About
I study Arabic dialects across the Arab world as well as present-day Judeo-Arabic dialects, approaching them from the broad perspective of comparative Semitic linguistics. My research relies to a large extent on fieldwork, which I have carried out in many places in Israel and around the world: in the villages of the Galilee, the Carmel and the Golan Heights, among Arabic-speaking Jews in India, and among the Jewish communities of Levantine origin in Panama, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina. In many cases I have documented the last speakers of disappearing dialects, and I therefore see this work also as a mission of preserving linguistic and cultural heritage. A field particularly dear to me is etymology, through which I seek to reconstruct historical layers of language, culture and landscape. My research is multidisciplinary and is not concerned with language alone; it touches on many other fields, including botany, geology, history, cartography, archaeology and folklore.
Publications
- Nerium oleander L., a circum-Mediterranean study of the etymological, ecological, historical, mythological, and ethnobotanical roots of its vernacular names, Dafni, A., Kleinberger, A. G., Khatib, S. A., Petanidou, T., Natale, A. D., Cortis, P., Kozuharova, E., Aytaç, B., Blanché, C. & Benítez, G., Dec 2026, In: Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. 22, 1, 28.
- ON THE ARABIC DIALECT OF THE JEWS OF QĀMIŠLI (NORTH-EAST SYRIA), Geva-Kleinberger, A., 1 Jan 2025, Arabic in Context: Essays on Language, Dialects, and Culture in Honour of Martin R. Zammit. p. 109-134 26 p.
- Correction to: In search of traces of the mandrake myth: the historical, and ethnobotanical roots of its vernacular names (Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, (2021), 17, 1, (68), 10.1186/s13002-021-00494-5), Dafni, A., Blanché, C., Khatib, S. A., Petanidou, T., Aytaç, B., Pacini, E., Kozuharova, E., Geva-Kleinberger, A., Shahvar, S., Dajic, Z., Klug, H. W. & Benítez, G., Dec 2024, In: Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. 20, 1, 49.
- Historical Linguistic Remarks on Greater-Syrian Dialects from the Beginning of the Twentieth Century in Letters of Faraḥ Tābri, Gustaf Dalman’s Most Important Informant, Geva-Kleinberger, A., 2022, In: Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenlandischen Gesellschaft. 172, 2, p. 327-345 19 p.
- In search of traces of the mandrake myth: the historical, and ethnobotanical roots of its vernacular names, Dafni, A., Blanché, C., Khatib, S. A., Petanidou, T., Aytaç, B., Pacini, E., Kohazurova, E., Geva-Kleinberger, A., Shahvar, S., Dajic, Z., Klug, H. W. & Benítez, G., 4 Dec 2021, In: Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. 17, 1, p. 68 68.
- Agricultural Life as reflected in the Arabic Terminology of the Transjordanian Area of as-Salṭ at the Beginning of the Twentieth Century, Based on an Arab Christian Informant of Gustaf Dalman, Geva-Kleinberger, A., 2021, In: Collectanea Christiana Orientalia. 18, p. 95-108 14 p.
- Agricultural Life as reflected in the Arabic Terminology of the Transjordanian Area of as-Salt at the Beginning of the Twentieth Century, Based on an Arab Christian Informant of Gustaf Dalman, Geva-Kleinberger, A., 2021, In: Collectanea Christiana Orientalia. 18, p. 95-108 14 p.
- On the Arabic Dialect of the Jews of Sidon/Lebanon, Geva-Kleinberger, A., 2021, In: Zeitschrift fur Arabische Linguistik. 74, 1, p. 87-104 18 p.
- مراسلات لغوية بين العلامة الألماني دالمن ورواة لغويين محليين في مستهل القرن العشرين,
Translated title of the contribution :Linguistic Correspondence between the German Scholar Dalman and Local Informants at the beginning of the Twentieth Century - العربية الفلسطينية وتراثها اللغوي-الشعبي,
Translated title of the contribution :Palestinian Arabic and its Folkloric Lingual Heritage - A Rural Palestinian Folk-Custom for Weather Forecasting and its Aramaic-Levantine Etymological Roots, Geva-Kleinberger, A., 2020, In: Mediterranean Language Review. 27, p. 131-142 12 p.
