Hebrew language debate the degree to which Hebrew was a spoken vernacular in ancient times following the Babylonian exile, when the predominant international language in the region was Old Aramaic. Hebrew was extinct as a colloquial language by Late Antiquity, but it continued to be used as a literary language and as the liturgical language of Judaism, evolving various dialects of literary Medieval Hebrew, until its revival as a spoken language in the late 19th century. In July 2008 Israeli archaeologist Yossi Garfinkel discovered a ceramic shard at Khirbet Qeiyafa which he claimed may be the earliest Hebrew writing yet discovered, dating
Revival of the Hebrew language Declaration of 1917 and the Second Aliyah. As a greater number of children passed through Hebrew language schools, the number of people who spoke Hebrew as their first language grew. As the number of people whose primary language was Hebrew increased, so did demand for Hebrew reading materials and entertainment such as books, newspapers, and plays. By 1916-1918, about 34,000 Jews in Palestine recorded Hebrew as their native language. After World War I, it was legislated by the Mandate over Palestine that English, Hebrew, and Arabic would be the official spoken language of Palestine. As the Jewish community in Palestine,