Transliteration - Page 2
Written by Rabbi Professor Jonathan Magonet
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Though we are not used to having transliterations in our Prayerbook, because it is now a common practice elsewhere, it became one of the possibilities from the beginning of this work. Naturally there are people who are opposed to having it at all. We can accept people reading Hebrew without understanding what they are saying, because at least they have made the effort to master the letters, though this is already a sad reflection on our distance from our tradition. But to read English letters feels quite unacceptable to some – perhaps because it actually highlights the deeper problem. (There is a legitimate argument that the sound of the Hebrew, and the fact of reciting it ourselves, even without comprehension, rather like a mantra, helps create an atmosphere of prayer, and a link with other Jews at prayer – but on that basis whether we read Hebrew or English letters so as to achieve this effect is largely irrelevant.)
One of the main questions that arises is whether reading from a transliteration leads people to wish to learn Hebrew itself, or simply becomes a substitute. Most of the information we have seems to be anecdotal and I am unaware of any real studies made of the subject. Nevertheless the general opinion seems to be that it in the case of adults, familiarity with the sounds and the ability to speak them, can be the necessary bridge to acquiring Hebrew. It has certainly proved to be the case in places like the Former Soviet Union where all services need to use transliterated texts because people simply have no background whatsoever in Judaism. It is a sad reflection on our Jewish educational resources here in the UK that that same lack of knowledge on the same scale is also the case.
But if transliteration helps adults there seems to be evidence, or at least concerns, that it is counterproductive in the case of children. For them having an English ‘crib’ on the page may remove the incentive to master the Hebrew alphabet. This raises all sorts of questions and anxieties. Clearly it is important as part of our educational system that children come to know the liturgy, and if the transliteration is on the same page as the Hebrew, we know what they will choose to read. On the other hand, there are those who argue that if the goal is to teach Hebrew, the Siddur is not the only, or necessarily even the best, ‘textbook’ to use. However a good transliteration system can help learners recognize where the stress is on a word, for example with the ‘conversive vav’, or make clear how to pronounce such traps for the unwary as the ‘kamatz katan’ (pronounced ‘o’ instead of ‘ah’). So the question is actually how to use the transliteration as a positive educational tool.
