{"title":"Categorical Shifts of the Idiom Ribono shel(a)olam: From a Tannaitic Vocative to a Jewish Theocentric Interjection to a Substrate Component in Israeli Hebrew Discourse","authors":"Yishai Neuman","doi":"10.1163/22134638-06011139a","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/22134638-06011139a","url":null,"abstract":"<p><em>Oral</em> transmission of the Tannaitic Hebrew double genitive vocative <em>ribbono šella‘olam</em> ‘Master of the Universe’ maintains the definite article in the Hebrew component of two ancient Jewish vernaculars: Jewish Neo-Aramaic and Judeo-Arabic in Djerba. The <em>textual</em> transmission of the phrase, changed it graphemically from the Tannaitic original <styled-content xml:lang=\"heb\" xmlns:ifp=\"http://www.ifactory.com/press\">רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶׁלָּעוֹלָם</styled-content> into medieval <styled-content xml:lang=\"heb\" xmlns:ifp=\"http://www.ifactory.com/press\">רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם</styled-content>. The new spelling was the source of its final formation in Yiddish and Judeo-Spanish, <em>without the definite article</em>. The decategorialization of this double genitive phrase from a theocentric vocative to a semantically bleached interjection in these Jewish languages, especially Yiddish, was the point of departure for its meaning and pragmatic function in nascent spoken Modern Hebrew, as evidence from Mendele’s bilingual oeuvre indicates. It may be tentatively proposed that further grammaticalization and broadening of this substrate component structure-function pairing may have led to the emergence of a new category of analogically constructed discourse markers in Modern Hebrew.</p>","PeriodicalId":40699,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Jewish Languages","volume":"189 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2019-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138538245","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Lexical Variation among South Florida’s Judeo-Spanish-speaking Sephardim","authors":"B. Kirschen","doi":"10.1163/22134638-07011147","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/22134638-07011147","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000This study implements the Leipzig-Jakarta list as a word-elicitation task among speakers (n=20) of Judeo-Spanish in South Florida. Data demonstrate that while entirely different lexemes may be used to express similar meanings for a given token, variation is most demonstrable through phonological processes. An analysis of responses (n=2,000) reveals variation and innovation in the production of vowels (mid-vowel raising, apheresis, prothesis), consonants (de/voicing or palatalization of sibilants, preservation of etymological f–, metathesis), and stress (proparoxytonic vs. oxytonic). Data also reveal that of the basic lexicon in Judeo-Spanish (e.g., function words, body parts, living creatures, etc.), only 5% is of non-Hispanic origin. In addition, this study examines the sociolinguistic organization of Sephardim in South Florida, accounting for the vitality and endangerment of Judeo-Spanish in this diasporic community, while also exemplifying the linguistic ramifications of contact with other languages.","PeriodicalId":40699,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Jewish Languages","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2019-06-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1163/22134638-07011147","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45143727","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A Unique Hebrew Glossary from India: An Analysis of Judeo-Urdu, written by Aaron D. Rubin","authors":"Ophira Gamliel","doi":"10.1163/22134638-07010001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/22134638-07010001","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":40699,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Jewish Languages","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2019-06-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1163/22134638-07010001","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44518057","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Coṃpendio delas šeḥiṭót (Constantinople ca. 1510): The First Judeo-Spanish Printed Publication","authors":"Dov J. Cohen, Ora (Rodrigue) Schwarzwald","doi":"10.1163/22134638-07011148","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/22134638-07011148","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000It is commonly accepted that Hilkhot Sheḥiṭa u-Vdika (literally, ‘The Laws of Ritual Slaughter and Examination’—Constantinople ca. 1510) was the first publication ever printed in Judeo-Spanish. Yet scholars possessed no evidence that the work actually existed, and no information was available regarding its contents or language. Recently, however, the first four pages of the publication were discovered among the remnants of the Cairo Genizah. The current study is a preliminary description of this publication’s historical bibliography, halakhic sources, structure and contents, orthography and spelling (which reflect untrained writing and inconsistent pronunciation), and its special vocabulary, including the Hebrew component, which specifically relates to religion.","PeriodicalId":40699,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Jewish Languages","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2019-06-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1163/22134638-07011148","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44612589","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Jewish Languages in Bosnia and Herzegovina: The Promise and Reality of the Language Rights Protection Regime","authors":"Gabi Abramac","doi":"10.1163/22134638-07011132","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/22134638-07011132","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (1992) seeks to protect and promote regional and minority languages in Europe. The objectives and principles defined by the Charter include the recognition of regional and minority languages as cultural assets. The Charter also commits the signatories to promote the study of, and research on, regional and minority languages. Bosnia and Herzegovina signed the Charter in 2005 and officially ratified it in 2010, applying it to seventeen regional and minority languages including Ladino and Yiddish. This paper examines the disparity between the obligations entered into and the actual state of affairs. It also investigates the linguistic repertoire and language ideologies of the Jewish community in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the extent and nature of its interest in revitalizing Ladino.","PeriodicalId":40699,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Jewish Languages","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2019-06-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1163/22134638-07011132","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45694621","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Judeo-Georgian Language as an Identity Marker of Georgian Jews (The Jews Living