How does a character speak in its tongue? What is the grammar that weaves the relationship between a character and the narrator who tells its story? How can an Israeli narrator who writes in Hebrew, guide the stream of consciousness and the ways of a strange character that speak a foreign language, which he doesn’t know? “They Spoke in Their Tongue” deals with these questions and more, while presenting an extensive research on Yehoshua Kenaz, one the greatest Israeli writers. Naama Tsal offers an index for the rare poetics of Kenaz using philosophical reading in literature, proposing to think about the absence that is imprinted in the heart of Kenaz’s perception of another person, about poetics of partial deafness, and about embedding areas of blindness inside one’s field of vision. “A sharp, original and innovative research. This is a most important and groundbreaking research that will show to be a cornerstone in every future discussion in Israeli literature.” (Prof. Hannan Hever, Yale university ) “Deserves every praise. This is undoubtedly a discussion that all future writers on Kenaz’s work will turn back to”. (Prof. Michael Glusman, Tel Aviv University ). "Brilliant […] There is a quiet beauty in Naama's analysis and conclusions that reminds us all why we chose to devote our lives to the study of literature". (Prof. Sidra DeKoven-Ezrahi, Hebrew University of Jerusalem )