Language(s)
This is one of those times when I have things I’d like to blog about but it’s too late at night to do much about it. Still, I wanted to make a few points, which I may or may not amplify when (if) I finally catch up.
First on language: I’m now enrolled in a third-year Hebrew course here at Ben Gurion University that meets two evenings a week for a total of more than five hours. The level is about right, and I expect to regain some of what I’ve forgotten over the decades. I’ve also been going to an Arabic class for the same reason, but it’s been harder to find the right level class. Tomorrow I have an appointment with a possible Arabic tutor, who I’m hoping will be able to work with me a couple of times a week and focus on what I know and help push me toward being able to have some basic conversations once I get to Ramallah a month from now.
One thing I’ve wondered as I walk around Beer Sheva looking at signs is what goes into the decision about which languages to use for notices and advertising. Beer Sheva is a mixed Jewish/Arab city, with a lot of Bedouin villages (recognized and unrecognized) nearby. Some signs are in Hebrew, Arabic, and English. Some are just in Hebrew. A few are just in English, mostly multinational chain stores as well as a nightclub I passed. Are the English-only signs a status symbol, or are they trying to draw people who want to practice English? Are stores with only Hebrew signs, or Hebrew and English, indicating they’d rather not have Arab customers? Do Israel’s Palestinian citizens perceive exclusion behind language decisions? I would.
On the bus I took yesterday to nearby Kibbutz Hatzerim to visit a friend, most signs were only in Hebrew; the only sign in both Hebrew and Arabic (and English) told passengers they were responsible for using the safety belts (which I never found, by the way).
At the university, most signs are in Hebrew, with some signs also in English. There’s very little Arabic, despite the large number of Palestinian/Israeli students. I’ve been told the university, as a public university, is legally required to have signs in both Hebrew and Arabic, the two official languages, but that this remains an issue here, as it was (I learned two years ago) in Haifa as well.
The three American students in my Arabic class are all doing required volunteer work in nearby Bedouin schools, teaching English. In my Hebrew class there are at least three Americans, two Russians, an Italian, a Spaniard (I think), and two or three Arabic-speaking women, I assume from here in Israel.
And speaking of language, there’s the issue of whether to refer to “Israeli Arabs” or “Israeli Palestinians” or “Palestinians with Israeli citizenship.” I frequently use Arab out of habit, which I suppose is part of the larger problem. Going back and changing it to Palestinian in every case may be worth doing as a political statement, but I also know some Palestinian Israelis prefer to be called Israeli Arabs. The politics of identity is not always clear.
And then there are all those signs in Russian….