Judeo-Spanish language

The Judeo-Spanish (autoglottony, ג'ודיאו-איספאניול djudeo-spanyol), commonly known as ladino, also called djudezmo ([pronounced /d͡ʒuˈdezmo/]) and some other gluttonys of lesser use, is a language spoken by Jewish communities descendants of Hebrews called Sephardim, who lived in the Iberian Peninsula until 1492, when they were expelled from the kingdoms of Spain by the Catholic Monarchs. Ladino, although originating from medieval Castilian, also presents traits in different proportions of other peninsular and Mediterranean languages. Being a Jewish language, it contains some contribution from Hebrew, with some influence from Turkish and even from Greek, mainly, depending on the environment. In addition, contemporary Judeo-Spanish contains a significant number of French words, due to the influence of the Universal Israelite Alliance in cities such as Thessaloniki, Istanbul and Izmir.^{[citation required]}

Since it has never been harmonized by linguistic programming, it is the subject of controversy, starting with its name. The name ladino (from “latino”) arises from the rabbinic custom of translating the scriptures from the original Hebrew into the Spanish spoken by the common Sephardim, fazer in Latin, using finally that expression for all those kinds of texts. However, Sephardim generally referred to it as espanyol or djudezmo. The term judeoespañol arises from the need to differentiate it from modern Spanish. In the case of the haquetía variety, spoken mainly in Morocco, a very strong influence of Arabic is observed.^{[citation required]}

Language names

Historical, social and cultural aspects

History

The Jews were expelled from Spain on July 31, 1492 by virtue of the Edict of Granada, which established the obligation to leave Spanish territory for all Jews, except those who converted to Christianity. Most of the Sephardim opted for exile, and almost all of them were received in the Ottoman Empire by Sultan Bayezid II. Another part settled in Morocco, the Netherlands and some countries in central Europe.

The Sephardim established in Ottoman lands belonged to a social and economic level somewhat higher than the autochthonous populations, which allowed them to preserve the language and most of their Hispanic traditions for almost 400 years, in a similar way to what happened in Morocco. However, time favored the origination of two versions of Judeo-Spanish: Ladino, spoken in the Balkans, and Haquetía, spoken in Morocco. Due to the cultural influence that Ladino had and, of course, due to the number of speakers it had, much greater than Haquetía, it is considered a very interesting linguistic specimen for philologists and Hispanists.

Origins

The language spoken by the Spanish Jews before the expulsion did not differ substantially from the Spanish language of the time, although it sometimes had specific features, particularly the occasional use of Hebrew lexicon. In the first decades of the establishment of the Sephardim in the city of Thessaloniki, several of the languages spoken in the Iberian Peninsula coexisted. It was possible to identify languages such as Galician, Catalan, Astur-Leonese or Portuguese in the different neighborhoods or calls. However, the substantial predominance of Sephardim of Castilian or Andalusian origin led to the earlier languages falling into disuse, not without having exercised some influence.

Judeo-Spanish has a large number of archaic words, in relation to current Castilian. Much of this is due to the lack of dynamism that the language had in the Balkans, far from Spain, whose language has grown rich and undergone reforms over the years. Judeo-Spanish, for its part, acquired vitality mainly from the Turkish and Greek languages, which enriched it and, to a certain extent, modernized it.

In their places of exile, the Sephardic Jews kept the Spanish language because it was a sign of belonging to the Jewish community, and in the places where the Sephardim shared space with the Ashkenazi, as a way of differentiating themselves. Even in Ottoman Turkey, the Spanish spoken by the Sephardim was known as yahudice (literally, Jewish). An Ottoman diplomat who visited Spain in the 17th century was surprised by the language spoken in the country, as he stated in a letter written to the Sublime Gate: "Curiously, in Spain they have adopted the language of the Jews of our Empire."

For centuries there was an abundant oral tradition in Judeo-Spanish, as well as an important literary work. In the city of Thessaloniki, first Ottoman and later Greek, where the Sephardic community made up 65% of the population, Judeo-Spanish was used as the lingua franca in trade and in social relations between the three countries. main cults of the city: Christianity, Judaism and Islam.

19th century

The 19th century marks a turning point in the development of Judeo-Spanish, with a simultaneous process of boom and decline. The Sephardic universe became secularized, migrations and academic training in other languages increased, mainly French, with which many relegated the original language to the family environment or abandoned it permanently. Even the educated Sephardim showed their degree of Westernization by integrating French or Italian words into Judeo-Spanish to give the language a more "romance" character, substituting words of purely Turkish origin.

