ENGLISH & HEBREW – ALPHABETS

By: O.T.Shapiro. [Champion in Spelling Bee].

About 4.000 languages are spoken throughout the world today.

Today, English is often spoken in international business and politics. It is called INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE.

The study of language is called LINGUISTICS. The people who study language are called linguists

ALPHABETS

In English, we use a set of 26 letters to spell words.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q

R S T U V W X Y Z

The English alphabet is read from left to right.

THE HEBREW LANGUAGE

You are now beginning the study of the Hebrew language, the language of the ancient Bible.

The Ten Commandments, for example, were originally written in Hebrew; so too was the golden rule of brotherhood, “Love thy neighbor as thyself “.

The stories of Adam and Eve, Abraham in Canaan, Joseph and his brothers, Moses in Egypt, David and Solomon, Ruth and Naomi, Esther and Mordechai, were first told in Hebrew .

THE HEBREW ALPHABET

The Hebrew alphabet has 22 letters.

The Hebrew alphabet is read from right to left.

We have already seen that the English alphabet is indirectly derived from the Hebrew .

” Aleph” in Hebrew, for example, became “alpha” in greek and “a” in English; “bais” in Hebrew became “beta” in Greek and “b” in English.

Of course, many changes took place; thus, English has 26 letters and Hebrew only 22.

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א ב ג ד ה ו ז ח ט י כ ל מ נ ס ע פ צ ק ר ש ת

HEBREW NAMES and CITIES

Hebrew has contributed more proper names to English than any other language. Here are some examples:

חוה -IN ENGLISH -EVE- MEANING – LIFE

המשך יבא…

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ABBREVIATIONS

Abbreviations are shortened forms of words. They are made by leaving letters out or by replacing a group of letters with another letter or symbol.

AC – alternating current (type of electrical current)

A.D. – anno domini ( Latin for “in the year of the lord” or since the birth of Christ )

A.M. – ante meridiem (from midnight until noon)

ASAP – as soon as possible

A.S.P.C.A. - American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

BA – Bachelor of Arts ( college degree)

B.C. – Before Christ

B.C.E. - Before the Christian Era