What Yiddish has been to Ashkenazi Jews, Ladino has been to Sephardic Jews. Perhaps more correctly called Judeo-Spanish, Ladino is a Romance language based on Old Spanish and influenced by several other languages. Although not widely used today, it is still spoken by small Sephardic minorities in more than 30 countries. The story of Ladino is fascinating: To learn more, click on the links below.
Quote: “Ladino is one of the most important diasporic languages in Jewish history. Also known as Judeo-Spanish, or Judezmo, Ladino is a Romance language — a variety of Spanish that includes both words and phrases from Hebrew, Turkish, Arabic, Greek, French, and Italian. It originally developed in medieval Christian Spain; after the expulsion of the Jews in 1492, it moved along with Jewish exiles, and then developed independently of Iberian Spanish. For five hundred years, Ladino thrived, and was the mother tongue of generations of Sephardic Jews.” — Aviya Kushner on Forward.com
Sources: Wikipedia, Forward.com
Learn more about Ladino on Wikipedia. >>
Read “9 Things to Know About Ladino” >>
Watch Esther Levy speaking Ladino [39:43]. >>
Watch “The Sound of the Ladino / Judaeo-Spanish language” [2:23] >>
Photo: The Local Spain
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