Yesterday I had my last Ivrit (Hebrew) class of the Spring Semester. I hope to go back for the Summer Semester and learn not just the language but more about the people. When I joined the course in March, three months after I moved to Tel Aviv, I knew nothing of Hebrew. Of course, I could say Hello – Shalom, What’s up – Manishma, No – Lo, Yes – Ken, Okay – Biseder and ‘English?’ – ‘Anglit?’ These words were more than enough to get by in this rather cosmopolitan city which is also home to a gazillion immigrants. There are those staunch Israelis who will demand you speak in Hebrew, but the vast majority of the population will try to help you if you throw up your hands and just say “anglit?” with a puppy face.

Ten classes helped me overcome inertia and begin learning the language with more zeal. I can now read at a slow pace, I do not remember the entire alphabet, but I do not suppose pattern recognition will take too long to master. What remains the problem with Hebrew is my lack of vocabulary and the small glitch that Hebrew is written without vowels. I might encounter a word that reads (Vowel-placeholder)-S-P-R-S-(Long-Vowel-placeholder), and slowly decrypt it to ‘espresso’. Aha moments abound here! Of course they have vowel indicators (dots and dashes under/above/beside/inside letters), but they do not use them. You will only find a long line that indicates that the longer vowel is to be used. For example: My name would be written as ‘S-S-Mi-T’. The ee sound with M is indicated, but not the u sound in su. If my name were ‘Soosmita’, then ‘oo’ would reflect in the way it is written. Maybe this is why my landlady spells her dog’s name (in text messages) thus: Hctor (maybe the ‘o’ is there because it is pronounced as a long vowel).

It is as if Hebrew evolved into SMS lingo much before mobile phones or even computers for that matter were invented. Even if I recognise the consonants, I never know what the word is, because, I do not know which vowels are present in the word. I have begged many Israelis to answer one simple question I have about the language – Why No Vowels? Pat come the replies, “Who needs vowels?” “The consonant combinations are unique, so you don’t need vowels to tell you how to pronounce the word.” The language has an inherent chutzpah that says – Vowels? For who? (Please go watch Trevor Noah say “Comma? For Who?” in his bit about Jacob Zuma)

My ears now seek out Hebrew words I know. While I was waiting at a bus stop a couple of weeks ago, I totally eavesdropped on a conversation about software development for a start-up that is based in North Tel Aviv! I even use Hebrew at the market these days. With the conviction of a local who wants to bargain, I say, “Cama” or how much. When the price exceeds 30 or a number I know in Hebrew, I walk away. I think the strategy works just fine for me, because I exude confidence when I ask how much, and soon I turn out to be a rude customer who means business. The shopkeeper drops the price to 10 or 15 and I could not be happier about my inadvertent bargaining skills. There is no better way to certify mastery over the language than one’s bargaining skills in the language. And, I am killing it!

Hebrew Alphabet	Cursive Alphabet (dots not used)

The cursive Hebrew script is very different from the formal script that you will find in newspapers or keyboards. I am yet to make the connection between the cursive letters and the formal ones. That’s another drawback, but I am willing to forgive that if they used vowels!