1964: A Modern Phrase for an Ancient Language May 1, 2020

How does one create slang or greetings for a language which for centuries was only used liturgically? Indeed, many students of ancient languages may note that while they may be able to read about battles and epic poems, they can't make small talk in them. Modern Hebrew, which was revitalized in the 19th century, faced this problem to some extent, and while the grammar for any new words was to be based off of Semitic roots, the phrase "ma nishma" (מה נשמע) uses Hebrew words but is based semantically off the Yiddish "vos hert zikh" (װאָס הערט זיך). These both have the same effect of 'how are you?" but literally mean "what are you hearing?".

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