Contemporary Hebrew [Paperback]

Menahem Mansoor (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, Hebrew

Product Details

• Paperback: 295 pages
• Publisher: Behrman House (June 1, 1976)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 087441251X
• ISBN-13: 978-0874412512
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,066,783 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great for learning to read and write, March 22, 2007

By 

Melissa Morris - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Contemporary Hebrew (Paperback)

This book is perfect for learning how to read and write Hebrew for those who prefer a grammer/structure-based approach. Each chapter focuses on specific items of grammer and usage. The book gives some fairly detailed discussion about grammer and pronounciation issues. Some verb patterns are not discussed, but the reference material in the back briefly describes them. There are cultural notes and photos throughout (though these are somewhat outdated). In addition to Modern Hebrew, this book also notes and discusses some Biblical Hebrew grammer and vocabulary so it can be used by students wanting to learn both.

I wouldn't recommend jumping right into this book if you don't already know the Hebrew alphabet (try "Teach Yourself to Read Hebrew" by Simon and Anderson for this). There is an introduction to the Hebrew alphabet, but if you've never seen it before, a few pages are probably not enough.

The book has plenty of English translations and explainations, but also includes a non-translated Hebrew reading section at the beginning of every chapter. The new vocabulary is listed AFTER the reading, but this allows you to practice reading passages and deriving the meaning of words (and then checking yourself). The later readings are adapted from a variety of sources (i.e. poetry, Bible, jokes). This and the right-to-left layout of the book gets you used to Hebrew without an unclear 'full imersion' structure as you start.

The Hebrew taught is pointed (has vowel symbols), which is not typically found in modern Israeli writings. However, most chapters include a short section on reading unpointed texts and the exercises sometimes encourage that you try it unpointed. Since this book contains no transliterations nor audio media, the use of pointed text is necessary to make pronounciation clear. It also enables some explaination for vowel changes to be discussed.

I did find several mistakes throughout the book. Use a good modern dictionary to verify words and double-check usage and information that doesn't seem consistent. The gender of many nouns are not given (though you can guess this). If genders confuse you, select a dictionary that lists genders to help you out. Irregular genders and plural forms are always given, however.

I prefer to learn grammer and language structure before jumping into a lot of vocabulary, so I thought this book was great. However, this book is not useful if you wish ONLY to learn to speak and understand spoken Hebrew since there are no audio materials available. I recommend Pimsleur's "Modern Hebrew 1" full course as a great way to learn to speak and understand Hebrew. This book can then be used to learn to read, gain more understanding of the grammer points that the Pimsleur course does not explain and also to increase your vocabulary.

Despite the name, I have not been able to locate a 'Contemporary Hebrew 2' book. This means you have to go to a different series to continue your studies. (This may not be such a bad thing since current Hebrew has new vocabulary and idioms since this book was published over thirty years ago!)

I would recommend this book for anyone interested in fully learning Hebrew. However, I only give it four stars since you can not do so using just this book alone.

3.0 out of 5 stars A good, simple introduction, July 26, 2009

By 

J. I. Fowler "Theology graduate student" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Contemporary Hebrew (Paperback)

Mansoor's textbook gets the novice up and running quickly. If you do the legwork (study the vocab, read the lessons carefully and repeatedly, and do the exercises) you will soon be able to understand and create simple Hebrew sentences. Vocab and readings are also pretty practical. They enable the student to talk about the sort of everyday situations that could come up during a trip to Israel, or in a classroom setting. Grammatical concepts are introduced in an order that allows the student to progress naturally through the language, and in bite-size chunks that prevent the student's feeling overwhelmed by the material.

I'm only giving the book three stars, however, because of some of its omissions. Granted, this is an introductory textbook. Nevertheless, Mansoor's presentation of the verbal system is, at best, superficial. He did not need to, nor could he have, given a full presentation of Hebrew's complicated verbal system in one volume. Some context, however, would have been helpful--both to give the student some idea of what and how much they are learning, and an idea of what exactly they are not learning (i.e., what still lies ahead). As well, it would have been helpful if Mansoor had collected some of the grammatical information (such as declension patterns for nouns and adjectives) into tables at the back of the book. I've seen this approach in several language textbooks and it has always been hugely useful. As it is, the student has to do a lot of flipping back and forth to study previously introduced concepts.

I would recommend this textbook (particularly to the self-taught learner) as a quick, manageable introduction to Hebrew. Its user will only need to put some careful thought into what textbook they turn to for the next stage of their studies.