New Hebrew terms make their way to the Academy plenum for approval along one of two tracks – the track for professional terms, which handles the vast majority of the terms, or the track for words in general use.
Most of the professional Hebrew terms that the Academy approves come before the plenum as English–Hebrew lists or dictionaries of professional terms in a given field, after having been prepared by a dedicated committee formed for the purpose; occasionally the Hebrew professional vocabulary in a given field is already established, and the dictionary serves to formalize it and to provide English-language equivalents. Generally the committees consist of several professionals in the relevant field, who contribute their expertise about the subject matter, and one or more representatives of the Academy; some of the committee arise at the Academy’s initiative, others at the initiative of the professionals. Most committees work for at least a few years; some work for decades, producing multiple lists on different topics within the field. After preparing a list, disseminating it for comment, and revising it accordingly, the committee presents the list to the Central Terminology Committee, one of the Academy’s standing committees, for review. The Central Terminology Committee may reject some Hebrew terms, suggest changes to them, or send them back for further discussion. Once the entire list gains the approval of the Central Terminology Committee, it proceeds to the plenum for approval.
Occasionally the Academy receives a request to establish a Hebrew equivalent for a specific professional term that does not fall under the purview of an active committee; in such cases the Academic Secretariat may recruit an ad hoc committee of professionals to discuss the term. From there it proceeds to the Central Terminology Committee, and then the plenum, for approval.
In the other terminology track, the Committee for Words in General Use considers words and terms commonly used by the general public. Here the initiative tends to come from members of the public, who contact the Academy seeking a Hebrew alternative to a foreign term commonly used in everyday speech; often they suggest a specific Hebrew equivalent. Whereas a list of professional terms may leave some foreign terms unchanged, simply transcribing them into Hebrew, the Committee for Words in General Use brings only Hebrew proposals to the plenum. The Committee must therefore decide in each case whether coining a Hebrew equivalent is warranted and consider whether it has a worthy proposal.
The Hebrew terms approved by the Academy and by our predecessor, the Language Committee, are accessible to the public online in a searchable database on our terminology website. The site also includes scans of the dictionaries published in print. Note that while most of the Academy’s dictionaries are English–Hebrew, some of the Language Committee’s dictionaries do not provide English terms opposite the Hebrew ones (usually they provide a foreign equivalent, but it may be in German, French, or another European language).