Abstract
Israeli sociolinguistics is characterized by a transition from Ancient Multilingualism to Hebrew hegemony at the beginning of statehood and to present day plurilingualism. Israel’s 2018 Nation State Law made Hebrew the country’s only official language, with Arabic accorded ‘special status’. This contrasts with the country’s rich linguistic, religious and ethnic diversity where 50 native languages (including several sign languages) are spoken by immigrants, and Hebrew is native to only 51% of Israel’s citizens. Research on bilingual language development, identity, family language policy and bilingual education has become central to Israeli sociolinguistics. Research on Modern Israeli Hebrew and Colloquial Arabic, covering identity, language policy, diglossia and language contact, is surveyed. Separate sections are dedicated to processes of Hebraization and gradual shift to Hebrew in the Israeli Russian community, and to the role of English. The chapter concludes with a statement connecting multilingualism with unprecedented demographic changes where collective identity is challenged daily, stimulated by major social cleavages.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | The Routledge Handbook of Sociolinguistics Around the World |
| Subtitle of host publication | Second Edition |
| Publisher | Taylor and Francis |
| Pages | 278-288 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9781000901955 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9781032056128 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 1 Jan 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2024 selection and editorial matter, Martin J. Ball, Rajend Mesthrie and Chiara Meluzzi; individual chapters, the contributors.