hebreo

Hebreo refers to the Hebrew language, a Northwest Semitic language native to Israel and historically associated with the Jewish people. It is one of the two official languages of Israel, alongside Arabic, and serves as the liturgical language of Judaism.

The Hebrew language has a documented history spanning over three millennia. Ancient Hebrew, also known as Biblical Hebrew, was used in the writing of the Hebrew Bible and other early Jewish texts from approximately the 10th century BCE onward. Following the Babylonian exile, Aramaic gradually replaced Hebrew as the everyday spoken language among Jewish communities, though Hebrew continued to be used for religious and scholarly purposes.

During the late 19th century, Hebrew underwent a remarkable revival process led by Eliezer Ben-Yehuda and other Zionist pioneers. This linguistic renewal transformed Hebrew from a primarily liturgical language into a modern vernacular, making it one of the few successful examples of a dead language being revived for everyday use. Today's Modern Hebrew incorporates vocabulary from Biblical Hebrew while also including loanwords and neologisms to address contemporary needs.

Hebrew is written from right to left using the Hebrew alphabet, which consists of 22 consonantal letters. The language features a root-based morphology where most words are derived from three-consonant roots that convey basic meanings. Vowel sounds are typically indicated by diacritical marks called niqqud, though these are often omitted in everyday writing.

The language is spoken by approximately nine million people worldwide, with the majority residing in Israel. Hebrew dialects include Israeli Hebrew, which is the standard form used in education and media, as well as various traditional pronunciations maintained by Jewish communities in different countries. The Academy of the Hebrew Language in Jerusalem serves as the official institution responsible for regulating and developing the language.