Jewish Languages Today: Endangered, Surviving, and Thriving
Channel: Jewish Language Project
Date: 02/03/2022

Throughout history Jews have spoken many languages, such as Ladino, Judeo-Arabic, Judeo-Tat/Juhuri (Azerbaijan, Dagestan), Judeo-Median (Iran), Jewish Neo-Aramaic (Kurdish region of Iraq-Iran-Turkey), and Judeo-Malayalam (Southern India). Over the past two centuries, migrations and other historical events have led to many of these languages becoming endangered. At the same time, Jews are now engaging with these languages in postvernacular ways, such as through song and food. This multimedia talk explains these developments and makes the case for the urgent need for documentation and reclamation.

Co-sponsored by American Sephardi Federation Institute of Jewish Experience and HUC-JIR Jewish Language Project

About the speaker:
Dr. Sarah Bunin Benor is the founding director of the HUC-JIR Jewish Language Project. She is Professor of Contemporary Jewish Studies at Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion (Los Angeles campus) and Adjunct Professor (by courtesy) in the University of Southern California Linguistics Department. She received her Ph.D. from Stanford University in Linguistics in 2004. She has published and lectured widely about Jewish languages, linguistics, Yiddish, American Jews, and Orthodox Jews. Her books include Becoming Frum: How Newcomers Learn the Language and Culture of Orthodox Judaism (Rutgers, 2012) and Hebrew Infusion: Language and Community at American Jewish Summer Camps (Rutgers, 2020). Dr. Benor is founding co-editor of the Journal of Jewish Languages (Brill) and co-editor of Languages in Jewish Communities, Past and Present (De Gruyter Mouton, 2018).