ABSTRACT
The history of modern Hebrew literature is inherently translingual, yet at the same time challenges assumptions about nativity and nation that are foundational to the idea of translingualism. As a transnational literature from its creation, Hebrew literature necessarily borrowed from other languages and was by definition translingual, since there were no native speakers or writers of Hebrew. Even after the establishment of the state of Israel and the adoption of Hebrew as a national language, immigrant writers from Europe and the Middle East continued to build the literature as translingual writers. Today, there is a large body of work by translingual Arab writers, citizens of Israel whose first language is Arabic but choose to write in Hebrew, and a growing body of translingual Israeli literature in other languages that draws on Hebrew and its translingual history for inspiration.
