Language Change in Child and Adult Hebrew

Book excerpt: The study of language acquisition has taken on new meaning in the last decade. Now seen as part of the study of other forms of language variation across time and space, such as dialects and sociolects, and the study of pidgins and Creoles, it can help to provide a new understanding of how language evolves and what directs its development. Dorit Ravid here provides a study of contemporary speakers of Hebrew, focusing in particular on inflectional morphology. She traces language development from childhood to adulthood in Hebrew speakers, and explores strategies of language acquisition and language processing leading to variation in the spoken Hebrew of speakers of different ages and socioeconomic backgrounds.