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011. |
Weninger, Stefan et al. (eds). The Semitic Languages. An International Handbook. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton, 2011.
Hetzron, Robert (ed.). The Semitic Languages. London: Routledge, 1997.

Term 2026L: