In November 2018, opening the second year of the EMODHEBREW ERC project, Prof. Edit Doron and the group members went to France to the 2nd Brill’s Journal of Afroasitic Languages and Linguistics International Conference, held in Nantes. The conference was a great opportunity to present the group’s research done during the first year of the project. The group presented work on different stages of Hebrew, from Biblical Hebrew to Modern Hebrew, analysing various phenomena in syntax, semantics, morphology and the lexicon. The conference was also a good opportunity to communicate with researchers from other countries, draw their interest to the EMODHEBREW ERC project, and initiate future collaboration. The group continued together to Paris for two days of tours to Hebrew-related cultural sites. The first tour was a visit to the Medem Library, one of the biggest centers for Yiddish culture in Europe. The director Tal Hever-Chybowski discussed with the group the cultural and linguistic tight relations between Hebrew and Yiddish. The second tour was to the archeological wing of the Louvre Museum, in particular to the Code of Hammurabi and the Mesha Stele.
It was a delightful trip. We all enjoyed the shared research and experience, and are looking forward to a new year of joint work on the emergence of Modern Hebrew, and to more opportunities to expand the circle of contributors to the project.