OrenH
@langpoljer.bsky.social
Language, society, politics: A personal view from Jerusalem
First time I've seen this one: Electronic noticeboard for the new light rail line in Jerusalem (L3) offers an estimate of about seven minutes for arrival of the train after next. If you're going to guesstimate, why bother posting a schedule at all?
#LRT #LinguisticLandscape
#LRT #LinguisticLandscape
September 9, 2026 at 4:35 PM
First time I've seen this one: Electronic noticeboard for the new light rail line in Jerusalem (L3) offers an estimate of about seven minutes for arrival of the train after next. If you're going to guesstimate, why bother posting a schedule at all?
#LRT #LinguisticLandscape
#LRT #LinguisticLandscape
Challenging Aristotelian logic in a department store: The top sign offers "Cold drinks" while the bottom sign counters with "The drinks are not cold"
#LinguisticLandscape #Paradox #SchroedingersDrinks
#LinguisticLandscape #Paradox #SchroedingersDrinks
August 19, 2026 at 8:37 AM
Challenging Aristotelian logic in a department store: The top sign offers "Cold drinks" while the bottom sign counters with "The drinks are not cold"
#LinguisticLandscape #Paradox #SchroedingersDrinks
#LinguisticLandscape #Paradox #SchroedingersDrinks
Nope.
("Wohl Rose Garden" is not named after Wohl Rose, regardless of the Arabic version of the sign)
##LinguisticLandscape #translation_fails
("Wohl Rose Garden" is not named after Wohl Rose, regardless of the Arabic version of the sign)
##LinguisticLandscape #translation_fails
July 26, 2026 at 10:09 AM
Nope.
("Wohl Rose Garden" is not named after Wohl Rose, regardless of the Arabic version of the sign)
##LinguisticLandscape #translation_fails
("Wohl Rose Garden" is not named after Wohl Rose, regardless of the Arabic version of the sign)
##LinguisticLandscape #translation_fails
Finally completed the #PhD journey, with a dissertation focusing on workplace communication between Jews and Arabs in colleges. Hope to share some results in the future...
#Linguistics #Sociolinguistics
#Linguistics #Sociolinguistics
July 21, 2026 at 7:49 AM
Finally completed the #PhD journey, with a dissertation focusing on workplace communication between Jews and Arabs in colleges. Hope to share some results in the future...
#Linguistics #Sociolinguistics
#Linguistics #Sociolinguistics
A lot to unpack in this "Nablus Road" / "Shekhem Road" sign from East Jerusalem, such as the choice to write "Shkhem" in English rather than Nablus, and the puzzling "Street St." or "Road St." in all three languages
#LinguisticLandscape #linguistics
#LinguisticLandscape #linguistics
June 28, 2026 at 6:39 PM
A lot to unpack in this "Nablus Road" / "Shekhem Road" sign from East Jerusalem, such as the choice to write "Shkhem" in English rather than Nablus, and the puzzling "Street St." or "Road St." in all three languages
#LinguisticLandscape #linguistics
#LinguisticLandscape #linguistics
"Welcome" in Hebrew, Arabic, English (twice!), Russian, French, Greek... how many languages can you spot?
Taken at the entrance to the train station in Jerusalem
#multilingualism #Langsky #LinguisticLandscape
Taken at the entrance to the train station in Jerusalem
#multilingualism #Langsky #LinguisticLandscape
June 26, 2026 at 10:55 AM
"Welcome" in Hebrew, Arabic, English (twice!), Russian, French, Greek... how many languages can you spot?
Taken at the entrance to the train station in Jerusalem
#multilingualism #Langsky #LinguisticLandscape
Taken at the entrance to the train station in Jerusalem
#multilingualism #Langsky #LinguisticLandscape
Poster (in Hebrew) protesting against erasure of women in the public space. "Here was erased a woman in the public space" reads the heading, adding that "Her history can't be erased."
Featured in the poster: Poet Leah Goldberg
#LinguisticLandscape
Featured in the poster: Poet Leah Goldberg
#LinguisticLandscape
June 22, 2026 at 5:07 PM
Poster (in Hebrew) protesting against erasure of women in the public space. "Here was erased a woman in the public space" reads the heading, adding that "Her history can't be erased."
Featured in the poster: Poet Leah Goldberg
#LinguisticLandscape
Featured in the poster: Poet Leah Goldberg
#LinguisticLandscape
"Bro, recycle me": This cardboard box comes with a Hebrew caption urging people to recycle, and taking a familiar, solidarity tone. Does that increase the chance of recycling? Your guess is as good as mine
#LinguisticLandscape #linguistics
#LinguisticLandscape #linguistics
![Cardboard with Hebrew caption, "Bro [literally, "my brother:], recycle me!"](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:rq5ofpye5c6nvfupy7wys4bg/bafkreidvbnbiro7ikd5qtw667lfkm4wiczjlpsmwdfpgrr4e6lxa7rggfe)
June 14, 2026 at 8:22 AM
"Bro, recycle me": This cardboard box comes with a Hebrew caption urging people to recycle, and taking a familiar, solidarity tone. Does that increase the chance of recycling? Your guess is as good as mine
#LinguisticLandscape #linguistics
#LinguisticLandscape #linguistics
Spotted this airborne song in central Jerusalem last month (a prime example of "top-down" linguistic landscape, heh heh). Hebrew readers will recognize the lyrics as Naomi Shemer's "Jerusalem of Gold". Best viewed from a bird's-eye perspective!
