Feb 24 2010
Researcher: Best to Learn Hebrew in Your Own Accent
February 21, 2010 Arutz Sheva (INN)
Researchers at Haifa University have discovered that non-native speakers of Hebrew understand the language best when it is spoken in their own accent. A study showed that among non-native speakers, accented Hebrew matching the listener’s own was more easily understood than Hebrew spoken with no accent. The study was conducted among 60 participants aged 18-26. Participants were split into three groups: native Hebrew speakers, immigrants from the former Soviet Union, and Israeli Arabs who began learning Hebrew only in elementary school.