Is Yiddish a real language?

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Is Yiddish a real language?

Yiddish language, one of the many Germanic languages that form a branch of the Indo-European language family. Yiddish is the language of the Ashkenazim, central and eastern European Jews and their descendants. Along with Hebrew and Aramaic, it is one of the three major literary languages of Jewish history.

Is Yiddish a secret language?

The Yiddish language is so much more than low German, new genetic study suggests. Researchers suspect that Yiddish was invented as a sort of secret code, mixing Iranian and European dialects with Hebrew and Aramaic to create a language that only fellow Jewish merchants would understand.

What language is Yiddish based on?

Hebrew
The basic grammar and vocabulary of Yiddish, which is written in the Hebrew alphabet, is Germanic. Yiddish, however, is not a dialect of German but a complete language‚ one of a family of Western Germanic languages, that includes English, Dutch, and Afrikaans.

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Is Yiddish a dead language?

Let’s get one thing straight: Yiddish is not a dying language. While UNESCO officially classifies Yiddish as an “endangered” language in Europe, its status in New York is hardly in doubt.

Are Yiddish and German similar?

‘ Although Yiddish developed from a dialect of German, the two languages are not mutually comprehensible for a variety of reasons: (1) Yiddish grammar is quite different from that of German as a result of contact with Slavic languages; (2) Yiddish is culturally distinct from German; (3) Yiddish and German have not …

How similar is Yiddish to German?

To most people, Yiddish and German are closely related. The languages share many root words and grammatical structures, and most speakers of one language can at least understand an individual speaking the other.

Is Schmuck a Yiddish word?

Next we come to ‘schmuck’, which in English is a rather vulgar definition of a contemptible or foolish person – in other words, a jerk. In Yiddish the word ‘שמאָק’ (schmok) literally means ‘penis’.

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Is Yiddish or German older?

The truth is, Yiddish and modern German co-evolved from an older version of German. It’s time to put the myth of Yiddish as a corruption to rest. Alexander Beider is a linguist and the author of reference books about Jewish names and the history of Yiddish.