I would like to tell you a funny and true story with a good message at the end.
Way back, in Israel, when I was in fifth grade I had just begun to learn English. Of course, growing up I heard English songs on the radio and had many opportunities to hear it spoken. I could even sing parts of quite a few English songs but I haven’t seen the written language. In short, I picked up what I heard on the “street”.
One day in my English class, I wanted to show off. I came early and wrote on the board ‘halafyoo’ with the intention that a very specific boy would see it. With great pride I showed it to my friends who just smiled and nodded, faking they knew what I wrote. After all, I was one of the best students in my class so I had some altitude.
The teacher came in. She glanced at the board while I smiled from ear to ear like a Cheshire cat. She then turned, looked at the class while I proudly volunteered that it was I who wrote it. She smiled back but then to my utmost surprise she burst out laughing and rushed to erase what I wrote and instead wrote: I LOVE YOU. She turned to me and asked: Is that what you wanted to say? Blushing and embarrassed I looked at the board, surprised to see that what I wanted to say to this boy consisted of three whole words and not just one… not to mention the pronunciation.
Moral of the story? When you learn a new language, it is not enough to only hear it – you’ve got to SEE it written. If you want to make big strides while learning a new language there are no short cuts; you HAVE to be able to read it, write it and – know your grammar.
When we are dealing with the HEBREW language seeing it written is even MORE crucial because Hebrew words ARE based on three-letter roots:
When you see a familiar root you will immediately get the concept of the word. For example, כ.ת.ב k.t.v has to do with writing. Here are a few words that are based on this root: מִכְתָּב meekh-tahv – a letter; כְּתוֹבֶת – ktoh-vet, address; מִתְכַּתֵּב – meet-kah-tev, correspond; מַכְתִּיב – makh-teev, dictate (makes another write); כְּתוּבִיוֹת – ktoo-vee-yoht, subtitles; כַּתָּבָה – kah-tah-vah, report/article; כּתֻבָּה – ktoo-bah Jewish marriage contract; הַכְתָּבָה – hakh-tah-vah, dictation/dictating; מְכֻתָּב – meh-khoo-tahv, addressee/recipient; תִּכְתֵּב – teekh-tev, transcribe, etc.
You may hear: קָרָעתִי את הספר שלך kah-rah-tee et ha-sefer sheh-lahkh (I tore your book) and think the person said: קראתי את הספר – kah-rah-tee et ha-sefer sheh-lahkh read your book.