Yiddish

Yiddish
Judaeo-German
ייִדיש, יידיש, אידיש
yidish, idish
Pronunciationyi
Native toCentral, Eastern, and Western Europe
RegionEurope, Israel, North America, South America, other regions with Jewish populations
EthnicityAshkenazi Jews
Native speakers
≤ 600,000 (2021)
Early form
Dialects
Hebrew alphabet (Yiddish orthography)
occasionally Latin alphabet
Official status
Official language in
Recognised minority
language in
Regulated byNo formal bodies
YIVO (de facto)
Language codes
ISO 639-1yi
ISO 639-2yid
ISO 639-3yid – inclusive code
Individual codes:
ydd – Eastern Yiddish
yih – Western Yiddish
Glottologeast2295  Eastern Yiddish
west2361  Western Yiddish
Linguasphere= 52-ACB-ga (West) + 52-ACB-gb (East); totaling 11 varieties 52-ACB-g = 52-ACB-ga (West) + 52-ACB-gb (East); totaling 11 varieties

Yiddish is a language spoken by some Jews. It is a dialect of German that Jews began speaking in 11th-century Europe. It is still used in the United States, especially in New York City, and other countries with surviving Jewish populations.

Yiddish

Overview

Most Yiddish words come from German and Hebrew. Some Yiddish words come from Slavic languages (particularly Polish), Latin, French, Hungarian. Yiddish is often written in Hebrew alphabet and spoken by about 3,000,000 people worldwide, mainly Hasidic Jews. In Sweden and the Netherlands, Yiddish is protected by the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.[source?]

English words of Yiddish origin

Some modern English words derive from Yiddish, including but not limited to:

WordOriginal Yiddish wordRomanized transliterationMeaning
Bagel בײגל bey-gol A ring-shaped bread roll made by boiling, or steaming, and then baking
Chutzpah חצפּה hoozpa Courage
Dreck דרעק drec Rubbish
Gelt געלט gelt Money, or the chocolate coins given to children on Hanukkah
Glitch גליטש glich A minor malfunction
Goy גוי goi Someone who is not Jewish (plural: goyim)
Mensch מענטש mansh A decent person
Nudnik נודניק nut-nik Something annoying
Schmuck שמאָק shmug A stupid person
Oy vey אוי וויי oi-fay An exclamation of grief and horror
Yarmulke יאַרמלקע yar-mol-ka Also known as kippah, a round cloth skullcap worn by observant Jewish men

References

  1. ↑ Yiddish at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
  2. ↑ "Yiddish FAQs". Rutgers University. Archived from the original on February 15, 2021. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  3. ↑ Edited by Ekkehard König and Johan van der Auwera: The Germanic Languages. Routledge: London & New York, 1994, p. 388 (chapter 12 Yiddish)
  4. ↑ Sten Vikner: Oxford Studies in Comparative Syntax: Verb Movement and Expletive Subjects in the Germanic Languages. Oxford University Press: New York & Oxford, 1995, p. 7
  5. ↑ Matthias Mieses: Die Gesetze der Schriftgeschichte: Konfession und Schrift im Leben der Völker. 1919, p. 323.
    Also cp. the following works, where certain works in Yiddish language with Latin script are mentioned:
    • Carmen Reichert: Poetische Selbstbilder: Deutsch-jüdische und Jiddische Lyrikanthologien 1900–1938. (Jüdische Religion, Geschichte und Kultur. Band 29). 2019, p. 223 (in chapter 4. 10 Ein radikaler Schritt:eine jiddische Anthologie in lateinischen Buchstaben)
    • Illa Meisels: Erinnerung der Herzen. Wien: Czernin Verlag, 2004, p. 74: "Chaja Raismann, Nit in Golus un nit in der Heem, Amsterdam 1931, ein in lateinischen Buchstaben geschriebenes jiddisches Büchlein."
    • Desanka Schwara: Humor und Toleranz. Ostjüdische Anekdoten als historische Quelle. 2001, p. 42
    • Edited by Manfred Treml and Josef Kirmeier with assistance by Evamaria Brockhoff: Geschichte und Kultur der Juden in Bayern: Aufsätze. 1988, p. 522
  6. 1 2 "Устав Еврейской автономной области от 8 октября 1997 г. N 40-ОЗ (с изменениями и дополнениями) Глава I. Общие положения. Статья 6.2 [Charter of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast N 40-ОЗ (with the Amendments and Additions of 8 October 1997): Chapter I. General situation. Article 6.2]". Сайт Конституции Российской Федерации [Site of the Constitution of the Russian Federation]. Garant. Archived from the original on 2015-02-21. Retrieved 2023-06-16. В области создаются условия для сохранения, изучения и развития языков еврейского народа и других народов, проживающих на территории области. [In the oblast the conditions will be created for the protection, study and growth of the languages of the Jewish peoples and other peoples living on the territory of the oblast.]
  7. ↑ Netherlands: Declaration contained in the instrument of acceptance, deposited on 2 May 1996 – Or. Engl. Archived 22 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine, List of declarations made with respect to treaty No. 148 – European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages
  8. ↑ "Act of 6 January 2005 on national and ethnic minorities and on the regional languages" (PDF). GUGiK.gov.pl. Główny Urząd Geodezji i Kartografii (Head Office of Geodesy and Cartography). Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 March 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  9. ↑ "National minorities in Sweden". February 19, 2025.
  10. ↑ "What languages does the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages apply to? - European Charter for Regional
    or Minority Languages - www.coe.int"    . European Charter for Regional
    or Minority Languages    .
  11. ↑ "Про затвердження переліку мов національних меншин (спільнот) та корінних народів України, яким загрожує зникнення". Official webportal of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. 7 June 2024. Archived from the original on 1 October 2024. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
  12. ↑ "Limbile minorităţilor sunt bine promovate în învăţământ în România, dar trebuie diminuat pragul pentru administraţie - Știrile ProTV". stirileprotv.ro. Retrieved 2025-05-28.
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