Linguistics deals with the study of linguistic phenomena and the study of the basic principles of language. The ability to use complex and rich language characterizes the human race and is unique to us as a species. It provides us with an essential tool not only for communication but also for thinking. Hence, the great interest in investigating the language and in understanding its characteristics and principles. Are there any common structural principles for all languages, or are they all utterly distinct ? How do I compare between different languages? What kind of theories exist today in the study of language?
The aim of this project is to carry out the first broad-ranged in-depth study of the shift in lexicalization patterns of Hebrew, with a systematic examination of the relevant aspects of the language in (i) the ancient stages when the language was spoken; (ii) Early Modern Hebrew and Modern Hebrew; and (iii) the stages of Pre-Modern Hebrew most likely to have influenced the language when it was revived as a spoken language.
Hebrew has traditionally been classified as a V-framed language, but recent studies distinguish between Biblical Hebrew, classified as V-framed, and Modern Hebrew, documented as containing clear S-framed constructions. This suggests that Hebrew is undergoing a typological shift; the significance of the shift is that it is in the opposite direction of the only carefully documented case of a large scale shift in lexicalization patterns –from S-framed Latin to V-framed Romance languages.
