How to Translate Hebrew Into English
Hebrew is a remarkably poetic and fluid language because most nouns and verbs are based on a three-letter root, or "shoresh." The shoresh has a generic meaning that is only made specific by the presence of prefixes, infixes and suffixes, and the context of the phrase or sentence. The shoresh "tsur," for example, can mean create, rock, God or even oppress, depending on how it is expressed in a sentence. Internet resources, however, have advanced to the point where you can get at least a limited sense of what a given Hebrew passage might mean.
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Things You'll Need
- Computer with internet connection
- Word processor with translate feature (optional)
Instructions
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Highlight the Hebrew text you wish to translate. If this text appears in a modern word-processing program like Microsoft Word, you may be able to translate it directly (in Word 2010, the "Translate" command is located under the "Review" tab in the Ribbon).
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Copy the Hebrew text into an automatic translation service. Several free versions are available, including Google Translate and Microsoft Translate (see Resources). Most of these services have an auto-detect feature that will identify the source language as Hebrew; otherwise, you can manually select the source language---you can also choose a target language for the translation, although American English is the default.
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Type the passage into the translation service if you cannot cut and paste the text; for example, if you are translating from a printed text. To type in Hebrew, you will need to set your keyboard for the Hebrew alphabet (for Windows, the setting is in the Control Panel under "Regional and Language Options/Languages/Details/Settings"). Remember that Hebrew is written from right to left.
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Tips & Warnings
Microsoft Translator allows you to type in a website URL, and it will translate the entire website. Google Chrome also offers a similar option.
Do not rely completely on the translation provided by the automatic services. Be sure to read it through for yourself; even without a knowledge of Hebrew, you will probably detect some internal inconsistencies. The automatic services work best on single words or to get a rough sense of what is contained in the Hebrew original.
Resources
- Photo Credit peace! in hebrew: shalom image by Tristano Ajmone from Fotolia.com
