Something to read

caleteu
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Something to read

Postby caleteu » 2017-02-04, 7:32

Can anyone recommend something to read along with my grammar (Level 2). I know my binyanim, how to use dictionary and a reference grammar. I'm trying to read Michael Eisenberg's Thus Shall it be Done to the Jew in Hebrew, but it takes me half an hour to get through one paragraph! I don't want a translation into Hebrew.
Any suggestions?
Todah!
Yours, Cambron

Lemanensis
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Re: Something to read

Postby Lemanensis » 2017-02-05, 21:41

caleteu wrote:Can anyone recommend something to read along with my grammar (Level 2). I know my binyanim, how to use dictionary and a reference grammar. I'm trying to read Michael Eisenberg's Thus Shall it be Done to the Jew in Hebrew, but it takes me half an hour to get through one paragraph! I don't want a translation into Hebrew.
Any suggestions?
Todah!
Yours, Cambron

Do you really want one whole book rather than various short texts on interesting subjects suited to your level?
There are various texts books used for courses in Israel that are really good, IMO. They have reading texts plus syntax exercises but you can choose for yourself whether the exercises interest you.

What is the name of the grammar book you're currently on?
Martin
http://www.hebrew.ecott.ch <= catalogue of resources for learning Modern Hebrew

caleteu
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Re: Something to read

Postby caleteu » 2017-02-06, 6:26

I'm not picky, just impossible. :D I would prefer a novel (good juvenile literature is fine) or a book on history, originally in Hebrew if possible. A children's Bible Story book would also be fine. The main thing is that is good Hebrew and not a lousy translation. I'm interested in אני וליאה but I'm not sure how difficult the Hebrew is. Elsenberg sounds rather rabbinic.
I teach Biblical Hebrew, so I am familiar with the various verb forms and vocalisation etc. I started off with a German language book, and am now working on the 3rd unit in Edna Amir Coffin's Lessons in Modern Hebrew II. The grammar is still mostly review for me, but working on the sentences is helping a lot.
Cheryl Simani's The Cornerstone of Deception/Even Pinat HaHoniah looks interesting, Daughters of Iraq by by Revital Shiri-Horowitz, or Masa Habubot L'Eretz-Israel by Abraham Regelson.
I have a German copy of Pinhas Sadeh's folk tales, and would love to read it in Hebrew
Todah!

Yours, Cambron

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Re: Something to read

Postby Baldanders » 2017-02-09, 14:28

caleteu wrote:I'm interested in אני וליאה but I'm not sure how difficult the Hebrew is. Elsenberg sounds rather rabbinic.

Both are written in accessible Hebrew from what I could glimpe in the first chapter of each. אני וליאה makes particularily little effort at fancy prose and is close to vernacular in style. Eisenberg's style is just a tad more fancy, but far from resembling anything rabbinic.

Dvora Omer and Galila Ron-Feder Amit are two names that are strongly associated with juvenile literature in Israel. Some of their works tackle serious topics and directed at a slightly more mature audience.

caleteu
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Re: Something to read

Postby caleteu » 2017-02-10, 17:24

Thank you!
I will keep your advice in mind, but for starters I have just ordered a children's book by Abraham Regelson. But I do want to read אני וליאה

yours, CAmbron

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Re: Something to read

Postby Baldanders » 2017-02-11, 0:52

Sure. That wasn't meant to be a recommendation to be clear, I just mentioned a couple of authors to give some direction to your search, since you expressed interest in juvenile literature in Hebrew, but I can't personally vouch for the quality of their work or promise it will help with your Hebrew any. Any children literature created in the last 50 years probably doesn't hold any literary value that would be appreciated by adults. It's just there to pass your time till you are old enough to read Harry Potter or something.

Regelson seems to me more difficult than both Eisenberg and that other one. Or at least furthest removed from colloquial language. Good luck in any case :)

caleteu
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Re: Something to read

Postby caleteu » 2017-02-21, 13:08

Golv wrote:
caleteu wrote:I'm interested in אני וליאה but I'm not sure how difficult the Hebrew is. Elsenberg sounds rather rabbinic.

Both are written in accessible Hebrew from what I could glimpe in the first chapter of each. אני וליאה makes particularily little effort at fancy prose and is close to vernacular in style. Eisenberg's style is just a tad more fancy, but far from resembling anything rabbinic.


