Hebrew, etc. [was: Multi-lingos

Shalom, Dan! Ma nishma?

Thanks for the Yiddish reference. I'll keep and eye out for that book.

You mentioned something that really interested me, about some speakers of
Hebrew preserving older pronunciation distinctions (like het vs. chaf). that
are lost in general Israeli speech. I'd really like to hear more about that,
if you can tell me. Is it any particular group(s) of people that keep this
distinction? Are there any other older pronunciations that are also kept
(e.g. what about tet vs. tav, or vav pronounced /w/)? Do you know the reasons
why these distinctions were preserved among certain people but not others?

Sorry to bug you with so many questions, but I have a big interest in Hebrew
and Israeli culture (due to my first girlfriend, so many years ago, who was
from Beer Sheva) and I hadn't heard about this before. Unfortunately, I've
forgotten virtually all the Hebrew I had learned once -- a regret of mine.
It's a great language, one I would love to learn again one day when I have
the time to devote to it!

Toda,

Thomas