Roey Schneider ist a doctoral candidate at the Institute of Ancient Near Eastern Studies.
My PhD research focuses on unexplained sibilant changes and correspondences among Semitic languages. Irregular sound correspondences are an instance of cognates seemingly expressing different underlying forms. All sounds have regular correspondences. For example, Hebrew /∫/ regularly corresponds to an Arabic /s/ or /θ/ and an Akkadian <Š>. However, in many lexical items, there is an irregular correspondence, meaning a Hebrew /∫/ may correspond to an Arabic /∫/ or an Akkadian /t͡s/. In my research I will map out all Semitic roots with sibilants in order to list cognates with regular and irregular correspondences. When analyzing these data, I will make use of linguistic methodologies such as Optimality Theory and Harmony Grammar, as well as Similarity models, while addressing articulatory, acoustic and perceptual features of these sibilants. In addition, I will survey the sibilants in the different Semitic languages, alongside their morphological uses. I will also analyze transcriptions of Semitic sibilants into foreign scripts and vice versa in order to achieve conclusions regarding the sibilant systems of ancient Semitic languages.
Research Interests
Phonology; Semitic phylogenetics and subgrouping; Sibilants; Ancient Semitic Languages; Ancient transcriptions of Semitic languages; Historical and Comparative Semitic Linguistics; Reconstruction of Proto-Semitic; Optimality Theory; Dialectology; Eblaite; Amarna Canaanite.
Higher Education
- 2020: PhD, Ancient Near East Institute, Leipzig University. Dissertation topic: "Irregular Correspondences of Sibilants in Semitic", supervised by Prof. Dr. Michael P. Streck, head of the institute.
- 2018–20: MA, Department of Semitic Linguistics, Tel Aviv University. Thesis topic: “Case Syncretism in Semitic: The Case of Arabic Plurals,” supervised by Dr. Evan Cohen of the Department of Linguistics and Prof. Hezy Mutzafi, head of the Department of Hebrew Language and Semitic Linguistics. Honors: summa cum laude (Average: 97)
- 2016–18: BA, Department of Hebrew Language and Semitic Linguistics, Tel Aviv University. Honors: magna cum laude (Average: 93)
During these years, I have undergone advanced courses on the following languages (focusing on Semitic languages): Aramaic (including Neo-Aramaic, Syriac, Biblical Aramaic and dialectology of Pre-Modern Aramaic), Amharic, Modern South Arabian languages (mostly Mehri), Ancient South Arabian languages (mostly Sabaic), Akkadian, Ugaritic, Phoenician, Ge'ez, Modern Standard Arabic, Sumerian and Ancient Hebrew.
Additional Education
- Summer 2019: A Summer school in Chinese language and culture at Shanghai International Studies University, China.
- Summer 2018: A summer school for MA and PhD students in languages and linguistics in Leiden University, The Netherlands, including courses taught by international leading specialists. Took courses on Cushitic languages (Prof. Martin Mous), Ugaritic (Prof. Agustinus Gianto), Classical Mandaic (Prof. Holger Gzella), and historical grammar of Hebrew (Prof. Benjamin Suchard).
- 2014: Advanced military courses in translation from Arabic, levels 9 and 11.
- 2012–13 a Pre-service course in the field of translating from Modern Standard Arabic. The course included advanced material and was taught by leading academic specialists in Arabic grammar.
Teaching Experience
- 2010–present: private teacher for Hebrew language and grammar, Arabic, and Semitic linguistics.
Professional Experience
- 2011–present: Professional vocalizer (naqdan / diacriticist) for different texts such as poetry books, children's books, and music albums. Worked with hundreds of texts for several book publishing companies and private customers. Provided language consulting for media institutions such as the Kan public broadcasting corporation and the Israeli educational television. In addition, I worked with several high-tech companies in order to help them develop automatic Niqqud. Among these are Google and Dicta.
- 2020: Research Assistant for the project "Legal Texts in Syriac" of Dr. Yifat Monnickendam.
- 2019: Research Assistant for the project “Linguistic and Textual Variants in the Scriptural Dead Sea Scrolls” of Prof. Noam Mizrahi, head of the Department of Biblical Studies, Tel Aviv University.
- 2017: Research Assistant for the project “Analysis of first and second-generation native Hebrew speakers from a 1950s recording corpus” of Dr. Einat Gonen of the Department of Hebrew Language, Tel Aviv University.
- 2013–16: Military service as a newspaper article translator from Arabic.
Additional Activity
- 2018–20: Co-established and ran an independent music label for Indie-Rock music including musical co-operations between Jews and Palestinians in Hebrew and Arabic.
- 2017–18: Initiated, produced, and organized three tribute musical concerts for the Lebanese band Mashrou' Leila in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, including Palestinian and Jewish musicians singing in Arabic, Hebrew, and English.
Awards and Scholarships
- 2021: Ernst Ludwig Ehrlich Bewerbung for PhD Students
- 2020: Ignatz Bubis Distinction Scholarship for MA and PhD Students, Rosenberg School for Jewish Studies and Archaeology, Tel Aviv University.
- 2018: Balaban-Glas Distinction Scholarship for MA Students, Rosenberg School for Jewish Studies and Archaeology, Tel Aviv University.
Academic Publications
Accepted: Schneider, R. and E. G. Cohen, 2021. Case Syncretism in Arabic Plurals. Radical, Vol. 3.
Non-Academic Publications
Poetry Books:
Roey Schneider and other poems (Tel Aviv: Safra, 2012). Awarded with the Pesah Meilin Award for Young Poets.
Three-four and (Tel Aviv: Olam Hadash, 2016)
An additional poetry book being edited (Tel Aviv: Mossad Bialik, 2022)
Poems:
I have published poems in various newspapers such as Ha'aretz, Yediot Aharonot, and Ma'ariv and poetry journals such as Oh!, Mashiv Haruach, Shvo, and Gag