how to say “global warming” in Hebrew
הִתְחַמְּמוּת עוֹלָמִית[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/global-warming-4.mp3″ /]
This week is hot in Israel (here’s a video we’ve made about that), more so than usual for the season. Some blame it on global warming.
As is the case with many terms that didn’t exist in antiquity, Modern Hebrew has three for global warming:
הִתְחַמְּמוּת גְּלוֹבָּלִית[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/global-warming-2.mp3″ /] borrows global from English, tacking on ית-[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/global-warming-3.mp3″ /] to create the adjective, global.
In contrast, הִתְחַמְּמוּת עוֹלָמִית[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/global-warming-4.mp3″ /], literally, worldwide warming, is a proper Semitic term, adapting the word עוֹלָם[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/global-warming-5.mp3″ /] – world. This is the term that Hebrew Wikipedia uses.
There’s also a term that translates a tad more creatively from English: הִתְחַמְּמוּת כַּדּוּר הָאָרֶץ[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/global-warming-6.mp3″ /] – literally, warming of the earth or the globe.
For example:
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/global-warming-7.mp3″ /]מָה גּוֹרֵם לְהִתְחַמְּמוּת כַּדּוּר הָאָרֶץ?
What causes global warming?
התחממות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/global-warming-8.mp3″ /] applies the root ח.ו.מ (kh.v.m) meaning heat, to a variation of the reflexive-intensive verb form.