Communication Modes, Israeli-Jewish

Studying the elaboration of communication modes that are recognized as distinctive to Israeli-Jewish speech culture provides insights into deeply rooted meanings and tensions that have attended the making of Israeli culture as a national and ideological project. It speaks to such basic themes as the dialectical relations between individual and community, the tension between self-expressivity and interactional accommodation, and the balancing between social distinction and a shared ethic of recognition. These themes and dilemmas are discussed with reference to reflexively named communication modes such as confessional ‘soul talks’ (sichot nefesh), straight talk (dugri speech), griping (kiturim), online participatory practices (tokbeks), expressive verbal appreciation (lefargen), and more. A consideration of these communication modes as they have emerged during the past century suggests a gradual shift between a communally-oriented to an interpersonally or group-oriented cultural focus in Israeli-Jewish society.