Hebrew

From RationalWiki

Hebrew is a Semitic language originally spoken in the regions now known as Israel and Jordan, and the primary language of the Jewish Bible and the Talmud. It is a member of the Canaanite branch of the West Semitic language and as such is closely related to Phoenician and Aramaic. Since it passed out of daily use by the first century CE, its original pronunciation is lost to the ages, but its liturgical use by Judaism has led to several competing pronunciations maintained by the Jewish diaspora.

Revived as a living language in the late 19th century, Hebrew is the official language of the state of Israel, where it is the dominant spoken language (although English and Palestinian Arabic are common as well). It is also considered, along with Latin and Greek, one of the traditional classical languages of Western education.