- From the Far East to the Middle East: preserving heritage through dialectal fieldwork, Geva-Kleinberger, A., 2019, Arabic dialectology: methodology and field research. Arnold, W. & Klimiuk, M. (eds.). Harrassowitz Verlag, p. 79-90 12 p.
- Atlas of the Arabic dialects of galilee (Israel): With some data for adjacent areas, Behnstedt, P. & Geva-Kleinberger, A., 2019, Leiden: Brill. 482 p. (Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 1, The Near and Middle East; vol. 135)
- On the Path to Obsolescence: Children's Songs and Nursery Rhymes from the Galilean Muslim Village of Naḥef, Zachs, F. & גבע, א., 2018, In: Mediterranean Language Review. 25, p. 7-20 14 p.
- Judeo-Arabic in the Holy Land and Lebanon, Geva-Kleinberger, A., 2018, Languages in Jewish Communities, Past and Present. Hary, B. & Benor, S. B. (eds.). De Gruyter Mouton, p. 569-580 12 p.
- LINGUISTIC AND FOLKLORISTIC REMARKS ON TWO TEXTS IN THE DRUZE DIALECT OF ABU-SNĀN ON THE HOLY SITE OF THE PROPHET ZAKARIYYA, Kleinberger, A. G., 2017, In: RomanoArabica. 17, p. 119-130 12 p.
- LINGUISTIC AND FOLKLORISTIC REMARKS ON TWO TEXTS IN THE DRUZE DIALECT OF ABU-SNN ON THE HOLY SITE OF THE PROPHET ZAKARIYYA, KLEINBERGER, A. G., 2017, In: ROMANO-ARABICA. 17, p. 119-129 11 p.
- Wedding songs in the dialect of the Jews of Ḥabbān in eastern Yemen, Geva-Kleinberger, A., 2016, In: BABELAO (Louvain-la-Neuve). p. 285-300 16 p.
- The mystery of the dance: the Semitic etymological derivation of the Maltese root √żfn [=√zfn] and its contribution to history, Geva-Kleinberger, A., 1 Jan 2016, In: Semitica. 58, p. 271-287 17 p.
- Wild basil and cheese: reminiscences of the Judeo-Arabic dialect of Safed, Geva-Kleinberger, A., 6 Jan 2013, Nicht nur mit Engelszungen: Beiträge zur semitischen Dialektologie: Festschrift für Werner Arnold zum 60. Geburtstag. Kuty, R., Seeger, U. & Talay , S. (eds.). 1 ed. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, p. 109-112 4 p.
- The etymological, ecological, historical and ethnobotanical roots of the vernacular names of Ecballium elaterium (Squirting cucumber), Dafni, A., Benítez, G., Blanché, C., Rammón-Lacad, L., Petanidou, T., Aytaçf, B., Horvat, M., Lucchese, F. & Geva Kleinbergeri, A., 2013, In: The Journal of Ethnobiogy and Traditional Medicine. 119, p. 515-537 23 p.
- הכרמל של פון מולינן,
Translated title of the contribution :Mount Carmel of Graf von Mülinen - Lexical obsolescence and exclusiveness In a colloquial fishermen's poem from Acre, גבע, א. & Tavor, R., 2013, Branches of the goodly tree Studies in honor of George Kanazi. Hussein , A. A. (ed.). Harrassowitz Verlag, p. 273-281 9 p. (Arabisch-islamische Welt in Tradition und Moderne ; vol. 10).