#LinguisticLandscape
#LinguisticLandscape
May 28, 2026 at 11:53 AM
Spotted this airborne song in central Jerusalem last month (a prime example of "top-down" linguistic landscape, heh heh). Hebrew readers will recognize the lyrics as Naomi Shemer's "Jerusalem of Gold". Best viewed from a bird's-eye perspective!
#LinguisticLandscape
#LinguisticLandscape
Another "old vs. new" comparison, after the revamp of street signs in Jerusalem: There was an improvement in the last name of the street sign (Klein rather than Klayn), but I find the apostrophe in "Shmu'el" unnecessary, making it unwieldy rather than easier to read
##Jerusalem #LinguisticLandscape
##Jerusalem #LinguisticLandscape
May 27, 2026 at 3:11 PM
Another "old vs. new" comparison, after the revamp of street signs in Jerusalem: There was an improvement in the last name of the street sign (Klein rather than Klayn), but I find the apostrophe in "Shmu'el" unnecessary, making it unwieldy rather than easier to read
##Jerusalem #LinguisticLandscape
##Jerusalem #LinguisticLandscape
Puzzle for #Yiddish speakers: This Jerusalem coffee shop ("Power Coffee") features a bilingual sign, but English and Yiddish only, no Hebrew. Any ideas on the meaning of the Yiddish caption (roughly: "tsu hakn oyf ale bakn")? #LinguisticLandscape #Langsky
May 1, 2026 at 9:48 AM
Puzzle for #Yiddish speakers: This Jerusalem coffee shop ("Power Coffee") features a bilingual sign, but English and Yiddish only, no Hebrew. Any ideas on the meaning of the Yiddish caption (roughly: "tsu hakn oyf ale bakn")? #LinguisticLandscape #Langsky
Another good one, this time from the First Station in Jerusalem: Check out the English text from the visitor center poster. Would you say it's a museum-level translation? Seriously, would you actually come out and say it??
#LinguisticLandscape #translation_fails #LLM_fails
#LinguisticLandscape #translation_fails #LLM_fails
April 20, 2026 at 12:11 PM
Another good one, this time from the First Station in Jerusalem: Check out the English text from the visitor center poster. Would you say it's a museum-level translation? Seriously, would you actually come out and say it??
#LinguisticLandscape #translation_fails #LLM_fails
#LinguisticLandscape #translation_fails #LLM_fails
I guess once you put up so many municipal street signs in Jerusalem, a few mistakes are inevitable, but this one goes a bit too far (Hebrew and English: Tsidkiyahu; Arabic: Yehuda??)
#LinguisticLandscape #Linguistics #translation_fails
#LinguisticLandscape #Linguistics #translation_fails
April 19, 2026 at 7:59 AM
I guess once you put up so many municipal street signs in Jerusalem, a few mistakes are inevitable, but this one goes a bit too far (Hebrew and English: Tsidkiyahu; Arabic: Yehuda??)
#LinguisticLandscape #Linguistics #translation_fails
#LinguisticLandscape #Linguistics #translation_fails
Always interesting, this time Elon Gilad tackles the word "ashkara" and its journey from Persian through Arabic to modern Hebrew, and the variations in meaning from "clearly, obviously," to "totally, surprisingly"
www.instagram.com/reel/DUlB9e4...
#Linguistics #Langsky
www.instagram.com/reel/DUlB9e4...
#Linguistics #Langsky
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February 11, 2026 at 8:30 PM
Always interesting, this time Elon Gilad tackles the word "ashkara" and its journey from Persian through Arabic to modern Hebrew, and the variations in meaning from "clearly, obviously," to "totally, surprisingly"
www.instagram.com/reel/DUlB9e4...
#Linguistics #Langsky
www.instagram.com/reel/DUlB9e4...
#Linguistics #Langsky
One-word roadside art in Hebrew: "ḥubaqti" = I was embraced. Spotted in the Jerusalem hills
#LinguisticLandscape
#LinguisticLandscape
February 8, 2026 at 7:45 PM
One-word roadside art in Hebrew: "ḥubaqti" = I was embraced. Spotted in the Jerusalem hills
#LinguisticLandscape
#LinguisticLandscape
Rabinovich Park, perhaps. Or Rabinovitch. Even Rabinowitz. But "Rabinoviz" is a new one for me... The park, a Jerusalem landmark, is also known as the "Mifletzet" (Monster) Park, after Niki de St. Phalle's "Golem" sculpture/triple slide
#LinguisticLandscape #transliteration_fails #StreetArt
#LinguisticLandscape #transliteration_fails #StreetArt
January 18, 2026 at 10:28 AM
Rabinovich Park, perhaps. Or Rabinovitch. Even Rabinowitz. But "Rabinoviz" is a new one for me... The park, a Jerusalem landmark, is also known as the "Mifletzet" (Monster) Park, after Niki de St. Phalle's "Golem" sculpture/triple slide
#LinguisticLandscape #transliteration_fails #StreetArt
#LinguisticLandscape #transliteration_fails #StreetArt
I would just like point out that sometimes it is, indeed, walla
We acknowledge that no one has the bandwidth for this, but if it helps:
- It’s ‘voilà,’ not ‘wallah!’
