Prof Bernard (Dov) Spolsky

Professor Bernard (Dov) Spolsky (1932–2022) יהי זכרו ברוך May his memory be blessed

I first met Professor Bernard Spolsky 42 years ago when he came back to Israel to head the linguistics department at Bar Ilan University – he was the instructor in my first class of my MA studies. As the years passed, besides being my teacher, he became a mentor and a friend. Many Jews have Hebrew names and English names, often using their Hebrew names only for religious ceremonies; in Israel, Bernard Spolsky chose to be known by his Hebrew name, Dov.

He grew up in Wellington, New Zealand, studying at Victoria University College and then spending some time teaching. As a young man, he had briefly taught at Gisborne High School. By the 1950s, te reo Māori was in rapid decline and officials were pushing Māori to give up on the language if they were to “succeed.” However, Spolsky came to a very different conclusion. He noticed that the Māori students he taught who spoke te reo at home tended to do better in English – and in their studies in general – than those Māori students who had less connection to te reo. This sparked Spolsky’s belief that bilingualism and multilingualism were of tremendous value: culturally, cognitively and educationally (One Community Chronicle, 2022).

I think the combination of the context and Dov’s humanitarianism formed the foundation of a life of research and thought that expanded horizons, yet always comprised practical work and teachers’ professionalism. Another prime example of this was his work at the University of New Mexico where he developed materials for Navajo literacy programs and initiated a teacher training project for Navajo bilingual teachers (University of New Mexico, n.d..).

In 1958, Dov first immigrated to Israel, where he served in the Israel Defense Forces and taught at the Hebrew University. At that time, he also met an American, Ellen, during her short visit in Israel. He followed her back to America and succeeded in winning her hand. Ellen, a Professor of Literature, and Dov, a Professor of Linguistics and Language Pedagogy taught at various universities together in North America, and in 1980 returned to Israel with their family and settled in Jerusalem.

Professor Spolsky is known to so many of us around the world from his books and research which we encountered during our university studies. He authored some 250 articles and chapters and wrote and edited 30 books covering a range of subfields in Applied Linguistics, including Educational Linguistics, Conditions for Second Language Learning, The Languages of Jerusalem, Measured Words: The Development of Objective Language Testing, Sociolinguistics, The Languages of Israel: Policy, Ideology and Practice, Language Policy, Language Management, The Languages of the Jews: A Sociolinguistic History, and Rethinking Language Policy.

In 1983, Dov, together with Elana Shohamy (Tel Aviv University) and Andrew Cohen (Hebrew University) initiated a new organization in Israel: The Academic Committee for Research in Language Testing (ACROLT). At the initial meeting, Dov, Elana, and Andrew, who all taught language testing at their respective institutions, had their students make presentations on their language testing projects. This introduction to professional development was life changing for me – because of it I became a researcher and a presenter at academic conferences in Israel.

I know that Dov has touched many of you and your contact with him was life changing as well. Some of you may have “just” benefited from reading his books and articles. Others may have also heard a plenary or keynote speech at a conference or study day. Still others worked with him in various ways. I cannot say “the lucky few” – because there were so many in myriad contexts: in professional organizations, journal editors, committees, and others.

Bunin Benor and Tirosh-Beker (2022), in their memorial piece in The Journal of Jewish Languages, wrote:

Beyond his academic accomplishments, Dov Spolsky was known in many circles as a consummate mensch. He approached his editorial and reviewing work with generosity and served as a mentor for many scholars. He collaborated with many, often inviting them to co-author articles and co-edit books with him”. (p. 154)

It is fitting that I have this opportunity to explain this Yiddish word “mensch.” Webster’s defines it as “a person of integrity and honor.” I would add humility to this definition and say without hesitation that Dov was the personification of this word. He died on Saturday, August 10, 2022, a few months after undergoing major surgery. יהי זכרו ברוך

I hope you will take a few minutes and read some of the tributes below. I particularly recommend that of Elana Shohamy, which gives a very personal picture, but they all report a narrative of service, achievement, and humanity.