- Rubin, Aaron D.: The Mehri Language of Oman, גבע, א., 2013, In: Orientalistische Literaturzeitung. 108, 3
- Dialectological fieldwork among the Arabic speaking Jews of Bombay (Mumbai), גבע, א., 2013, In: Journal of Advanced Linguistic Studies . 2, 1-2, p. 23-48 26 p.
- Arabisch in Fern-Ost: Der arabische Dialekt der Juden von Rangun, Geva-Kleinberger, A., 2012, In: Zeitschrift für Arabische Linguistik. 55, p. 44-61 18 p.
- The vocabulary of the Druze village of Maždal Šams on the slopes of Mount Hermon, the Golan Heights, Geva-Kleinberger, A., 2012, In: Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde des Morgenlandes. 102, p. 109-124 16 p.
- Janet C. E. Watson: The Structure of Mehri, Geva Kleinberger, A., 2012, In: Mediterranean Language Review.
- Halayqa, Issam:Traditional Agricultural and Domestic Tools in Palestinian Arabic. An Ethnographic and Lexical Study, גבע, א., 2012, In: Orientalistische Literaturzeitung. 112, 1, p. 58-59
- מפי מידען: לשון המהרי הדרום ערבית החדשה בתימן ותרומתה לחקר השפות השמיות, גבע, א., 2011, מטוב יוסף : ספר היובל לכבוד יוסף טובי. אטינגר, א. & בר-מעוז, ד. (eds.). המרכז לחקר התרבות היהודית בספרד ובארצות האסלאם, p. כרך ג': 266-276
- Ottoman lexical obsolescence in the Arabic dialects of the Galilee Region, גבע, א., 2011, In: Şarkiyat Mecmuası. 15, p. 49-88 40 p.
- القاموس اللغوي الخاص بموسم قطف الزيتون في الجليل: عالم معجمي اخذ بالاندثار,
Translated title of the contribution :Obsolescence versus Observance: Olive Harvest Lexical Terms in Galilee - A text in the Arabic dialect of the Druze of 'Ayn Qinyi, the Golan Heights, Geva Kleinberger, A., 2010, In: Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam. 38, p. 99-110 12 p.
- One Soul, Two Lifetimes: A Druze Text from Mount Carmel on Reincarnation, Marom, Y. & Geva Kleinberger, A., 2010, In: Mediterranean Language Review. 17, p. 47-63 17 p.
- Maritime terminology in the Mehr language of the east coast of Yemen, Geva Kleinberger, A., 2009, Philologisches und Historisches zwischen Anatolien und Sokotra: Analecta semitica in memoriam Alexander Sima. Arnold, W., Jursa, M., Müller, W. W. & Procházka, S. (eds.). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, p. 51-62 12 p.
- Autochthonous texts in the Arabic dialect of the Jews of Tiberias, Geva-Kleinberger, A., 2009, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag. 229 p.
- Das Werk Graf von Mülinens als Quelle zu den arabischen Dialekten des Karmels,
Translated title of the contribution :The Work of Graf von Mülinen as a source for the Arabic dialects oft he Mount Carmel area - The Last Informant: A Text in the Jewish Arabic Dialect of Peqi'in, Geva Kleinberger, A., 2005, In: Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde des Morgenlandes. 95, p. 45-61 17 p.
- لغة الغجر في القدس الشرقية: بين العربية والنورية,
Translated title of the contribution :The language of the gypsies in Eastern Jerusalem: Between Arabic and Nawarī - Zur arabischen terminologie des herrenfriseurhandwerks in itTur/Jerusalem, Geva Kleinberger, A., 5 Mar 2004, In: EDNA: Estudios de dialectología norteafricana y andalusí. 8, p. 81-87 7 p.
- Memories of the Sea of Galilee: The Jewish Arabic dialect of Tiberias, Geva Kleinberger, A., 2004, In: Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam. 29, p. 145-165 21 p.
- Die arabischen Stadtdialekte von Haifa in der ersten Hälfte des zwanzigsten Jahrhunderts, Geva Kleinberger, A., 2004, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag. 357 p.
