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Linguistic Landscape Conference in memory of Nira Trumper-Hecht December 15, 2011 Tel-Aviv University The conference will take place in Dan David building room 111, 14:00-18:30 invitation (Hebrew) A petition for Arabic signs on Tel Aviv University campusA Tel Aviv University student got 40 faculty members to sign a petition demanding that Arabic be added to signs on campus (August 11, 2011) read more English HebrewProposed law to rescind Arabic as one of Israel's official languagesForty MK's from both the coalition and opposition submitted a proposal to the Knesset (August 3rd 2011) for a new Basic Law that would define Israel as "the national home for the Jewish people". The bill proposes that Hebrew would be the only official language in Israel and Arabic will be accorded "special status". Hebrew EnglishIsrael Studies in Language and Society - New Issue Israel Studies in Language and Scoiety, the online journal of the Israeli Association for the study of language and scoiety has published its new issue. Table of contents and abstractsNira Trumper-Hecht Passed AwayNira Trumper-Hecht passed away May 25th 2011 after a long fight with cancer. Prof. Elana Shohamy, her PhD advisor at the school of Education Tel-Aviv University, her colleague and friend writes Sign Language Interpreting as a human rights issue - conference in Bar Ilan UniversityA conference on "Sign Language Interpreting as a human rights issue" took place on May, 11, 2011, Bar Ilan University, Feldman Building. Program (Hebrew) New ministry directives of language requirements in the health systemHealth Ministry director-general issued a directive on Monday (8.2.2011) explaining new language requirements for the health system in various areas such as translation of signs, forms, and websites; training of staff on language and cultural needs of minorities and over-the-phone translation read more, Russian, directive full text (hebrew) Research students meeting on language teachingA meeting of research students will be presenting various projects related to language teaching, migration and language policy. Among them is a lecture by Bonnie Perlman on “The Language Policy of Three Intercity Highways in Israel”. The gathering will take place on Thursday, January 6th, 2011 in the Dan David Building, Tel Aviv University, room 301, from 4 to 7 p.m.Prof. du Plessis spends December in Israel Professor Theodore du Plessis, Head of the Department of Language Management and Language Practice at the University of the Free State has been spending the month of December in Israel as part of an ongoing collaboration with the Language Policy Research Center at Bar Ilan University. Professor du Plessis gave several guest lectures on Language Policy and Language Visibility in South Africa at Bar Ilan University and at the Academic Arab College of Education, Haifa.
International Conference “Language, Law and the Multilingual State”, South Africa Nov. 1-3 2010The 12th International Conference of the International Academy of Linguistic Law “Language, Law and the Multilingual State” took place in Bloemfontein, South Africa on Nov. 1-3 with two Israeli participants – Dr. Michal Schuster and Prof. Miriam Shlesinger read more First class of Bar Ilan’s Israeli Sign Language Interpreting completed their programThe first class of students in Bar Ilan’s new academic course in Israeli Sign Language Interpreting has completed their two-year program. The curriculum, comprising 10 classroom hours a week for a period of two years, as well as an internship, included such subjects as advanced sign language training, educational interpreting, language policy, translation theory, Hebrew expression and ethical dilemmas faced by interpreters. The students’ official graduation will take place in June 2011. The declared aim of the program is to improve the access of Deaf individuals to all services available to the population at large, through the training of highly qualified interpreters.Maccabi Health Services' first anniversary of telephone interpreting serviceMaccabi Health Services, Israel’s second-largest HMO, recently marked the first anniversary of its pioneering telephone interpreting service. The service enables healthcare providers (physicians, nurses, social workers, physiotherapists and others) to communicate smoothly with Russian-speaking and Arabic-speaking patients at clinics throughout the north. A cadre of interpreters for each of these two languages is available over the phone from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The service is now in the process of being expanded to other parts of the country. It joins the Hebrew-Amharic telephone interpreting service operated by Tene Briut, an NGO serving the healthcare needs of the Ethiopian-Israeli community.
Prof. Shlesinger is interviewed on 'Erev Hadash' Prof. Shlesinger, director of the Language Policy Research Center, is interviewed on 'Erev Hadash' (Israel’s Channel 1 news) discussing current language policy issues in Israel and the program for Community Interpreting in Bar Ilan University watch a video (Hebrew)
Fourth year community interpreting course draws to a close
Twenty-four students participated in this year's community interpreting course at Bar Ilan University. Read moreLanguage is my life – Sami Berdugo at IALS 2010The writer, Sami Berdugo, talks about the unique ‘Hebrew’ he had created. Israeli Association for the Study of Language and Society, June, 24, 2010, Ben Gurion University, Be’er Sheva. Read the lecture (Hebrew)
New website of the Adler Center for People with AphasiaThis week saw the launching of a new website, of the Adler Center for People with Aphasia, at Hadassah Academic College in Jerusalem: http://www.hadassah.ac.il/adleraphasia/,
the first international branch of the Adler Center in New Jersey read moreInternational conference on Jewish Languages, June 21-24The 4th international conference of the the Center for the Study of Jewish Languages and Literatures will be held at the Hebrew Univerisity, Jerusalem, June 21-24. Program (Hebrew)First-ever course for court interpretersThe first-ever course in Israel for the training of court interpreters was held this week (on June 2-3) at Bar Ilan University. The two-day course (obviously not enough, but a good beginning) was organized by Neri Sevenier, of the Department of Translation and Interpreting Studies at Bar Ilan University, in cooperation with one of the companies that won the government request for bids to provide community and court interpreting services. The lectures and workshops were attended by over forty interpreters, in a variety of languages, as part of the move to upgrade and professionalize the service.Israel Studies in Language and Society - Special IssueIsrael Studies in Language and Society, the electronic journal of the
Israeli Association for the Study of Language and Society, has puplished a special issue on “Troubled Talk in the Israeli Society”. See contents and abstracts.Call for Papers from ALPPI in PragueThe Annual of Language & Politics and Politics of Identity (ALPPI) in Prague invites contributions for its next issue dealing with language policy or political identities. More information about the requirements and form of the article here.Israeli sign language - video clip by "Pay it Forward""Pay it Forwad" - an NGO promoting the status of Israeli Sign Language - has created a video clip, "Israelis use sign language", broadcasted on channel 10 and Nana10. Watch the video and pay it forward...Israel's first telephone interpreting serviceIsrael's first telephone interpreting service launched on November 9th, 2009 by Maccabi Health Fund read more