On the Mizraḥi Sociolect in Israel: A Sociolexical Consideration of the Hebrew of Israelis of North African Origin
2013 ◽
Vol 1
(2)
◽
pp. 207-227
◽
Abstract This article addresses lexical features of the speech of native-born Hebrew-speaking Israelis from the geographic and socioeconomic periphery (i.e., moshavim, cities, and development towns in the north and south of Israel). Study of their language shows that their Hebrew incorporates a fair number of Judeo-Arabic words belonging to meaningful categories, such as foods, customs, beliefs, holidays, and nicknames, among others. These words are distinctively different from the Arabic words interpolated in Modern Israeli Hebrew, which derive from the local Arabic dialect. The findings demonstrate the existence of a Hebrew sociolect grounded in Judeo-Arabic and typical of a specific sociogeographic sector.