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Judeo-Spanish

Judeo-Spanish

9.9
A form of Spanish spoken by Jews from Spain, often written in Hebrew letters
  • noun
  • /dʒuˈdeɪoʊ ˈspænɪʃ/
translation icon : judeoespañol
  • How daughters repeat their mothers' carnal education (Was Pleberio Alisa's Calisto?) is captured in the version of the Judeo-Spanish ballad.

Examples

  • There is a language called Ladino, a Judeo-Spanish language, but I think that it was never common in the Arabic-speaking world, only in Turkey and other places where the Spanish expulsion Jews ended up.

    Blog text (31)
  • Many Sephardic Jews still speak Judeo-Spanish at home, keeping their cultural heritage alive.

  • The literature of the Sephardic community is rich with stories written in Judeo-Spanish.

  • Ladino, also known as Judeo-Spanish, was traditionally written in Hebrew script.

Synonyms

Ladino
vsJudeo-Spanish
1 9.9

A Spanish-based language spoken by Jewish people whose families came from Spain, often written in Hebrew letters

is the dialect term used interchangeably and stresses Spanish origin

Surface Forms

Judeo-Spanish singular

Morphology

Judeo-Spanish = Spanish (semi-transparent) = Judeo + Spanish

The term is clearly built from 'Judeo-' plus 'Spanish', but the result is a specialized historical label for a particular Jewish dialect rather than a fully regular everyday combination.

Etymology

Judeo-Spanish is made of Judeo- meaning 'Jew' and Spanish meaning 'from Spain'. So Judeo-Spanish literally means the Spanish of Jewish people and names the special form of Spanish, often called Ladino, spoken by Sephardic Jews who have roots in Spain.