A sociolinguistic study of Hebrew in Jordan: implications for language planning

• Autores: Fawwaz Al-Abed Al-Haq
• Localización: International journal of the sociology of language, ISSN 0165-2516, Nº. 140, 1999, págs. 45-58
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • This study aims to investigate changing attitudes toward the Hebrew language among students at Yarmouk University, Jordan, and attempts to answer the following questions: what are theprevailing attitudes in Jordan to the learning of Hebrew by Jordanians? How much importance do university students attach to learning the Hebrew language? What are the main incentives for students to learn Hebrew? And do students believe that learning Hebrew will aid the process of normalization between Arabs and Jews? A questionnaire was developed and distributed to 317 undergraduate students at Yarmouk University. Thefindings ofthe study reveal that attitudes toward Hebrew and toward Jewish culture are changing äs rapidly äs the availability of Hebrew learning opportunities is changing. The sample realizes that it is necessary to learn Hebrew for religious, political, and national purposes. Jordanian students show a spectrum of attitudes that strongly reflect the cultural confusion that has come öfter so many years of settled enmity. Finally, a Strategie plan is proposedfor the acquisition of Hebrew in Jordan.