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Why is Arabic an official language in Israel?

What language do they speak in Israel?

  • What language do most Israeli speak as their first language? Hebrew, Aramaic or Arabic? Also, are Yiddish and Ladino(Judaeo-Spanish) still widely spoken in Israel? And what are the most commonly spoken foreign languages in Israel?

  • Answer:

    The vast majority of the population speaks Hebrew, so that is their official language, of course. However, Israel has another official language, which is Arabic. Aramaic is still taught within Israel, but only for religious purposes. I've read of a few Christians communities teaching it to their children for generations, and Aramaic is sometimes the language we Jews pray in. However, it is a dead language, like Latin, so you are not likely to find anyone easily in Israel who can speak it. Yiddish is still spoken among Ultra-religious Ashkenazi Jews; however, they know Hebrew as well, or should, and Yiddish is usually isolated in neighborhoods of Israel like Mea Shearim or Bnei Barak. It still holds some appeal, as a few words in Hebrew do derive from the Yiddish, and of course Israelis find it fascinating how it has affected the culture of the US. Ladino is not as spoken as Yiddish, but there are still communities that speak it. Other languages you might be likely to encounter are English, Spanish, French, German, Russian, Tagalog, or Amharic. Most Israelis learn some English, as no one else outside of Israel speaks Hebrew in any significant numbers, and there are a few who are from or have spent time in an Anglophone nation. Spanish and French speaking immigrants to Israel is also on the rise, and many Israelis have also traveled to Spanish speaking or Francophone countries as well. German isn't as popular, but quite a few learn it and Israel actually maintains really good ties with Germany. When the Soviet Union fell, many went to Israel asap and of course they brought their language. They learned Hebrew, for the most part, very quickly, too. Tagalog, or Filipino, is heard more often than one might think because Filipinos make up the largest group of out of country workers in Israel, working mainly in elderly care. And, Amharic is the traditional language of Ethiopia, brought when so many African (yes, I do mean black) Jews left Ethiopia for a better life in their Holy Land.

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Hebrew, Arabic and Russian are the main languages used in Israel

Dan Dan

Currently, there are two official languages in Israel: Hebrew and Arabic. English, which has semi-official status, is used extensively at all levels of society. Yiddish has always and is still regularly used in some haredi Ashkenazi communities. However, despite state-sponsored initiatives for preserving Yiddish culture, the number of Yiddish-speaking Israelis is in decline as older generations of Ashkenazi Jews pass away. Ladino is still spoken by many Sephardi Jews. Today there is a state-supported authority for preserving the Ladino culture. 1. Russian, as many as 20% of Israelis are fluent in Russian 2. Romanian, it is estimated that there are more than 500,000 Romanian-speakers in Israel, and it's the second largest "foreign language" in Israel 3. Amharic, it is spoken by most of Israel’s 130,000 Ethiopian Jews Check and see for more http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Israel

Shay p

Hebrew

Hebrew is spoken by all israelis. Aramaic is an older form of Hebrew that is only used in the Torah and prayers. Its a bit like Latin in the christian faith. A lot of Israelis speak English, and Arabic is spoken too - but not as much as English. English - and arabic I think are both taught in schools - and in the army for those comming into contact with Palastinians. There is also a Yemeni community too... There have also been a lot of Russian immigrants - so in certain areas like Tel Aviv its probably as - if not more commen than english. Yiddish and all its varients are spoken really only by some older people and very religious jews although some Israelis with european immigrant parents might be able to speak a smattering of it. As some one also mentioned - Amharic ( a semitic language) is commen as there are now a lot of ethiopian immigrants. Aside from that - Romanian - and id guess maybe Hungarian and other eastern european languages. In terms of which one is most commen - its hebrew. All israelis speak it - and even some palastinians - its the national language of Israel. It was revived about 60 years ago - when israel was reformed after ww2 - its based on biblical hebrew but words have changed usage, and new words invented to meet the needs of modern society - since hebrew was static for near on 2000 years and didnt develope in the same way that other languages did ...

Lakhota Butterfly

Hebrew and English

Charles

Hebrew is foremost but Arabic, Yiddish, Ladino and many other languages also important

Kevin7

preeeetty languages :D j.k ... well not really. but you got your answer from everyone else already !

I thought...

Israeli

Hebrew

iris

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