Yiddish and Judeo-Spanish as Determinants of Identity: As Illustrated in the Jewish Press of the First Half of the Twentieth Century Cover Image

Języki jidysz i żydowsko-hiszpański jako wskaźniki tożsamości – na przykładzie żydowskich tekstów prasowych pierwszej połowy XX wieku
Yiddish and Judeo-Spanish as Determinants of Identity: As Illustrated in the Jewish Press of the First Half of the Twentieth Century

Author(s): Izabela Olszewska, Aleksandra Twardowska
Subject(s): History, Cultural history, Jewish studies, Sociology, Social history, Recent History (1900 till today), History of Judaism, Social development, Social differentiation, Pre-WW I & WW I (1900 -1919), Interwar Period (1920 - 1939)
Published by: Instytut Slawistyki Polskiej Akademii Nauk
Keywords: Yiddish language; Judeo-Spanish language; identity; Balkan Sephardim; Balkan Ashkenazim; Ostjuden group;

Summary/Abstract: The paper shows an image and functions of Yiddish and Judeo-Spanish languages among Jewish Diaspora groups – the Balkan Sephardim and the Ashkenazim (the Ostjuden group) – in the period from the beginning of the twentieth century until the outbreak of World War II. The study is based on the articles from Jewish weeklies, magazines and newspapers from pre-war Bosnia and Hercegovina and from Germany/Poland. It demonstrates a double-sided attitude towards the languages. On the one hand – an image of the languages as determinants of Jewish identity. Touching on this theme, the authors of the paper also try to highlight the images of Yiddish and Judeo-Spanish and as determinants in a narrower sense – of the Sephardi/Ashkenazi identity in that period. On the other hand, the paper shows a tendency to treat the languages as “corrupted” and “dying” languages, and as factors slowing down the assimilation of Jewish groups and also as an obstacle for Zionist ideologies.

  • Issue Year: 2016
  • Issue No: 5
  • Page Range: 79-103
  • Page Count: 25
  • Language: English