Language
Agnon's writing often used words and phrases that differed from what would become established modern Hebrew. His distinct language is based on traditional Jewish sources, such as the Torah and the Prophets, Midrashic literature, the Mishnah, and other Rabbinic literature. Some examples include:
- bet kahava for modern bet kafe (coffee house / café)
- batei yadayim (lit. "hand-houses") for modern kfafot (gloves)
- yatzta (יצתה) rather than the modern conjugation yatz'a (יצאה) ("she went out")
- rotev (רוטב) meaning soup in place of modern marak (מרק)
Bar-Ilan University has made a computerized concordance of his works in order to study his language.
Read more about this topic: Shmuel Yosef Agnon
Famous quotes containing the word language:
““What may this mean? Language of Man pronounced
By tongue of brute, and human sense expressed!
The first at least of these I thought denied
To beasts, whom God on their creation-day
Created mute to all articulate sound;
The latter I demur, for in their looks
Much reason, and in their actions, oft appears.”
—John Milton (1608–1674)
“We find that the child who does not yet have language at his command, the child under two and a half, will be able to cooperate with our education if we go easy on the “blocking” techniques, the outright prohibitions, the “no’s” and go heavy on “substitution” techniques, that is, the redirection or certain impulses and the offering of substitute satisfactions.”
—Selma H. Fraiberg (20th century)