How should we type Hebrew words?

Question

Proposal: Hebrew Language & Usage

Should we allow Hebrew words to by types in latin letters (Ivrit), or only in original Hebrew letters (עברית)?

If it's the former, should we determine a standard for writing Hebrew words in English? (How to write ח for instance)?

Answer 1

I think choosing to only allow Hebrew writing will needlessly narrow the user base of what is already likely to be a niche site.

Ideally (in my opinion) there should be both the Hebrew spelling and an English transliteration. This will widen the user base, and invite more Google search traffic.

I realize this is unlikely to be followed by new users, so I suggest two things:

• Users with the ability should keep their eye on the "review" queue, and edit in any Hebrew/English that might be required.

• New users should be welcomed, (much as they are on Judaism.SE) and notified of this policy.

Other suggestions and policies would always be helpful.

As GMNoob suggests, one transliteration standard should be chosen and favored, but that doesn't mean others should be forbidden.

Answer 2

I would suggest picking a standard from wikipedia.

However, I would suggest that the standard that is chosen is one which can be typed without any fancy characters or non-standard keyboard inputs in English speaking countries.

Many people who live in Israel, or are visiting Israel for the year may not yet have their computer set up to input hebrew language characters, and using another method may slow them down and dissuade them from using the site.

In addition, how would it work for Google searches if most people who know both English and Hebrew often transliterate?

Answer 3

I agree with @HodofHof. While I will say that forbidding latinization is a bad idea (it increases difficulty of use and barrier of entry), the de facto standard should be the Hebrew alphabet. That would seem to go along with the policy outlined in the French.StackExchange FAQ:

Both languages are accepted. If you are learning French, we suggest that you learn by doing and ask in French, but there is no obligation. Note that some contributors prefer to answer in French, so you may get replies in French. On the meta site, we try to provide at least a summary of each post in both languages.

If you replace <French> with <Hebrew> in the above paragraph, it makes the "Hebrew preferred, but others accepted" a fairly effective argument.

Answer 4

Why write Hebrew in anything but Hebrew letters? Even on Chinese Language & Usage, the usage is to write chinese characters, for which the entry barrier is a lot higher.

Most people interested in Hebrew should already have an easy way to enter Hebrew text. For occasional practitioners, What is the common way to type in Hebrew for this site? on Jewish Life and Learning (and perhaps other meta threads) may be of interest.