Ok, not rabbinic -- but not always quite modern -- I keep having to delve into my Dictionaries for Biblical Hebrew :wink:
Yours, Cambron

caleteu
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Re: Something to read

Postby caleteu » 2017-06-24, 9:30

Golv wrote:Regelson seems to me more difficult than both Eisenberg and that other one. Or at least furthest removed from colloquial language. Good luck in any case :)


As a matter of fact, this book is rather easy (especially since he uses niqud). I stlll have to look up a lot, but that's to be expected.
One question. Is there such a thing as Nitpael? He uses a strange verb I can't find in the lexicon: נצטער Is that an unusua binyan or just bad grammar?
Thank you!
Yours, Cambron

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Re: Something to read

Postby Lemanensis » 2017-06-26, 16:41

caleteu wrote:
Golv wrote:Regelson seems to me more difficult than both Eisenberg and that other one. Or at least furthest removed from colloquial language. Good luck in any case :)


As a matter of fact, this book is rather easy (especially since he uses niqud). I stlll have to look up a lot, but that's to be expected.
One question. Is there such a thing as Nitpael? He uses a strange verb I can't find in the lexicon: נצטער Is that an unusua binyan or just bad grammar?
Thank you!
Yours, Cambron


It's the future form with a -נ prefix for אנחנו
If you look this up in any good online dictionary it will redirect you to the usual dictionary form
HTH
Martin
http://www.hebrew.ecott.ch <= catalogue of resources for learning Modern Hebrew

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Re: Something to read

Postby Drink » 2017-06-26, 18:10

Lemanensis wrote:
caleteu wrote:
Golv wrote:Regelson seems to me more difficult than both Eisenberg and that other one. Or at least furthest removed from colloquial language. Good luck in any case :)


As a matter of fact, this book is rather easy (especially since he uses niqud). I stlll have to look up a lot, but that's to be expected.
One question. Is there such a thing as Nitpael? He uses a strange verb I can't find in the lexicon: נצטער Is that an unusua binyan or just bad grammar?
Thank you!
Yours, Cambron


It's the future form with a -נ prefix for אנחנו
If you look this up in any good online dictionary it will redirect you to the usual dictionary form
HTH


Actually, there is such a thing as Nitpa'el. It's a sort of blend of the Hitpa'el with the נ prefix of the Nif'al originating in Mishnaic Hebrew. It conjugates just like the Hitpa'el, but in the past tense and present tense the initial ה/מ is replaced with נ. It's usually used for verbs with a stative meaning (like נצטער). A famous example from the Passover Haggadah is "מה נשתנה הלילה הזה מכל הלילות" (where נשתנה is the 3rd-person masculine singular past). Modern Dictionaries usually just list such verbs under Hitpa'el, which is why you couldn't find it.
שתה וגם גמליך אשקה

caleteu
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Re: Something to read

Postby caleteu » 2017-06-27, 15:07

Drink wrote:
Lemanensis wrote:Actually, there is such a thing as Nitpa'el. It's a sort of blend of the Hitpa'el with the נ prefix of the Nif'al originating in Mishnaic Hebrew. It conjugates just like the Hitpa'el, but in the past tense and present tense the initial ה/מ is replaced with נ. It's usually used for verbs with a stative meaning (like נצטער). A famous example from the Passover Haggadah is "מה נשתנה הלילה הזה מכל הלילות" (where נשתנה is the 3rd-person masculine singular past). Modern Dictionaries usually just list such verbs under Hitpa'el, which is why you couldn't find it.


Todah!
Does it have the same meaning as the Hitpael?

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Re: Something to read

Postby Drink » 2017-06-27, 15:47

caleteu wrote:
Drink wrote:Actually, there is such a thing as Nitpa'el. It's a sort of blend of the Hitpa'el with the נ prefix of the Nif'al originating in Mishnaic Hebrew. It conjugates just like the Hitpa'el, but in the past tense and present tense the initial ה/מ is replaced with נ. It's usually used for verbs with a stative meaning (like נצטער). A famous example from the Passover Haggadah is "מה נשתנה הלילה הזה מכל הלילות" (where נשתנה is the 3rd-person masculine singular past). Modern Dictionaries usually just list such verbs under Hitpa'el, which is why you couldn't find it.


Todah!
Does it have the same meaning as the Hitpael?


In Modern Hebrew, the meanings of the Nitpa'el forms have (usually or always?) been transferred to the Hitpa'el, so the meanings of the Nitpa'el are a subset of the meanings of the Hitpa'el for a given verb. However, this may not have been the case before Modern Hebrew, when the Nitpa'el was more common and the Hitpa'el may not have shared all of the meanings of the Nitpa'el.
שתה וגם גמליך אשקה

caleteu
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Re: Something to read

Postby caleteu » 2017-08-05, 14:32

If someone is looking for something more humorous, my brother just sent me a lovely copy of the "Wise Men of Chelm" for children (5th Grade?) in Hebrew, adapted by Schlomo Abbas. The grammar is fairly straightforward, it does use niqqud.


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