Beth Hatefutsoth - Related Links

Invitation to the Bar Mitzvah of Nissim Hanahil Liji, Pazardjik, Bulgaria, 1928
Ladino
Beth Hatefutsoth - Visual Documentation Center
Courtesy of Pinchas Shacher, Israel

Greeting card for Rosh Hashana issued by Meir Elias synagogue in Baghdad, Iraq
Hebrew and Judeo-Arabic
Beth Hatefutsoth - Visual Documentation Center
Courtesy of Jacob Zilcha, Israel

Hebrew

Hebrew belongs to the western branch of the Semitic languages. It is recorded since the early first millennium BCE and has ever since been the national language of the Jewish people and the holy language of Judaism. Towards the end of the first millennium BCE, Hebrew was gradually replaced by Aramaic as the spoken language in the Land of Israel, having already adopted the Aramiac alphabet to be written in, but although generally not used as a spoken language for more than one thousand five hundred years, Hebrew never ceased to be used by Jews communities in the Diaspora as a language of prayer and of study, literature, letters etc. Hebrew has influenced to various degrees all other languages used by Jews in the Diaspora. Hebrew was revived as a spoken language during the nineteenth century, becoming part of the endeavor to re-establish a Jewish national home in the land of Israel. Hebrew became an official language in British Palestine in 1921, and the primary official language of the state of Israel It is spoken by about 6,000,000 people, in Israel and abroad, of whom around 4,500,000 speak Hebrew as their mother-tongue. Today Hebrew is also spoken as a second language by almost a million non-Jews, most of them living in Israel.

The National Center for the Hebrew Language (NCHL) has positioned itself as the American advocate for the Hebrew language.

Jewish Aramaic

Other names: Judeo-Aramaic, Lishana Noshan, Lishanid Noshan, Lishana Axni, Lishanid Janan, Lishana Deni, Lishan Didan, Jabali, Kurdit, Galiglu, 'Aramit, Aramit, Hulaulá, Hula Hula.

Jewish Aramaic is a generic term describing dialects and variants of Aramaic, a language closely related to Hebrew and belonging to the western branch of the Semitic family of languages. Aramaic replaced Hebrew as the main spoken language amongst Jews in the Land of Israel towards the end of the first millennium BCE and its script had already been adopted as the standard Hebrew alphabet. Some chapters of the Bible, most notably in the Book of Daniel, were written in Aramaic. Aramaic, in its two dialects - Babylonian and Palestinian, was the language of the Jewish sages for many hundreds of years after the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem (1^st cent. CE) and was employed for the writing of the Talmud. Aramaic, in its learned variant, has since been in use by Jewish sages, scholars, and writers and has continued to influence Hebrew. Spoken Aramaic continued to be spoken in small communities across the Middle East in the form known as Neo-Aramaic. It was used by Jews in those countries, especially in Kurdistan. Judeo-Aramaic evolved a number of dialects that all are different from dialects used by Christians (mainly Syriac). Judeo-Aramaic is written in Hebrew script. There are currently very few speakers of Judeo-Aramaic, who mainly live in Israel.

A new dictionary of the Aramaic language, to be called The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon, is currently in preparation by an international team of scholars, with headquarters at the Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati

Jewish English

Jewish English is a generic term describing the many variants of English with influences from Yiddish, and classical and Modern Hebrew as spoken by hundreds of thousands of Jews living in the USA, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, South Africa and other English speaking countries.

English is currently the most common spoken language of Jews world-wide; it is used as a mother tongue by about 6,000,000 people and it is widely taught in Israel and in Jewish communities in non-English speaking countries. During the last decades English has had an important influence on the vocabulary of modern Hebrew as well as other Jewish languages, most notably Yiddish.

Jewish Malayalam

Malayalam is related to Tamil and belongs to the Dravidian family of languages spoken primarily in the southern regions of India. The Jews of Cochin and the neighboring communities have used a specific variant of Malayalam as their spoken language for centuries. Jewish Malayalam is characterized by the use of Hebrew loan words and Dravidian archaisms in vocabulary, phonology, and syntax and it is written in Hebrew script. There are very few speakers of Jewish Malayalam left in India while the rest are mostly to be found in Israel.

Judeo-Alsatian

Judeo Alsatian is the Jewish variant of the Alsatian dialect of German (part of the Alemannic group of German dialects) as it was spoken in the ancient Jewish communities of Alsace, France.

