Die Czernowitzer Sprachkonferenz von 1908 und ihr Nachklang in der Presse am Beispiel des Periodikums Czernowitzer Tagblatt

Abstract The first Conference for the Yiddish Language of 1908 was a highly significant event in the history of Yiddish language and culture, which became known in the literature as the Czernowitz Language Conference [Yidd. „di konferents far der yidisher shprakh“]. This conference was held in the city of Czernowitz from August 30 to September 3 and united prominent representatives of the worldwide Yiddish movement and, thus, triggered a significant impulse to the development of an energetic Yiddish-speaking constellation. The conference manifested awareness of the importance of Yiddish language and culture as a breeding ground for the survival of traditional “(Eastern) Jewish” values. Within this framework the debates regarding the cultivation of the Yiddish language have been intensified through reflective and resolute actions with the aim of releasing it from the stigma of jargon.