Yiddish

Yiddish is a language spoken by some Jews. It is a dialect of German that Jews began speaking in 11th-century Europe. It is still used in the United States, especially in New York City, and other countries with surviving Jewish populations. 










Overview
Most Yiddish words come from German and Hebrew. Some Yiddish words come from Slavic languages (particularly Polish), Latin, French, Hungarian. Yiddish is often written in Hebrew alphabet and spoken by about 3,000,000 people worldwide, mainly Hasidic Jews. In Sweden and the Netherlands, Yiddish is protected by the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.

English words of Yiddish origin
Some modern English words derive from Yiddish, including but not limited to:
 Word  Original Yiddish word  Romanized transliteration  Meaning Bagel בײגלbey-golA ring-shaped bread roll made by boiling, or steaming, and then baking ChutzpahחצפּהhoozpaCourage DreckדרעקdrecRubbish GeltגעלטgeltMoney, or the chocolate coins given to children on Hanukkah GlitchגליטשglichA minor malfunction GoyגויgoiSomeone who is not Jewish (plural: goyim) MenschמענטשmanshA decent person Nudnikנודניקnut-nikSomething annoying Schmuck שמאָקshmugA stupid person Oy veyאוי ווייoi-fayAn exclamation of grief and horror Yarmulkeיאַרמלקעyar-mol-kaAlso known as kippah, a round cloth skullcap worn by observant Jewish men

Related pages

 Ashkenazi Jews
 Ladino language

References

Category:Europe
Category:Judaism
Category:Languages
Category:Jewish people
Category:Jewish culture
Category:Jewish history
Category:