Judeo-Arabic

Judeo-Arabic comprises a number of variants of various dialects of spoken Arabic as used by Jews living in Arab-speaking countries. Judeo-Arabic comprises Iraqi Judeo-Arabic, Jewish Iraqi-Baghdadi Arabic, Arabi, Yahudic, Judeo-Moroccan, Judeo-Tripolitanian, Judeo-Algerian, Judeo-Tunisian, Judeo-Yemenite and also some dialects spoken in northern Syria, mainly in the region of Aleppo. As a variant of Arabic it belongs to the Semitic family of languages, but unlike standard Arabic, Jude-Arabic is written with Hebrew characters. Judeo-Arabic was spoken in a vast area stretching from Morocco to Yemen and Iraq for over a thousand years. In the early 20^th century there were hundreds of thousand of speakers of Judeo-Arabic. Their number dwindled significantly following the mass emigration of Jews from Arab countries. Judeo-Arabic is currently spoken by less than one hundred thousand speakers, the vast majority of them bilinguals, mostly living in Israel. There are also small numbers of speakers of Judeo-Arabic in France, Canada, USA, Great Britain, Mexico, and a few other places.

Judeo-Berber

Judeo-Berber is the language formerly used in those Jewish communities located in the High Atlas range, Tifnut and other neighboring regions in Morocco. The Berber languages and dialects, spoken over a large area from western Egypt to Mauritania, are descendants of the native languages of North Africa and belong to the Berbero-Libyan group of the Afro-Asiatic (formerly Hamito-Semitic) family of languages. Colonies of Jews lived in the High Atlas long before Islam came to the region. Variants of Berber languages and dialects were used by Jews living in rural communities in the Atlas Mountains well into the 20^th century. Judeo-Berber is written in the Hebrew script. In modern times, probably all speakers of Judeo-Berber were also native speakers of Arabic and/or Judeo-Arabic. Following the mass emigration of Jews from the countries of North Africa, Judeo-Berber is currently used by very few speakers, most of them located in Israel and in France.

Judeo-Tatar

Judeo Tatar is the Jewish version of Tatar, a language belonging to the Altaic family of languages. It was used by the Karaite communities in the Crimean peninsula. Judeo-Tatar is written in Hebrew characters.

Judeo-French

Judeo-French was the language used by the Jews who lived during the Middle Ages in a territory corresponding with the northern regions of modern France. Judeo-French is a variant of the langue d'oïl version of Old French and it is recorded in a rich collection of short texts, mainly glosses to Hebrew commentaries on the Bible and the Talmud that were written in Hebrew script. Judeo-French has been extinct since the Middle Ages.

Wedding invitation of Misha and Luba Agashvili, Poti, Republic of Georgia, 1957
Beth Hatefutsoth - Visual Documentation Center
Courtesy of Misha and Luba Agashvili, Israel

Passover Seder for Holocaust survivors, Paris, France, April 16, 1946
The inscription on the banner reads (in Hebrew and Aramaic): “This year here. Next year in the Land of Israel”
Beth Hatefutsoth - Visual Documentation Center
Courtesy of Barniv family, Israel

Judeo-Georgian

Judeo-Georgian is a variant of Georgian, a Caucasian language, used by Jews. It is characterized by a vocabulary influenced by loan words from Hebrew. Speakers of Judeo-Georgian currently live mainly in Israel with a few left in the Republic of Georgia and others scattered in small numbers in Jewish communities in North America and Western Europe.

Judeo-Greek

Judeo-Greek is the generic term for the variants of both ancient and modern Greek spoken and written by Jews, especially by Romaniote Jews. It spoken by Jews living in the Byzantine Empire. After the Ottoman conquest of the Balkans and the influx of Ladino speaking Sephardi Jews, Judeo-Greek decreased in importance and continued to be used by only a small number of Romaniote Jews living in the territory of what is the modern state of Greece. Judeo-Greek is written in Hebrew script; currently there are only a handful of speakers, mainly in Greece and in Israel.

Judeo-Iranian

Judeo-Italian

Judeo-Italian comprises a large number of local dialects: Giudeo-ferrarese, Giudeo-fiorentino, Giudeo-mantovano, Giudeo-modenese, Giudeo-piemontese, Giudeo-reggiano, Giudeo-romanesco, Giudeo-veneziano. In addition there were at least two Judeo-Italian variants used on the island of Corfu. Judeo-Italian evolved from the 10^th to the 19^th cent. all over the Jewish communities of Italy and Venetian possessions in the Balkans, especially in Corfu, where it is recorded in texts from the 16^th to 18^th centuries. Judeo-Italian is written in Hebrew script. Currently there are very few speakers of Judeo-Italian, mainly in Rome, in Israel, and on the island of Corfu.

Judeo-Persian

Other names: Bokharic, Bukharian, Bokharan, Bukharan, Judeo-Tajik Dzhidi, Bukharan, Judeo-Bukharan, Bukhari, Bukharit.

