Intelligibility of Hebrew between Hasidim and Israelis in Upstate New York

Author: Flora Brill

Field of Study: Arts and Humanities

Program Affiliation: Source Project Research Program

Faculty Mentors: Sule Can

Easel: 35

Timeslot: Morning

Abstract: This project investigates possible one-way or mutual intelligibility between spoken Israeli Hebrew and Hasidic Hebrew, testing intelligibility and biases through a matched-guise study. Volunteers from three groups— Israelis, Chabad Hasidim, non-Chabad Hasidim— listen to recordings in both types of Hebrew and their level of understanding and impressions of the speaker are recorded. There is a history of hostility between these groups in both countries, and some groups of American Hasidim are taught some Israeli Hebrew but most are not. Whether one group can understand the other would not only show how different the accents or dialects are but also how receptive listeners are to the other group and how much experience they have with the dialect, revealing the current state of hostility between groups. Preliminary research suggests that many Hasidim can understand Israeli Hebrew while most Israelis cannot understand Hasidic Hebrew.