# Revivalistics

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***Revivalistics: From the Genesis of Israeli to Language Reclamation in Australia and Beyond*** is a book written by [linguist](/source/Linguistics) [Ghil'ad Zuckermann](/source/Ghil'ad_Zuckermann). It was published in 2020 by [Oxford University Press](/source/Oxford_University_Press). The book introduces **revivalistics**, a [trans-disciplinary](/source/Interdisciplinarity) field of enquiry exploring "the dynamics and problematics inherent in spoken language reclamation, revitalization, and reinvigoration".[1]: 86

## Summary

The book is divided into two main parts that match the book subtitle: *From the Genesis of Israeli* (Part One) *to Language Reclamation in Australia and Beyond* (Part Two). These parts reflect the author's "journey into language revival from the ‘[Promised Land](/source/Promised_Land)’ to the ‘[Lucky Country](/source/Lucky_Country)’,"[2] by drawing parallels between the [revival of the Hebrew language](/source/Revival_of_the_Hebrew_language) and contemporary [language revitalization](/source/Language_revitalization).[3] The first half of the book provides a summary of Zuckerman's previous work on Modern Israeli Hebrew, while the second half comments on [language rights](/source/Language_rights) and includes a brief account of the author's work with the [Barngarla language](/source/Barngarla_language) and its community.[4]

## Reception

The volume has received a mixed reception from linguists, other academics and the public. The book has been summarized by linguist [Bernard Spolsky](/source/Bernard_Spolsky) as a "brilliant but at times irritating book" which provides "an original understanding of the use and history of [Hebrew and Yiddish]" but, at the same time, can be likened to "a teacher trying to keep a large undergraduate class amused rather than an academic work."[4] [Patrick Heinrich](/source/Patrick_Heinrich) concludes his [Linguist List](/source/Linguist_List) review by stating that "book does not [...] suggest itself as a new textbook for teaching the subject at hand [because it] is too fragmented, does not give a state-of-the-art overview, is anecdotal over large parts, and does not introduce or define key concepts and research methodologies."[5]

Commentary from journalists and commentators from outside linguistics has been positive, with the book praised for its humor and described variously as a "[masterpiece](/source/Masterpiece) that is both scholarly and social‐minded,"[6] "an ambitious volume,"[7] "very important",[8] "groundbreaking",[9] "magnificent",[10] "bold",[11] "exuberant"[12] "milestone book",[13] “which will be referred to for many years to come".[14]

The book was listed as No. 7 in *[The Australian](/source/The_Australian)'*s ranking of "Australia’s top 10 academic books" for 2021, a list based on the number of citations that year: *Revivalistics* received 16 citations in 2021 including [self-citations](/source/Self-citation).[15]

## References

1. [Lo Bianco, Joseph](/source/Joseph_Lo_Bianco) 2020, [“Ideologies of sign language and their repercussions in language policy determination”](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0271530920300811), *Language & Communication* 75: 83-93.

1. Zuckermann 2020, p. xxi.

1. [LINGUIST List 31.1672, Books: Revivalistics: Zuckermann](https://linguistlist.org/issues/31/31-1672/), 18 May 2020, Issue Editor: Jeremy Coburn.

1. Spolsky, Bernard (2021). ["Review of Revalistics"](https://naphhebrew.org/hhe-23-2021). *Hebrew Higher Education*. **23**

1. Heinrich, Patrick (1 March 2022). ["Review: Anthropological Linguistics; General Linguistics; Historical Linguistics; Sociolinguistics: Zuckermann (2020)"](https://linguistlist.org/issues/33/1675/). *[Linguist List](/source/Linguist_List)*

1. Timothy Haines (2020-07-11). "Book Review". *The Australian Journal of Anthropology*. [doi:10.1111/taja.12354](https://doi.org/10.1111/taja.12354). [S2CID 225550368](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:225550368)

1. ["Yiddish in Israel / Rokhl Kafrissen, Tablet"](https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/community/articles/yiddish-in-israel/). 2020-04-07. Retrieved 2020-08-06.

1. Simms, Norman 2020. [Review of Ghil‘ad Zuckermann, ‘‘Revivalistics: From the Genesis of Israeli to Language Reclamation in Australia and Beyond’’. New York: Oxford University Press, 2020](http://www.mentalitiesjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Revivalistics-From-the-Genesis-of-Israeli-to-Language-Reclamation-in-Australia-and-Beyond.pdf); *Mentalities/Mentalités* 34.1.

1. ["How Yiddish influenced Modern Hebrew: yes, you read it correct! / Avi Kumar, The Times of Israel"](https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/how-yiddish-influenced-modern-hebrew-yes-you-read-it-correct/). 2020-06-29. Retrieved 2020-07-21.

1. Raghunathan, Arathi 2021. [*Sociolinguistic Studies* 15.2-4 2021: 361–366](https://journals.equinoxpub.com/SS/article/viewFile/10868/41024).

1. Nash, Joshua 2021, [Review article](http://www.elpublishing.org/PID/240): Stop, revival(istics), (linguistic) survival(istics): Zuckermann's Revivalistics and Giacon's Yaluu. *Language Documentation and Description* 20, pp. 352-358.

1. Smith, Hilary 2021, Review of *Revivalistics*, *TESOLANZ (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages Aotearoa New Zealand) News*, Volume 37, Issue 1, Autumn 2021, p. 23.

1. Desiatnik, Shane "Milsteone book opens new linguistic doors" [Australian Jewish News](/source/Australian_Jewish_News), p. 20, July 3, 2020.

1. Historian Gil Robertson in ["Revivalist book incorporates Barngarla language efforts / Jarrad Delaney, Port Lincoln Times"](https://www.portlincolntimes.com.au/story/6836816/revivalist-lessons-from-barngarla-journey//). 2020-07-16. Retrieved 2020-07-21.

1. See page 50 of "Research Magazine 2021", *The Australian*, November 10, 2021. [https://www.leagueofscholars.com/media/2021%20RESEARCH%20Magazine.pdf](https://www.leagueofscholars.com/media/2021%20RESEARCH%20Magazine.pdf)

## Bibliography

- Zuckermann, Ghil'ad (2003). *[Language Contact and Lexical Enrichment in Israeli Hebrew](/source/Language_Contact_and_Lexical_Enrichment_in_Israeli_Hebrew)*. [Palgrave Macmillan](/source/Palgrave_Macmillan). ISBN 9781403917232.
- Zuckermann, Ghil'ad (2020). *Revivalistics: From the Genesis of Israeli to Language Reclamation in Australia and Beyond*. [Oxford University Press](/source/Oxford_University_Press). ISBN 9780199812790. ISBN 9780199812776 (hardback)

## External links

- [Oxford University Press: Revivalistics: From the Genesis of Israeli to Language Reclamation in Australia and Beyond](https://global.oup.com/academic/product/revivalistics-9780199812790)
- [Google Books: Revivalistics: From the Genesis of Israeli to Language Reclamation in Australia and Beyond](https://books.google.com/books?id=5wbcDwAAQBAJ)
- [WorldCat: Revivalistics: From the Genesis of Israeli to Language Reclamation in Australia and Beyond](https://worldcat.org/isbn/9780199812776)
- [Why we should revive dead languages, OUPBlog](https://blog.oup.com/2020/06/why-we-should-revive-dead-languages)
- [The Third Space: on the field of revivalistics](https://open.spotify.com/episode/4B8GJtcGPozqQVU5VB12sf)

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