The term Judeo-Persian is principally used in connection to a variant of New Persian specific to Jewish texts. The term also refers to a large number of variants and dialects used in all Jewish communities belonging to the Iranian cultural area covering modern Iran, most of the former Soviet republics of Central Asia (Uzbekistan, Tajikistan), and in some areas in the Caucasus region, mainly in the Republic of Daghestan and in Azerbaijan. In Iran itself there are a number of dialects corresponding with the various dialects of Modern Persian (Farsi):, Judeo-Borujerdi, Judeo-Esfahani Judeo-Golpaygani, Judeo-Hamedani, Judeo-Kashani, Judeo-Kermani, Judeo-Khunsari, Judeo-Shirazi, Judeo-Nehevandi, Judeo-Yazdi. Judeo-Bukharic is spoken in Uzbekistan. All dialects and variants are written in Hebrew script. Speakers of Judeo-Persian dialects live in Iran, Israel, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, USA, and in smaller numbers in other countries as well.

Luterā'i is a secret jargon of Iranian Jews. It is based on the grammar of Persian (Farsi) or local dialects of modern spoken Farsi, but it has an extensive Hebrew and Aramaic vocabulary.

Judeo-Portuguese

Judeo-Portuguese was the language used by the Jews of Portugal before the sixteenth century and by their descendants in the countries of the Jewish Portuguese Diaspora, especially in the communities of Amsterdam, in the Netherlands, and Livorno (Leghorn), in Italy, during the 18^th century. Judeo-Portuguese was written in Hebrew alphabet (known in Portuguese as Aljamiado) and sometimes in Latin script. It became extinct sometime during the 19^th century.

Car license plate with the Yiddish word “Shlep”
Beverly Hills, CA, USA, 1986
Photo: Paula Ruth Van Gelder, USA
Beth Hatefutsoth - Visual Documentation Center
Courtesy of Paula Ruth Van Gelder, USA

Car license plate with the Yiddish word “Yenty”
Beverly Hills, CA, USA, 1986
Photo: Paula Ruth Van Gelder, USA
Beth Hatefutsoth - Visual Documentation Center
Courtesy of Paula Ruth Van Gelder, USA

Judeo-Provençal

Other names: Judéo-Comtadin, Hébraïque-Comtadin, Shuadit, Chouadit, Chouadite, Chuadit, Chuadite, Shuadit.

Judeo-Provencal is a Jewish Occitano-Romance language that was spoken by Jews in southern France during the Middle Ages, and later in the early modern period, especially in the Avignon district, which was for a long period of time under the rule of the Popes. Judeo-Provencal became extinct in 1977 with the death of the last speaker.

Judeo-Slavic

Judeo-Slavic was a West Slavic language used by Jews living in Central Europe in the Middle Ages in Slavic-speaking regions corresponding approximately with the current territory of the Czech Republic. The term Knaanic reffered mainly to the Judeo-Slavic closest to Old Czech, but there were other variants of Judeo-Slavic. All variants became extinct in late Middle Ages.

Scene from La Mujer Desconosida (“The Unknown Woman”) a play in Ladino performed by the Jewish Amateur Theater, Salonika, Greece, 1930
Beth Hatefutsoth - Visual Documentation Center
Courtesy of Flora Safan-Eskalori

Language laboratory at Carmel College, UK, 1970
Beth Hatefutsoth - Visual Documentation Center
Courtesy of Gemma Levine, UK

Judeo-Spanish / Ladino

Other names: Ladino, Judeo Spanish, Sefardi, Dzhudezmo, Judezmo, Hakitia, Haketia, Haketiya, Spanyol, Spanyolit, El Kasteyano Muestro.

Ladino is based on medieval Castilian variant of Spanish with large numbers of loan words from Hebrew, Arabic, Turkish, Greek, Portuguese, Italian, and Slavic languages of the Balkans. The quantity of loan words from a specific language differs from one dialect to another. As the mother tongue of the Sephardi Jews in Turkey and the Balkan countries, Ladino was divided into the dialects of Salonika, Istanbul, Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Jerusalem. Hakitia (or Haketia, Haketyia) was the language of the Sephardi Jews in the area of Tetuan and Oran, in North Africa (a region now divided between Morocco and Algeria). Ladino is written in the Hebrew alphabet; in modern times the Latin alphabet was also used, especially by newspapers. Currently there are about a quarter of million of Ladino speakers living in Turkey, Greece, Israel, Argentina, and the USA.

Judeo-Tadjik

Judeo-Tadjik is the language used by many in the Jewish communities of Central Asia (Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan). It is related to Tadjiki Persian, a language belonging to the Iranian group of Indo-European languages and is close to Farsi and Judeo-Persian. Judeo-Tadjik is written in Hebrew alphabet.

