This collection deals with syntactic and semantic phenomena of the Hebrew language within the framework of theoretical linguistics. Most articles are within Noam Chomsky's framework of Generative Grammar and theories within formal semantics. The contributions are written by linguists specializing in theoretical linguistics and familiar with the Hebrew language and its uniqueness among the world's languages.
The introductory chapter outlines in general terms the state of the art concerning the study of Hebrew in Israel, and highlights the significance of the theoretical approach in enriching the discourse on Hebrew linguistics as well as enabling easier access to theoretical studies. The introductory chapter is followed by two chapters describing and explaining the theoretical approach, illustrating the explanations from Hebrew. The next eleven chapters were chosen to deal with specific phenomena that are crucial in understanding the structure of Hebrew, on the one hand, and shedding light on the contribution of Hebrew to the general theory on the other hand: the verbal system, notably the binyanim; the marker et; and some issues concerning the tense system; the noun system; pronouns; adverbs; and prepositions. The last two chapters of the volume are each dedicated to a subfield of linguistics: language acquisition and neurolinguistics, respectively. One discusses two phenomena concerning Hebrew acquisition, and the other discusses the syntactic impairment in agrammatic aphasia phenomenon in Hebrew speakers.
It is the only collection of its kind aimed at opening a channel of interaction between Hebraists interested in expanding the discourse on Hebrew and theoretical linguists interested in Hebrew.
