Hebrew by osmosis
Apr. 21st, 2003 10:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cellioI've had poor results trying to learn Hebrew formally, and some ok results just picking things up by osmosis, so it's time to ask for some pointers from my Hebrew-literate friends. (Ok, my timing probably stinks what with Pesach and all. If I don't get any replies, I'll try this again in a week. But I'm thinking of it now.)
I think it's time for me to read.
I should probably aim for a mix of children's books (real young children) and books that are a little less, err, intellectually lame. I mean, most adults will tire pretty quickly of "see Dick run", and I'm no exception. I'm wondering if books with simpler vocabulary that are already familiar to me would be reasonable candidates -- things like The Little Prince or some of Aesop's fables or the like. I read that stuff in English as a young child (definitely fables before kindergarten), so it should be possible.
Anything I try to read has to have full nikud (vowels), at least for now. Larger print is a plus. And I'd like to be able to buy it by mail, to avoid funny looks in Pinsker's (or, worse yet, them assuming I have children).
Does anyone have any suggestions?
And no, I'm not interested in reading Harry Potter in Hebrew. Didn't read it in English; don't want to read it in another language. And anyway, it doesn't have nikud. :-)
I think it's time for me to read.
I should probably aim for a mix of children's books (real young children) and books that are a little less, err, intellectually lame. I mean, most adults will tire pretty quickly of "see Dick run", and I'm no exception. I'm wondering if books with simpler vocabulary that are already familiar to me would be reasonable candidates -- things like The Little Prince or some of Aesop's fables or the like. I read that stuff in English as a young child (definitely fables before kindergarten), so it should be possible.
Anything I try to read has to have full nikud (vowels), at least for now. Larger print is a plus. And I'd like to be able to buy it by mail, to avoid funny looks in Pinsker's (or, worse yet, them assuming I have children).
Does anyone have any suggestions?
And no, I'm not interested in reading Harry Potter in Hebrew. Didn't read it in English; don't want to read it in another language. And anyway, it doesn't have nikud. :-)
Nikud
Date: 2003-04-23 11:49 pm (UTC)One of the things I like about Rosén's textbook (which I mentioned in an earlier comment) it that it starts off without nikud. It's a little odd at first, but the advantage is that it presents from the first the language as it's actually written, which means that one quickly gets used to dealing without vowel signs -- and it's far easier than you'd think. Rosén also spends time explaining what cues to look for to resolve the vowels in ambiguous cases.
BTW, I have a copy (with nikud, I think -- never tried to actually read it) of Pu ha-Dov. Amusing concept, in some ways.
Re: Nikud
Date: 2003-04-24 06:33 am (UTC)I've heard of Winnie the Pooh in a bunch of different languages, so I guess Hebrew shouldn't really surprise me. I'm told the Latin one is amusing.
Re: Nikud
Date: 2003-04-24 10:05 am (UTC)