Yiddish language

Yiddish (Yid. ייִדיש, yidiš) is a Germanic language spoken by about three million people throughout the world, predominantly Ashkenazic Jews. The name Yiddish itself is Yiddish for "Jewish" (compare German jüdisch) and is likely an abbreviated rendition of yidish-taytsh (ייִדיש־טײַטש), or "Jewish German". In its earliest historical phase (13th-14th centuries), Yiddish is referred to by linguists as Judeo-German; occasionally this term is used for later forms of the language as well.

Status of Yiddish as a Germanic Language

The status of Yiddish as a Germanic language is occasionally challenged from two opposing perspectives. On the one hand, there are those who suggest that Yiddish is unrelated to German—that it is instead a Semitic, Slavonic, or Romance language, or even that it is a derivative of Basque; for example, the linguist Paul Wexler uniquely claims that Yiddish was originally a Slavic language whose vocabulary was replaced with German words. These views, although propounded frequently and enthusiastically, can be readily refuted by a study of historical records and linguistic structures.

Related Topics:
Germanic language - Semitic - Slavonic - Romance - Basque - Slavic language

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At the other extreme there are those who suggest that Yiddish is merely a dialect of German, not different enough to be classed as a separate language. Yiddish and German share a large portion of their respective vocabularies, and a number of similar grammatical structures. Some German speakers are reportedly able to understand spoken Yiddish, considering it similar to German spoken by Slavs. These observations lead some observers to describe Yiddish as a German dialect rather than an independent language.

Related Topics:
Dialect - German - Language - Slavs

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However, most linguists consider Yiddish and German to be distinct Germanic languages, pointing out that:

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• The two languages are geographically and culturally distinct; http://www.jewish-languages.org/yiddish.html
• Both languages have written standards, and even use different alphabets;
• Some of the grammar of Yiddish differs substantially from that of German, having been influenced by contact with other (e.g. Slavic) languages;
• 20 to 30 percent of Yiddish vocabulary is not shared with German, including a number of basic words;
• The two languages are generally not mutually comprehensible (this is especially true for German speakers trying to understand Yiddish).

The distinction between a "language" and a "dialect" is poorly defined. On one hand, languages like Danish, Swedish and Norwegian, usually considered to be separate and distinct languages, are very often mutually intelligible for proficient speakers and may be considered one language from a linguistic point of view. On the other hand, many dialects of German, for instance, are not mutually intelligible. Max Weinreich writing in the Yivo-Bleter in 1945, quotes an unnamed auditor at one of his lectures as saying that ? ????? ??? ? ??????? ??? ?? ????? ??? ? ???? ("A shprakh iz a diyalekt mit an armey un a flot": "A language is a dialect with an army and a navy"; cf. the separate article on this language-dialect aphorism.)

Related Topics:
Danish - Swedish - Norwegian - Mutually intelligible - Max Weinreich - Language-dialect aphorism

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The view that Yiddish is a dialect may be a matter of opinion, but the consensus is that Yiddish is more than simply a dialect. The Eastern and Western dialects of Yiddish are themselves sufficiently distinct that some linguists have suggested they should both be considered separate languages.

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