Yiddish (ייִדיש, Jiddisch) is a Germanic language spoken by about four million Jews throughout the world. The name Yiddish itself means "Jewish" (German: Jüdisch, Swedish: Jiddisch) and is most probably originally short for yidish-taytsh (ייִדיש - טיַיטש), or "Jewish German"; an older term in English is Judaeo-German.

A German dialect?

Yiddish and German share a large portion of their respective vocabularies, and have reasonably similar grammars. It has been claimed that some German speakers are able to understand speech in Yiddish, considering it similar to German spoken by Slavs. These observations lead some observers to describe Yiddish as a dialect of German (like Swiss German) rather than an independent language. However, most linguists consider Yiddish and German to be distinct languages, pointing out that:

• The two languages are generally not mutually comprehensible (this is especially true for German speakers trying to understand Yiddish);
• 20 to 30 percent of Yiddish vocabulary is not shared with German;
• Much of the grammar of Yiddish differs substantially from that of German, some of it having been influenced by contact with other (e.g. Slavic) languages;
• The two languages are geographically and culturally distinct. [1] (http://www.jewish-languages.org/yiddish.html)
• Yiddish and German are two different standard written languages.

The linguist Paul Wexler has even gone so far as to claim that Yiddish was actually originally a Slavic language whose vocabulary was replaced with German words, though this view is rejected by most other linguists.

Others point out that the distinction between a "language" and a "dialect" is sometimes blurry, noting that:

• Languages like Danish, Swedish and Norwegian are far more closely related to each other than Yiddish and German, and are almost completely mutually intelligible, and yet are considered separate languages;
• The Eastern and Western dialects of Yiddish are distinct enough that some linguists have suggested they themselves should be considered separate languages.

Yiddish and other languages

Yiddish eventually split into Western (German) Yiddish and Eastern Yiddish. The latter in turn split into North-Eastern (Litvish) Yiddish, Central/Mid-Eastern (Polish/Galician) Yiddish, and South-Eastern (Ukrainian) Yiddish. The Eastern Yiddish dialects and Modern Yiddish contain a great many words derived from Slavic languages.

Like Judaeo-Arabic and Ladino (Judaeo-Spanish), Yiddish is written using an adaptation of the Hebrew alphabet. However, Yiddish itself is not linguistically related to Hebrew, even though it absorbed thousands of Hebrew and Aramaic terms taken from the Tanakh, Mishna, Talmud, and Jewish tradition.

One curious aspect of the language is that it uses Latin derivatives for many of its words relating to religious rituals, apparently borrowing the terminology from Old French as spoken in Alsace. This is no surprise, because the famous rabbi Rashi (1040-1105) and his descendants and disciples the Tosafists use hundreds of Old French words in their rabbinical writings, revealing the usage of the language at that time. The wide-spread popularity of studying Rashi's use of Old French in his commentary on the Pentateuch and the Talmud by Jews is well known, and he has also been used as a reliable source for thousands of Old French words by modern scholars. (Many of the words in incorporated into Yiddish happen to have been also used by the Catholic Church for similar words). As an example, 'say grace after meals' is, in Yiddish, bentshn (בענטשן), which is cognate with the same term that gave English the word benediction; and Western-Europe dialects of Yiddish use the word orn, derived from Latin orare, to mean 'pray'; and some scholars believe that davnen (דאַװנען), the Eastern European Yiddish word for pray, is taken from a Romance language also. Other Yiddish words with Romance backgrounds include leyenen (לײענען) 'to read' and tsholnt (טשאָלנט) 'a Sabbath stew' (spelled cholent in English).

Interestingly, in many cognates shared between Yiddish, German and English, the English pronunciation is often closer to Yiddish than German (examples include the indefinite article "a/an" [Yid. אַ a/אַן an; Ger. ein] and the noun "fire" [Yid. פֿײַער fayer; Ger. Feuer]).

History

Earliest roots

The Jewish presence in the lands of present-day Germany, known as Ashkenaz in Judaism, is longer than two thousand years, going back to the times of the Roman Empire, and perhaps even earlier to the first exile following the destruction of Solomon's Temple by the Babylonians and the Babylonian captivity. In fact all Jews of western, central, and eastern Europe are known collectively as Ashkenazi, or Germanic Jews. (In contradistinction to the Jews of Southern Europe who are called Sephardi, or Spanish Jews.)

