Hebrew language questions

[Bastoune]

Well folks, I've decided to take some courses and get some books to learn Hebrew.

But tonight I will be meeting some Orthodox Jews and would like to know how to say in Hebrew, "Thank you" and "G-d bless you".

So I thought someone here could help me with a phonetic translation (and the Hebrew letters/spelling aren't so bad to have either!)

Thanks!!! (Which I would say in Hebrew except... I don't know how...)

In Christ,
TIM

 

[Knight]

Related question: (I don't intend to hijack your thread, Tim.)

Has the language changed much since OT times?

 

[Multi-Elis]

"Thank you" Todà
"G-d bless you" Ye Verékh autkhà ha shèm word for word "Shall bless you The Name" Literally "The Name shall bless you. There are other way to say it, some closer to the original English phrase, but I have the feeling an Orthodox jew will perfer this version.

Has the language changed much since OT times?

Reading the OT in hebrew is for a modern hebrew speaker a modern English speaker reading Shakespeare, in terms of how different or difficult it is.

Pronounciation has been changed to a large degree, Ains and Kofs and Khets are not pronounced the way they should be, thanks to an over flow of lazy Europien jewish immagrents who just couldn't force themselves to pronounce these violent consonants. Arabs still pronounce these letters correctly. In comparing with Arabic, (sister language and source of inspiration for roots for reconstructing new words like "light bulb"), we have reason to believe that in many ways OT hebrew was pronounced quite differently than what it is to day. (Tavs with a dagesh could have been prnounced "T" and dagesh-less tavs as "Th") Modern hebrew is quite faithfull to the OT roots because modern hebrew was re-invented from studying the constructions of hebrew in the Bible and of hebrew in the talmud.
To my great sadness, and as is the case with many languages today, people are degrading the language in their day to day uses. Grammer teachers are ignored by students. Teenagers neglect reading. The result is degrading.