No, Modern Hebrew Is Not A Conlang

It is a view commonly alluded to by amateur linguists, among whom I count myself, that Modern Hebrew is a constructed language “invented” by Eliezer Ben-Yehuda. The official Tumblr of the Language Construction Society once alluded to this, sparking a discussion on the LCS list which introduced a number of equally ridiculous claims, such as … Read more

Chai Symbols for LGBTQIA+ Jews

The Hebrew word חי chai, meaning "living" or "alive," in the LGBTQIA+ pride colors.

Four years ago, I was thinking about the threats faced by the LGBTQIA+ community throughout the world, and got the idea to make a chai symbol in the colors of the pride flag. The Hebrew word חי, meaning “living” or “alive,” is a Jewish symbol for life, and is worn by many Jews as a … Read more

The name “Rivka” in Toki Pona

The Sitelen Pona glyph for "soweli" with its eyes replaced with the name "Wika", formed out of "wan insa kulupu ante".

I go by Rifkele dos Ketsele in my visual art life, and it’s close to my name in real life. The name Rifkele is a diminutive of Rifke, which is “Rebecca” in Ashkenazi Hebrew. The Modern Hebrew equivalent is Rivka. In the 130-word minimalist constructed language Toki Pona, names are all adapted to a very … Read more