Books by Sarah Bunin Benor

Each summer, tens of thousands of American Jews attend residential camps, where they see Hebrew signs, sing Hebrew songs, and hear a camp-specific hybrid language. Using historical and sociolinguistic methods, this book explains how camp directors came to infuse Hebrew in creative ways and how their rationales and practices have evolved over time.

When non-Orthodox Jews become frum (religious), they encounter much more than dietary laws and Sabbath prohibitions. They find themselves in the midst of a whole new culture, involving matchmakers, homemade gefilte fish, and Yiddish-influenced grammar. This explains how these newcomers learn Orthodox language and culture through their interactions with community veterans and other newcomers.

These papers explore themes in international research on language and gender. They examine beliefs about how men and women should speak, the ways in which norms are essentialized in language practice, and how individuals use meaningful linguistic features to contest norms and construct identities.