The rise of nationalisms and the consequent formation of new national states pressured the Sephardim to abandon their language in favor of the official language of the country in which they were. Paradoxically, the years from the 1880s to the 1930s are the years in which Judeo-Spanish is used the most, since it is the historical moment in which the Sephardim reached their demographic peak. This increased use is also reflected in written production: the Judeo-Spanish press developed at the same time that a multitude of European literary works were translated or others created in their likeness.

At the end of the XIX century, the first reunions with the Castilian of Spain took place, especially in Morocco, where the The language of the Sephardim acquired many features of modern Castilian due to colonization. Some Sephardic communities tried to make Spain assume a task of repatriation of the former exiles, opening schools and higher education centers that would counteract the influence of French in the Spanish Protectorate in Morocco. Examples of French words in modern Ladin: merci muncho (thank you very much), depasar, profitar, etc.

Attempts were also made for the Sephardim to recover Spanish citizenship, especially to protect them from the disorder and struggles that were taking place in the Balkans, given the progressive territorial disintegration of the Ottoman Empire. As a result, on November 20, 1924, a law decree prepared by Miguel Primo de Rivera was approved according to which the Sephardim had the right to obtain Spanish nationality. Thanks to this law, the lives of nearly 40,000 Jews were saved during the persecution suffered in World War II.

20th century

In the XX century, Judeo-Spanish experiences a rapid decline: on the one hand, the Holocaust, which annihilated entire communities, such as the large community, mostly Sephardic, of Thessaloniki. The systematic extermination of the Jewish population in the concentration camps is the hardest historical event suffered by the Sephardic communities.

On the other hand, migration caused by World War II and later by the creation of the State of Israel led to the dismemberment and acculturation of communities. In just five years, the language of the Sephardim lost 90% of its speakers. That meant for Judeo-Spanish to no longer have a recognizable point of location and to lose those who could best have opened new paths towards the normalization of a language: writers and literary creators.

The maintenance of Judeo-Spanish as a sign of Jewish identity made little sense in Israel, where a language considered more typical of the Jews, Hebrew, had been revived as a living language. Most of the Moroccan Sephardim immigrated to Israel in the 1950s. time, although relegating it more and more to the domestic sphere or social relations.

Currently

The number of Judeo-Spanish speakers today is around 150,000. The largest Sephardic communities outside of Israel are in Turkey. In Latin America there are communities where Ladino and Sephardic traditions have been an integral part of their history and culture, in countries such as Ecuador, Peru, Puerto Rico, Chile, Cuba, Mexico, Colombia, Bolivia, Argentina, Brazil, and Guatemala, among others.

In Turkey itself, the number of newspapers and bulletins issued in Judeo-Spanish continues to be significant, as is the case of "El Amaneser", founded in 2005 and edited by the Sentro de Investigasyones sovre la Kultura Sefardi de Istanbul. In Israel there is a magazine in Judeo-Spanish in its Ladino variant, "Aki Yerushalayim", edited by the Autoridad Nasionala del Ladino and a weekly radio broadcast on the Kol Israel station. Likewise, Radio Exterior de España broadcasts the program Bozes de Sefarad, which recently celebrated its 20th anniversary on the air. In northern Morocco there is a magazine in Judeo-Spanish, in its haquetía variant, "Voices of Haketía". Other media in Ladino have been disappearing as the number of speakers has dwindled.

Since the late XX century, there have been timid attempts to recover Judeo-Spanish, especially in Israel. This academic Judeo-Spanish is a standard created from the speech of the Sephardim. It is even heavily influenced by standard Castilian, from which numerous vocabulary has been taken to replace the Turkish, French and Slavic loans.

Currently several publishing houses, especially Spanish ones, publish books written in the Judeo-Spanish language. Gad Nasí recently published his editorial work In foreign lands I'm going to die : an excellent compilation of stories and testimonials in the Judeo-Spanish language. Publications such as Los Dos Mellizos, a Sephardic novel first published at the end of the century XIX, and Chronicles of the Ottoman Kings by Moshé Almosnino, the first formal publication in the Judeo-Spanish language. Also noteworthy is the literary and teaching work carried out by Eliezer Papo from the Ben Gurion University of the Negev with publications such as La Meguila de Saray.

Books of both the Jewish and Christian faiths have been written or translated into Ladino by scholars such as Frantz S. Peretz. Also writers like Moshe Shaul and Avner Peretz have published a large collection of articles in Judeo-Spanish.

Like Yiddish, Judeo-Spanish has traditionally been written with Hebrew characters.

In 2018, the Nasional Ladino Academy, also known as the Judeo-Spanish Academy, was created in Israel. The residence of the Academy was installed in the city of Jerusalem.

The Association of Spanish Language Academies (ASALE) began studying in March 2019 the candidacy of the Judeo-Spanish Academy to join the association, which occurred in 2020 as a recognized academy.