The language of these Jews probably developed over millenia during their long presence in the lands of Ashkenaz. Some speculate that it arose in central Europe between the 9th and 12th centuries as an amalgam of Middle High German dialects (70 to 80 percent of the vocabulary is recognizably German) that also blended heavily with the Jews' religiously-oriented Hebrew and Aramaic terms found in traditional Jewish literature, and from the Romance languages and eventually from the Slavic languages and the Hungarian language as well.

The modern Haskalah

Due to the growth of the Haskalah movement, the late 19th century and early 20th century are widely considered the Golden Age of secular Yiddish literature; this period also coincides with the revival of Hebrew as a spoken language, and the revival of Hebrew literature.

The three great founders of modern Yiddish literature were Mendele Mocher Sforim, Sholom Aleichem, and I. L. Peretz. Solomon Rabinowitz, better known as Sholom Aleichem (1859–1916), is known as one of the greatest Yiddish authors and humorists, the Yiddish equivalent of Mark Twain. A collection of his stories about Tevye the Milkman was later the basis of the Broadway musical and film Fiddler on the Roof.

The 20th century

At the start of the 20th century, Yiddish seemed to be emerging as a major Eastern European language. A rich literature was being published, Yiddish theater and film were booming, and it had even achieved status as one of the official languages of the Belorussian SSR. Yiddish emerged as the national language of a large Jewish community in Eastern Europe that rejected Zionism and sought to obtain Jewish cultural autonomy in Europe. In mid-century, however, the Holocaust led to a dramatic, sudden decline in the use of Yiddish, as the extensive Jewish communities, both secular and religious, that used Yiddish in their day-to-day life were largely destroyed.

Soviet Union

In the Soviet Union, much effort was invested in promoting the use of Yiddish during 1920s. Yiddish was then regarded as the language of "Jewish proletariat"; at the same time, Hebrew was considered a "bourgeois" language and its use was generally discouraged. Starting in the 1930s, growing anti-Semitic tendencies in Soviet politics drove Yiddish from most spheres; few Yiddish-language publications survived (among them are the literary magazine Sovetish Heymland and the newspaper Birobidzhaner Shtern). Most Soviet Jews themselves were keen to integrate into the larger Soviet society, and favoured Russian over Yiddish.

United States

In the United States, the Yiddish language bound together Jews from many countries, whose national origin was often as important as their Jewish identity. Within some families, marrying across national origin lines was seen as equivalent to marrying out of the faith. Yiddish language newspapers, such as The Forward served as a forum for Jews of all European backgrounds. American Yiddish music, derived from Klezmer, was another binding mechanism. Michel Gelbart, a very prolific composer, probably best known for "I Have A Little Dreydl", wrote music that was very Jewish and very American. A thriving Yiddish language theatre in New York City kept the language vital. Many "Yiddishisms", like "Italianisms" and "Spanishisms" continue to enter spoken New York English, often used by Jews and non-Jews alike without consciousness of the language of origin of the phrases. In the United States, most Yiddish speakers tended not to pass on the language to their children who assimilated and spoke English.

Largely because of the influence of Jewish entertainment figures in the United States, many Yiddish words have entered the American English lexicon. In 1968, the modern American writer Leo Rosten (1908–1997) published The Joys of Yiddish (ISBN 0743406516), an introduction to words of Yiddish origin used in the English of the United States. See also "Yinglish".

In 1978, the European-born secular Yiddish writer Isaac Bashevis Singer, a resident of the United States, received the Nobel Prize in literature.

Israel

Meanwhile, in Israel, Yiddish was displaced by Modern Hebrew. In part this reflected the conflict between religious and secular forces. Many in the larger, secular group wanted a new national language to foster a cohesive identity, while traditionally religious Jews desired that Hebrew be respected as a holy language reserved for prayer and religious study. However, this conflict also reflected the opposing views among secular Jews worldwide, one side seeing Hebrew (and Zionism) and the other Yiddish (and Internationalism) as the means of defining emerging Jewish nationalism.

Many of the older immigrants to Israel from the former USSR (usually those above 50 years of age) speak or understand some degree of Yiddish.

In religious circles, it is the Ashkenazi Haredi Jews, particularly the Hasidic Jews and the Mitnagdim of the Lithuanian yeshiva world who continue to teach, speak and use Yiddish, making it a language used intensely by hundreds of thousands of Haredi Jews today. The largest of these centers are in Bene Beraq and Jerusalem.