in Georgia)","authors":"Tamari Lomtadze, Reuven Enoch","doi":"10.1163/22134638-07011146","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/22134638-07011146","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000The Judeo-Georgian language has not yet been fully studied. Up to the end of the 20th century, only religion, traditions, and customs had been considered key identity markers of Georgian Jews. The first comprehensive scholarly works relating to Judeo-Georgian appeared at the turn of the century. This article builds on previous research on the speech varieties of Georgian Jews. The purpose of the present article is to demonstrate that alongside religion, customs, traditions, and culture, language was one of the main identity markers of the Jews in Georgia. The variety of Georgian spoken by the Jews differed from standard Georgian in prosodic (intonational), grammatical, and lexical features. The sociocultural and ethnolinguistic distinctiveness of their speech was reflected primarily in the use of Hebraisms.","PeriodicalId":40699,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Jewish Languages","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2019-04-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1163/22134638-07011146","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44162828","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Notion of ‘Jewish Surnames’","authors":"A. Beider","doi":"10.1163/22134638-06021137","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/22134638-06021137","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000This article discusses the notion of ‘Jewish surnames,’ considering it to be synonymous to the expression ‘surnames borne by Jews.’ This can be particularly helpful if we want the definition to add real value for the search of etymologies. The article describes most important peculiarities of Jewish surnames, categories of names that are exclusively Jewish, and various cases when a surname is shared by both Jews and non-Jews. It shows that certain alternative definitions of the notion of ‘Jewish surnames’ (such as surnames found in all Jewish communities, surnames used by Jews only, surnames based on specifically Jewish linguistic elements) either have internal inconsistencies or are useless and sometimes misleading for the scientific analysis of the etymologies of these surnames.","PeriodicalId":40699,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Jewish Languages","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2018-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1163/22134638-06021137","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47925242","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Further Jewish Neo-Aramaic Innovations","authors":"H. Mutzafi","doi":"10.1163/22134638-06011130","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/22134638-06011130","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000The present article presents new findings related to Jewish Neo-Aramaic (JNA) innovations in the framework of North-Eastern Neo-Aramaic (NENA). The dialectal spectrum of JNA is so wide and variegated, that some geographically distant JNA varieties are markedly different from each other on all levels of language structure. Despite this great heterogeneity, the JNA dialects share supra-regional features that bind these varieties together to the exclusion of all, or the vast majority of, the Christian NENA (C.NENA) dialects. There appear to be no grounds, however, for a genetic classification of NENA into two principal branches, JNA and C.NENA. Distinct Jewish versus Christian NENA isoglosses have, rather, most plausibly emerged by gradual diffusion of innovations throughout NENA-speaking communities of the same confession (Jewish or Christian), while skipping geographically adjacent, but religiously distinct, NENA-speaking communities.","PeriodicalId":40699,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Jewish Languages","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2018-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1163/22134638-06011130","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44863944","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"XML Annotation of Hebrew Elements in Judeo-Arabic Texts","authors":"M. Ahmed","doi":"10.1163/22134638-06021122","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/22134638-06021122","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000The main aim of this study is to introduce a model of TEI (Text Encoding Initiative) annotation of Hebrew elements in Judeo-Arabic texts, i.e., code switching (CS), borrowing, and Hebrew quotations. This article will provide an introduction to using XML (Extensible Markup Language) to investigate sociolinguistic aspects in medieval Judeo-Arabic texts. Accordingly, it will suggest to what extent using XML is useful for investigating linguistic and sociolinguistic features in the Judeo-Arabic paradigm. To provide an example for how XML annotation could be applied to Judeo-Arabic texts, a corpus of 300 pages selected from three Judeo-Arabic books has been manually annotated using the TEI P5. The annotation covers all instances of CS, borrowing, and Hebrew quotations in that corpus.","PeriodicalId":40699,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Jewish Languages","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2018-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1163/22134638-06021122","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46553955","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Erasure of Hasidic Yiddish from Twentieth Century Yiddish Linguistics","authors":"Chaya R. Nove","doi":"10.1163/22134638-06011142","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/22134638-06011142","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Unlike other Yiddish dialects that were diminished to the point of virtual obsolescence in the decades following World War II, Hasidic Yiddish remains the dominant language for several hundred thousand Hasidic Jews across the globe. And yet, a survey of the research on Yiddish linguistics published during the second half of the 20th century does not reflect this reality. In this article, I review how the ideological underpinnings of Yiddish linguistics created and perpetuated a disciplinary preoccupation with a hypothetical standard at the expense of theoretically informative empirical studies of an evolving Yiddish dialect. Specifically, I show how linguistic chauvinism, a series of calamitous events, and historical anti-religiosity complicated by new resentments, led to the erasure of Hasidic dialects from Yiddish scholarship. Finally, I highlight significant contributions that recent empirical studies of Hasidic Yiddish are making to the field of linguistics.","PeriodicalId":40699,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Jewish Languages","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2018-06-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1163/22134638-06011142","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42745262","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}