Estimate of the total Sephardic population by country

Before addressing the number of Sephardim who could live on different continents, it is essential to note that the figures shown below will refer to Sephardic communities gathered around synagogues or other Jewish institutions or associations. The number is unfortunately decreasing (except in the case of Israel). Therefore, we speak of practicing Sephardic Jews to some degree. For obvious reasons, we must leave aside all those people who we would consider Sephardim but who, nevertheless, do not appear in any record, such as the institution of the synagogue. In addition, to this very large and unregistered group we would have to add all those who descend from Sephardic Jews through a family tree and who, at present, are either Jews with genealogically intermingled branches of Judaism (Ashkenazi or Mizrahi with Sephardic), or not. Jews descended from Jewish converts and thus from Jews, many of whom retain Hebrew surnames.

N.o	Countries	Sefardi population
1	IsraelIsrael	1 300 000
2	France	360 000
3	United States	300 000
4	Argentina	90 000
5	SpainSpain	45 000
6	ItalyItaly	33 000
7	BrazilBrazil	30 000
8	TurkeyTurkey	26 000
9	CanadaCanada	21 400
10	United KingdomUnited Kingdom	10 500
11	MoroccoMorocco	10 000
12	Australia	10 000
13	GreeceGreece	8 000
14	Venezuela Venezuela	7 700
15	Panama Panama	7 000
16	Mexico Mexico	5 500
17	BulgariaBulgaria	5 000
18	Peru Peru	3 800
19	Uruguay Uruguay	2 750
20	Portugal	2 500
21	ColombiaColombia	2 100
22	TunisiaTunisia	2 000
23	ChinaChina	2 000
24	Bosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and Herzegovina	1 500
25	South Africa	800
26	ChileChile	650
27	NetherlandsNetherlands	600
28	SerbiaSerbia	500
29	SurinameSuriname	300
30	SingaporeSingapore	300
31	Northern MacedoniaNorthern Macedonia	200
32	Romania Romania	200
33	Netherlands Antilles	200
34	EgyptEgypt	100
35	IndonesiaIndonesia	100
	Total in the world	2 313 800

Linguistic description

Morphology

Examples of the regular conjugation of the verbs in the present and in the preterite:

Origin of the Judeo-Spanish lexicon

Judeo-Spanish is a language that received an important contribution from many of the languages spoken in the Iberian Peninsula, since many of the expelled Jews came from areas such as Galicia or Catalonia. Likewise, it received a rich influence from Turkish, Greek and Italian.

Phonology

Judeo-Spanish is phonologically closer to medieval Spanish than to modern Spanish. In fact, to a large extent, Judeo-Spanish retains the voiced fricatives and sibilants of medieval Spanish, which in the Iberian Peninsula and America underwent intense restructuring between the middle of the century XVI and the XVII century. Judeo-Spanish largely retains the phonology of Iberian Peninsula Spanish before these changes took place. Its phonology consists of 30 phonemes, of which 23 are consonantal and 7 are vowel.

Consonants

Vowels

Spelling

Rashi writing, originally used to write the language

Today, Judeo-Spanish is commonly written with the Latin alphabet, especially in Turkey, where it follows the phonetic rules of the standard alphabet for modern Turkish, imposed since the second decade of the century XX by Atatürk. The use of Turkish characters is in most cases very useful and practical, since precise writings are obtained that are read exactly as they are written, without having to resort to linguistic exceptions. However, some communities still write it aljamiado with the Hebrew alphabet of the rashi type, (it is said aljamiado in Ladino for historical reasons even though it is not the Arabic alphabet), a practice that was very common and possibly universal until the 19th century. The Greek, Cyrillic and Arabic (aljamía) alphabets, which were used in the past for Judeo-Spanish, are now in disuse.

After the dramatic loss that the Second World War meant for the European Sephardic communities (particularly the Balkans), most Judeo-Spanish speakers were Turkish Jews. Hence the importance of the use of its alphabet, which, due to the coincidence in the existence of normalized sounds, very efficiently corrects the phonetics of Judeo-Spanish. The following characters are often found in Turkish Judeo-Spanish publications:

• Ç - [ -] "Ch" Spanish: Muńço 'Much'
• Ş - English "Sh": Buşkar 'Search'
• And - [j] "i" semiconsonant or semivocal: Cidyo 'Jewish'
• J - [ cheering] "J" French: Fijo "Son"
• NY - []] "Ñ" Spanish: Kunyada 'Hand'
• H - [h] "H" aspirated Spanish: Haber 'Socio'

The Ladino National Authority promotes the use of another alphabet. There are also those who, with Jacob M. Hassán, allege that Judeo-Spanish should adopt the orthography of the contemporary Spanish language. Others, such as Pablo Carvajal Valdés, suggest that Judeo-Spanish adopt the spelling used during the time of the expulsion of 1492. The spelling of that time has been normalized and subsequently changed by a series of reforms. Finally, it was modified by a spelling reform in the 18th century. Judeo-Spanish has preserved some of the pronunciation that at the time of the reforms had become archaic in standard Spanish.