- The emergence of two rivaling Arabic dialects among the Jews of Sudan, Geva Kleinberger, A., 2003, AIDA 5th Conference Proceedings. Ferrando Frutos, I. & Sánchez Sandoval, J. J. (eds.). Cadiz, Spain: Servicio de Publicaciones de la Universidad de Cádiz, p. 493-500 8 p.
- A text in the fisherman dialect of Acre (Akko), Geva Kleinberger, A. & Tavor, R., 2003, In: EDNA: Estudios de dialectología norteafricana y andalusí. 7, p. 125-134 10 p.
- Judeo-Arabic dialects of the Jews of Sudan: Preliminary findings, Geva Kleinberger, A., 2002, Sprich doch mit deinen Knechten aramäisch, wir verstehen es! 60 Beitraege zur Semitistik: Festschrift fűr Otto Jastrow zum 60. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, p. 181-191 11 p.
- בין הנילוס הכחול לנילוס הלבן - קהילת סודאן בין שני להגיה, גבע, א., 2002, In: פעמים: פרקי עיון במורשת ישראל במזרח. 91, p. 153-164 12 p.
- The old dialect of Arabic of Haifa, Geva Kleinberger, A., 2000, In: Sprawozdania z Posiedzen Komisji Naukowych. 64, 1, p. 54-58 5 p.
- Living amongst the Spirits: Death and Superstition as reflected in the Arabic and Hebrew Vocabulary of the Jews of Safed, Geva Kleinberger, A., 2000, In: Mediterranean Language Review. 12, p. 16-38 23 p.
- Where does the word Tarjama come from? The TTIT Conference of Translation in Tunis, Geva Kleinberger, A., 2000, La traduction, entre équivalence et correspondance: Actes du colloque international. Mejri, S., Bakkuš, T. & Clas, A. (eds.). Tunis: Institut supérieur des langues de Tunis, p. 55-60 6 p.
- اللهجات العربية ليهود الجليل في النصف الأول من القرن العشرين,
Translated title of the contribution :Aspects of the dialects of Arabic today
Education
- 1997–2000 PhD (Dr. phil.), Oriental Philology (Semitic Studies), University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany (supervisor: Prof. Otto Jastrow), magna cum laude
- 1989–1993 MA with honors, Arabic Language and Literature, Institute of Asian and African Studies, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
- 1985–1988 BA summa cum laude, Arabic Language and Literature, University of Haifa
Academic Background
I completed my BA in Arabic Language and Literature at the University of Haifa (1985–1988) summa cum laude, and was chosen to represent the university as an outstanding student at the Knesset. I went on to an MA in Arabic Language and Literature at the Institute of Asian and African Studies of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1989–1993), which I completed with honors. I wrote my doctorate at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany (1997–2000) under the supervision of the eminent dialectologist Prof. Otto Jastrow. My main field was Oriental Philology (Semitic Studies), with Islamic Studies and Assyriology as minor fields. The dissertation, written in German, dealt with the urban Arabic dialects of Haifa in the first half of the twentieth century. It was awarded magna cum laude and was published in 2004 as a book in the Semitica Viva series. During my studies in Germany I received a Minerva Foundation fellowship (Weizmann Institute) and DAAD fellowships, and in 1999–2000 I served as a research assistant (Wissenschaftlicher Assistent) at the University of Erlangen. On my return to Israel I was awarded an Alon Fellowship of the Council for Higher Education (2001–2004).
I have been a faculty member at the University of Haifa since 2000. I first taught in the Department of Arabic Language and Literature, which I also chaired in 2014–2019, and in 2020 I was promoted to full professor in that department. In 2019–2020 I was a visiting professor at the Institute of Language, Literature and Anthropology of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) in Madrid. Since October 2024 I have been a full professor in the Department of Hebrew Language, and since 2025 I have headed the Joseph and Racheline Barda Chair for the Study and Research of Jewish Heritage in Egypt at the University of Haifa.