Judeo-Tat / Juhuric

Other names: Judeo-Tat, Judeo-Tatic, Hebrew Tati, Jewish Tat, Bik, Cuhuri, Dzhuhuric, Juwri, Juhuri. Kavkazit / Qawqazit, Dagestanit

Judeo-Tat is the native language of the ancient Jewish communities of Mountain Jews in the Daghestan region of the Caucasus. It is written in the Cyrillic alphabet and recently the Hebrew alphabet has been employed as well. For twenty years, from 1920 to 1940, literary creations in Judeo-Tat were published in the Latin alphabet. It is spoken in the Republic of Daghestan, part of the Russian Federation, and in Israel.

Karaim / Karaite

Karaim is the language of the Karaite community in Lithuania. It belongs to the Turkish family of languages and is related to the Karachay and Kumyk languages. Karaim is written in both the Cyrillic and Hebrew scripts. At the end of the 20^th century there were less than five hundred speakers of Karaim living mainly in Lithuania, Ukraine, and Israel.

Kayla / Qwara

Kayla or Qwara was spoken in by the Beta Israel of Ethiopia. It is now considered an extinct language, as its speakers ceased to use it and instead used Amharic whilst still in Ethiopia, or Hebrew after emigrating to Israel.

Yiddish

Yiddish is probably the best known Jewish language of the Diaspora. It evolved in Central Europe in the Middle Ages from where it was taken to Eastern Europe. Yiddish is based on the southern dialects of medieval German with many loan words from Hebrew, Aramaic, Old French, and Latin to which more loan words were added from Slavic languages (Polish, Ukrainian, Russian etc.), Lithuanian, Romanian, and Hungarian.

Yiddish is divided into a number of dialects: Western Yiddish formerly spoken in France, Germany, and the Low Countries; the Litvak (Lithuanian) dialect spoken in a large area centered in Vilna and covering the neighboring regions in Lithuania, Belarus, and Parts of north-eastern Poland; South-eastern dialect also known as the Ukrainian-Moldovan dialect that was used in Eastern Galicia, the Ukraine, Bukovina, Bessarabia, and Romania; Central Polish dialect spoken in Poland; and the Central European dialect used in Moravia, Slovakia, parts of Hungary and Austria. Yiddish was taken by Jewish emigrants from Eastern Europe to all the corners of the world: Western Europe, North and South America, South Africa, Israel, Australia etc. Contemporary Yiddish has been strongly influenced by English, amongst speakers living in North America, and by Hebrew, amongst speakers living in Israel. Yiddish is the official language of the Jewish Autonomous region of Birobidzhan in the Russian Federation. Yiddish is written in a phonetically adapted Hebrew alphabet and possesses a long and rich literary tradition. Before the Holocaust there were about ten million native speakers of Yiddish making it by far the Jewish language with the largest number of speakers. Today speakers of Yiddish live mainly in the USA, Israel, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Belgium, and in smaller numbers in many other Diaspora communities.

Languages used by Jews today

English

English is the mother tongue of about half of the World's Jews. It is spoken in all Jewish communities in English-speaking countries (USA, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Ireland, Gibraltar). There are more than one hundred thousand native speakers of English in Israel. As a second or third language, English is probably spoken by the most of Jews in Israel and in the Diaspora.

Hebrew

Hebrew ranks second among the languages spoken by Jews as a mother tongue with a large number who speak it as a second language or have some partial knowledge of Hebrew.

Russian

The third largest group comprises the speakers of Russian with probably about two million Jews who speak it as their mother-tongue.

French

More than half a million of Jews speak French as their mother tongue, in France, Belgium, Israel, Canada, Switzerland and other countries. French was the language of culture for many Jews, especially in the countries of North Africa, Middle East, Turkey and the Balkans. During the last 50 years it has been largely replaced for this purpose by English.

Spanish

There are probably slightly less than half a million Jewish speakers of Spanish as a mother tongue, who are mainly located in Latin America and Israel, with smaller numbers in the USA, Canada, and Spain.

Portuguese

Portuguese is used mainly by Jews living in Brazil, a small number that live in Portugal, and emigrants found especially in Israel and the USA.

Other languages

Jews use many other languages; those that have a significant number of speakers - more than 25,000 each - include Farsi, Romanian, Italian, Hungarian, German, Turkish, Amharic, Tigrinya and Arabic.

Jewish Languages

Internet Resources

Hebrew

Jewish Aramaic

Jewish English

Jewish Malayalam

Judeo-Alsatian

Judeo-Arabic

Judeo-Berber

Judeo-Tatar

Judeo-French

Judeo-Georgian

Judeo-Greek

Judeo-Iranian

Judeo-Italian

Judeo-Persian

Judeo-Portuguese

Judeo-Provençal

Judeo-Slavic

Judeo-Spanish / Ladino

Judeo-Tadjik

Judeo-Tat / Juhuric

Karaim / Karaite

Kayla / Qwara

Yiddish

Languages used by Jews today

English

Hebrew

Russian

French

Spanish

Portuguese

Other languages