Adopting the spelling of the XV century for Judeo-Spanish would bring /s/ (originally /ts/) back into existence) - c (before e and i) and ç/z (ce cedilla): such as in caça; the /s/ - ss: for example in passo and the [ʃ] - x: as in dixo. The original pronunciation of [ʒ] - g (before e or i) and j: as in woman or people, would be reinstated and /z/ (originally /dz/) - z: would remain in words like fazer and dezir. The /z/ - s: as in home, would also recover its pronunciation under this orthography.

The b and the v would be differentiated, as in the case of the intervocalic reflex - B -: eg the Spanish debe, from the Latin debet, will return to its old Spanish spelling deve. The use of the bigrams ch, ph and th (today /k /, /f/ and /t/ in standard Spanish, respectively), formally reformed in 1803, would be used in words such as orthography or theology. The Latin Q before words like quando, quanto and qual would also be used. The author Enrique Saporta y Beja intensively applies this type of spelling in his publications, alleging its high similarity with Spanish.

However, the Andalusian philologist Pascual Pascual Recuero makes use of an orthography that accurately reproduces the sounds of Judeo-Spanish. Some of the characters that he proposes to be used are:

• Ž - [8] French
• Đ - [dj~ -] palate of the vascuence
• Č - [ -]
• X - [усский] English

Some believe that using the old Castilian orthography will only distance non-Hispanic features from Judeo-Spanish and create problems that phonetic systems currently solve. However, the Spanish literature of the classical and golden age would gain renewed interest, appreciation and understanding if its spelling were to be used again.

Aki Yerushalayim Spelling

Aki Yerushalayim, belonging to Autoridad Nasionala del Ladino, promotes the following spelling:

• A point is written between s and h (s·h) to represent [sx], to avoid confusion with [ь]. For example: es·huenyo [it's jingle]
• Unlike Spanish, the tonic accents are not represented.
• Loans and foreign names keep their original spelling. So letters that are not in this spelling, like the q or wThey would be used only in these types of words.

Hebrew Spelling

Judeo-Spanish is traditionally written in a Hebrew-based script, especially a Rashi script. Hebrew spelling is not regulated, but sounds are generally represented by these letters:

Square letters	Русский	!	¢Ü	♫	igno//sound/	Русский	ה	.		///	.	▪	.	.	Русский	▪	TEN/	munition/-name	.	.	.	.	..........	infrastructure/-	.	.	.	Jesus
Letra rashí															/-		/-	/-				/-	-/-	/-
Letra equiva- I'll read AY	a, Ø, e, or	b	v	g	dj, ch	d	a, e	u, o, v	z	j	h	t	i, e, y	and	k, h	l	m	n	ny	s	Ø, e, a	p	f	(t)s	k	r	sh, s	t

Comparison with other Ibero-Romance languages

Examples of Judeo-Spanish Literature

Story: The desovedyente hazino (I. Pontremoli)

An Adam kayo hazino for a long time and a wise doctor came to see him and I gave him a promise that he will treat him for so many days: He just needs to drink the melts and spices that he will give him, and that he does not eat too much, nor kozas ke aze danyo al estomka. İ coming time, instead of melting down, he raised himself up to more munço. İ When the mediko came to see the hazino, the hazino demanded from the mediko:

- «Where is your sensya, that you have your great fame that you are a valid doctor, that you truly give me the word that today I had to be melezinar and adrava made me more hazino?»

The doctor replied:

- It is already maraviya komo bives ainda, ke for what ke kargates la estomka, and not kijites drink the melezinas that I gave you, and kalia ke muieras; And true, if you ask me not to eat everything I told you, you are now praying. This is none other than what you want to kill from you to you; For this reason, if you want to escape me from now on, it is that you agree to everything that I will order you and, in avid you well, by the way, you will be Melezin for a few days; ma, if you don't care these days, don't have keşa with me.

Notes

Sephardic sayings

Notes

The Cohá Group

Among the Sephardic proverbs, it is interesting to highlight the Group of Cohá. it should be remembered that in Turkish, the C has the sound of the English jota in "joy", or if written with cedilla, of the "ch" Castilian in "hacha". Cohá is a name, distorted by the Sephardic pronunciation, of the famous Turkish fictional character Nasretdetin Hoca (The Master Nasrettin). He is considered the prototype of the fool, naive and laughingstock of the people. He is usually pictured as an old man in a huge turban, riding a small donkey, which he never obeys.