Haredi Orthodox Jews

The major exception to the decline of spoken Yiddish can be found in the Haredi Jewish communities all over the world. In the United States, within some of New York State's close-knit religious communities Yiddish is spoken as a home and schooling language, especially in Brooklyn's Borough Park and Williamsburg and outside of the city in Monsey, Kiryas Yoel, and New Square. Yiddish is also widely spoken in some smaller Haredi communities in other cities such as London and Montreal. Among most Haredim all over the world, Hebrew is generally reserved for prayer and religious studies, while Yiddish is reserved as a home and business language.

Haredi educational use of Yiddish

Hundreds of thousands of young children have been, and are still, taught to translate the texts of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy into Yiddish. This process is called "taytsching" or "translating" (Yid. טיַיטשן taytshn). Most Ashkenazi yeshivas' highest level lectures in Talmud and Halakha are delivered in Yiddish by the Rosh yeshiva's as well as ethical talks of mussar. All Hasidic Judaism rebbes use only Yiddish to converse with their followers and to deliver their various Torah talks, classes, and lectures. The linguistic style and vocabulary of Yiddish have influenced the manner in which many Orthodox Jews who attend yeshivas speak English. So much so, that it has been dubbed "Yeshivish".

Orthography

Although it uses the same alphabet as the Hebrew language, Yiddish uses some digraphs as well as letters modified with diacritics, all of which are considered separate letters in Yiddish orthography. The Yiddish language is an entirely different language than Hebrew, with a different phonology and grammar.

The Yiddish alphabet is:

Yiddish also employs several digraphs:

A feature of Yiddish spelling is that words of Hebrew origin are written exactly as in Hebrew. (In Soviet publications, however, all words were written according to Yiddish rules.)

For the sake of simplicity, the YIVO transliteration will be used throughout this article.

Grammar

Articles

The indefinite article is אַן an before a word beginning with a vowel and אַ a everywhere else.

Pronouns

Verbs

Yiddish verbs are conjugated for person and number. The present tense of verbs is conjugated thus:

Yiddish, unlike German, has ceased to use the inflected past tense, and the perfect tense, constructed with forms of האָבן hobn 'have' (or זײַן zayn 'be') and the past participle of the verb, has taken over its function. Hobn and zayn are conjugated irregularly:

For example, the past tense of איך קױף ikh koyf 'I buy' is איך האָב געקױפֿט ikh hob gekoyft, and the past tense of איך קום ikh kum 'I come' is איך בין געקומען ikh bin gekumen 'I came'.

Yiddish words and phrases used by English speakers

See related articles:

Yiddish words and phrases used by English speakers

List of English words of Yiddish origin

Yiddish-derived idioms used in English, particularly in the United States:

• "Oy Vey"
• "Enough already"
• "OK by me"
• "I need this like a hole in the head"

See also

• Yiddish Typewriter
• National Yiddish Book Center
• Jewish languages
• Yiddish Theater

Books

• Cohen, David (Rabbi). Yiddish: A Holy Language. New York, NY: Mesorah Publications. Hebrew language.
• Katz, Dovid (Professor), Words on Fire: The Unfinished Story of Yiddish" 2004
• Weinreich, Uriel. College Yiddish : an introduction to the Yiddish language and to Jewish life and culture. (6th revised ed. New York : YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, 1999.) ISBN 0914512269.

External links

• Jewish Language Research Website: Yiddish (http://www.jewish-languages.org/yiddish.html)
• On-line Yiddish dictionary (http://www.yiddishdictionaryonline.com/)
• National Yiddish Book Center (http://yiddishbookcenter.org/)
• Shtetl (http://www.ibiblio.org/yiddish/)
• The Yiddish Voice (http://www.yv.org/)
• The Jewish Book Center of The Workmen's Circle (http://www.jewishbookcenter.com/)
• Spoken Yiddish Language Project (Columbia University) (http://www.columbia.edu/cu/cria/Current-projects/Yiddish/yiddish.html/The)
• Yiddish in Ethnologue (http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=YDD)
• Forverts -- The Yiddish Forward (http://yiddish.forward.com/)
• The Workmen's Circle/Arbeter Ring (http://www.circle.org/)
• Collection of Yiddish prints from the 16th to the 20th century (http://stub.semantics.de/jd/templates/template.xml?Sprache=eng&js=yes&Skript=Home)