Our charter lays out the Academy’s objectives:
- to work toward compiling and investigating the Hebrew lexicon, in all periods and strata of the language;
- to advance the study of the structure, history, and evolution of Hebrew;
- to guide the development of the language in keeping with Hebrew’s nature, needs, and possibilities, in all areas of study and practice, in vocabulary, grammar, orthography, and transliteration;
- to act to maintain Hebrew’s standing, to increase its prestige, and to deepen the public’s knowledge of the language and of its history.
In pursuit of these objectives the Academy guides the development of Hebrew by coining new Hebrew words and terms and by deciding standard grammar, orthography, transliteration, and punctuation; continues work on the flagship Historical Dictionary Project, which has compiled and analyzed Hebrew works dating from antiquity to the modern era in preparation for writing a comprehensive historical dictionary of the Hebrew language; studies the revival of spoken Hebrew; and engages with the public through an extensive online presence and also through in-person visits at our Cultural and Educational Center, academic and professional-development courses, lectures, special programs for Hebrew Language Day, and more.
In Israel the Academy’s published linguistic decisions are binding on all government bodies and educational institutions, inspiring facetious reference to the Academy as Israel’s “language police.” However, the Academy deems the decisions binding only for written texts and formal speeches and does not police spontaneous speech. The Academy’s very name, a foreign word that has drawn criticism from some quarters, attests to the fact that the Academy does not aspire to rid the language of non-Hebrew influences.