Research Areas
At the center of my research is Arabic dialectology, and in particular the Palestinian dialects of the Galilee, the Carmel and the Golan Heights, which I have been documenting through fieldwork for many years. I am especially interested in lexical obsolescence, in agricultural and traditional terminology, and in the relationship between language and folklore and popular customs. A major project in this field is the Atlas of Arabic Dialects in the Galilee Region, which I wrote together with Peter Behnstedt (Brill, 2019) – the first atlas devoted entirely to Palestinian dialects. In parallel, I study historical sources for spoken Arabic, among them Eberhard von Mülinen's work on the Carmel and the correspondence of the scholar Gustaf Dalman with the local language informants who worked with him in the early twentieth century.
Another central area of my research is modern Judeo-Arabic, that is, the dialects of Arabic-speaking Jewish communities. Some of these communities lived in the Land of Israel – in Tiberias, Safed and Peki'in; others lived in Syria and Lebanon, Yemen and Sudan; and some are the Baghdadi Jewish communities of the Far East, in India, Burma and Singapore. Many of these dialects are in danger of disappearing. Alongside this, I work in comparative Semitic linguistics and etymology, in a range extending from the Modern South Arabian languages, such as Mehri, to Maltese and its relationship to Arabic. I also take part in multidisciplinary studies that combine language with ethnobotany, geology, history and cartography.
Awards
- 2004–2006 Israel Science Foundation (ISF) research grant, principal investigator
- 2001–2004 Alon Fellowship, Council for Higher Education
- Minerva Foundation fellowship (Weizmann Institute) and DAAD fellowships, during doctoral studies in Germany
- Outstanding Lecturer awards, University of Haifa
Media
Videos and Interviews
- Hasufim ("Exposed") – Prof. Aharon Geva-Kleinberger (in Hebrew). Watch on YouTube
- Interview with May Samra, Enlace Judío (2022, in Spanish): "Hay que salvar el legado en árabe de los judíos, antes de que sea demasiado tarde" ("The Arabic heritage of the Jews must be saved before it is too late"). Watch on YouTube | Read the transcript
- Lovin Malta: Prof. Geva-Kleinberger sings the Maltese classic L-Aħħar Bidwi f'Wied il-Għasel, a song about the loss of rural life and agriculture in Malta, in the valley in Mosta where it is set, and talks about his long bond with Malta and the Maltese language. View on Instagram
Additional Info
Positions and Professional Activities
- Since 2025 Head of the Joseph and Racheline Barda Chair for the Study and Research of Jewish Heritage in Egypt, University of Haifa
- Since 2025 Editorial board member, Israel Oriental Studies
- Since 2016 Editor, al-Karmil
- 2014–2019 Head of the Department of Arabic Language and Literature, University of Haifa
- Member of the Academy of the Arabic Language, Nazareth
PhD Students, Past and Present
- Dr. Yael Ben Zion. Together with Prof. Yosef Tobi. Linguistic and Anthropological Aspects of the Judeo-Arabic Dialect of Aden
- Dr. Musa Morad. The Concept of Etymology among Arab Linguists and Grammarians in the Middle Ages (in Arabic)
- Dr. Ward Aqil (Khatib). A Functional Analysis of Syntactic Constructions in the Arabic Vernacular Discourse in Northern Israel
- Dr. Haifa Magadly. Contemporary Textbooks for Teaching Arabic Syntax in Primary Schools in Israel and Some Arab Countries: A Comparative Linguistic Analysis
- Dr. Abdelnaser Jabarin. The Grammatical Functional Structure of the Kur'anic Text