- It’s ‘a lot,’ not ‘alot.’
- It’s ‘further ado,’ not ‘farther adieu.’
- It’s ‘flesh out,’ not ‘flush out.’
- It’s ‘sneak peek,’ not ‘sneak peak.’
No worries if not!!!
- It’s ‘voilà,’ not ‘wallah!’
- It’s ‘a lot,’ not ‘alot.’
- It’s ‘further ado,’ not ‘farther adieu.’
- It’s ‘flesh out,’ not ‘flush out.’
- It’s ‘sneak peek,’ not ‘sneak peak.’
No worries if not!!!
January 11, 2026 at 8:18 PM
I would just like point out that sometimes it is, indeed, walla
On the occasion of #HebrewLanguageDay, a shoutout to all those who speak and appreciate the language. Take a word like "Tov" (good), for example, which can be found in the Bible (Genesis 1:4) but also in modern-day graffiti (below: "Most people are good")
#LinguisticLandscape #langsky
#LinguisticLandscape #langsky
January 8, 2026 at 1:16 PM
On the occasion of #HebrewLanguageDay, a shoutout to all those who speak and appreciate the language. Take a word like "Tov" (good), for example, which can be found in the Bible (Genesis 1:4) but also in modern-day graffiti (below: "Most people are good")
#LinguisticLandscape #langsky
#LinguisticLandscape #langsky
Was delighted to learn, during my latest visit to the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo, that the capybara's name in Arabic is "water pig" (khanzir al-ma'a), makes it sound even cuter
#LinguisticLandscape #langsky
#LinguisticLandscape #langsky
January 5, 2026 at 7:10 PM
Was delighted to learn, during my latest visit to the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo, that the capybara's name in Arabic is "water pig" (khanzir al-ma'a), makes it sound even cuter
#LinguisticLandscape #langsky
#LinguisticLandscape #langsky
In the Old City of Jerusalem, street signs show greater variation between the languages - more translation, not just transliteration. For St. James Street, the Hebrew offers "James ha-qadosh" (the saint), while the Arabic equivalent is "al-qadis Yaqub"
#trilingual #LinguisticLandscape #linguistics
#trilingual #LinguisticLandscape #linguistics
December 31, 2025 at 2:18 PM
In the Old City of Jerusalem, street signs show greater variation between the languages - more translation, not just transliteration. For St. James Street, the Hebrew offers "James ha-qadosh" (the saint), while the Arabic equivalent is "al-qadis Yaqub"
#trilingual #LinguisticLandscape #linguistics
#trilingual #LinguisticLandscape #linguistics
Does this rhyme in your dialect? I think the a in "pasta" would have to be pronounced as in "past" to make it work
(captured at a Jerusalem pasta eatery)
#LinguisticLandscape #Linguistics
(captured at a Jerusalem pasta eatery)
#LinguisticLandscape #Linguistics
December 1, 2025 at 8:54 AM
Does this rhyme in your dialect? I think the a in "pasta" would have to be pronounced as in "past" to make it work
(captured at a Jerusalem pasta eatery)
#LinguisticLandscape #Linguistics
(captured at a Jerusalem pasta eatery)
#LinguisticLandscape #Linguistics
"[L]inguistics is uniquely positioned to teach us both about what all humans share and what makes cultures and individuals distinct"
@adamcschembri.bsky.social expressed it so nicely, read more here: www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/2025/ho...
@adamcschembri.bsky.social expressed it so nicely, read more here: www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/2025/ho...
November 28, 2025 at 7:57 AM
"[L]inguistics is uniquely positioned to teach us both about what all humans share and what makes cultures and individuals distinct"
@adamcschembri.bsky.social expressed it so nicely, read more here: www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/2025/ho...
@adamcschembri.bsky.social expressed it so nicely, read more here: www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/2025/ho...
Over time, I have become more aware of language in public spaces, and evolved a more accepting attitude towards code-switching/translanguaging at home. That's one takeaway for me from #sociolinguistics: How has linguistics changed your attitude towards everyday language?
#WorldLinguisticsDay
#WorldLinguisticsDay
November 26, 2025 at 10:02 AM
Over time, I have become more aware of language in public spaces, and evolved a more accepting attitude towards code-switching/translanguaging at home. That's one takeaway for me from #sociolinguistics: How has linguistics changed your attitude towards everyday language?
#WorldLinguisticsDay
#WorldLinguisticsDay