- Dr. Safaa Abu-Rafeh. The Dialects of the Druze of Wādi Taym and Mount Lebanon
- Dr. Hiba Fahoum. The Language of the Nazarene Newspaper aṣ-Ṣunnāra
- Dr. Heba Zahran. Diminution in the Palestinian Dialects: Between Form and Meaning
- Dr. Rana Sobeh. A Comparative Lexicon of Domestic Animals in the Arabic Dialects of the Galilee Region
- Dr. Shereen Tanassra Barghout. The Contribution of Father Anastās al-Karmilī to the Field of Arabic Linguistics
- Dr. Kamal Zbidat. Ibn Fāres the Linguist through His Dictionary Maqāyīs al-Luġa: His Terminology and Methodology in the Fields of Etymology, Analogy and Semantics
- Dr. Arin Zbidat-Azazma. Palestinian Proverbs in the Galilee Region, between Memory and Obsolescence
- Dr. Yehuda Tzuberi. Life Cycle in Arabic of the Jewish Communities of Syria in Damascus, Aleppo and Qāmišli: A Comparative Linguistic and Cultural Research
- Danir Hatan (in progress). The Lifecycle in Contemporary Judeo-Arabic of Beirut: A Linguistic and Cultural Study
- Loraine Sa'eed (under review). The Nostratic Theory and the Arabic Language
- Netanel Goretsky (in progress). The Jewish Community of Bahrain: A Linguistic and Interdisciplinary Study
- Vered Andreev (research proposal stage). Traditional Arab Galilean Village Life at the End of the 20th Century, Based on Recordings from the Galilee Dialects Project (working title)
- Lisa Shabso (in progress). Together with Prof. Bracha Nir.
MA Students, Past and Present
- Ward Khatib. The Syntactic Structure of the Popular Arabic Proverb in the Eastern Mediterranean Basin
- Sidki Hujeirat. Lexicon of Terms Related to the Life of the Camel among the Bedouin Population in the Negev as an Example of Non-extant Words
- Hiba Fahoum. The Contribution of Modern Linguistics to the Understanding of the Issue of Common Spelling Errors in Contemporary Arabic: Examples and Analysis
- Abd inNasir Jabarin. Between Tradition and Modernism: Innovative Aspects of the Position of the Vocative in Classical Arabic
- Dua'a Abu lHija. Together with Prof. John Myhill. Variations in Representation of Consonants on Facebook
- Safaa Abu-Rafeh. Lexical Fieldwork on the Arabic Dialects of South Lebanon
- Hiba Zahran. The Diminutive in Arabic: Between Structure and Meaning
- As'ad Odeh. Fieldwork on the nisba (Relation/Nomen relativum) in the Arabic Dialects of the Galilee Region
- Kamal Zbidat. Exclamation Structures in Arabic in the Eyes of Classical and Modern Grammarians
- Shereen Tanassra Barghout. The Contribution of the Lexicon of Mikiel Anton Vassalli: A Typological Comparison of Arabic and Maltese
- Rana Sobeh. Agriculture Lexicon of the Arabic Dialects in Shfar'am
- Nariman Igbariya. Together with Dr. Yehudit Dror. The Ellipsis (al-ḥaḍf) of the Direct Object in the Quran
- Fares Mulla. Comparative Lexical Study among the Druze Villages on Mount Carmel, the Galilee Region and the Golan Heights
- Loraine Sa'eed. Applied Linguistics in Anīs Frayḥa's Call for Facilitating Arabic Language
- Yehuda Tzuberi. The Judeo-Arabic Dialect of Qāmišli between Two Macro-Groups: The Qəltu and the Greater-Syrian Dialects – A Lexical Study
- Danir Hatan. Passover Holiday in Contemporary Judeo-Arabic in the Dialects of Aleppo and Damascus: A Comparative Dialectological Research
- Mary Gassan Zeitoun. Fassuta and Mi'ilya: A Comparative Research of Dialect, Culture and Tradition
- Vered Andreev. The Dialect of Baghdadi Jews in Calcutta: Linguistic-Cultural Analysis of the Periodical Šōšānā from the Year 1901
- Noor Aghbariya. al-Kaškaša in ʾUmm al-Faḥm: Diachronically and Synchronically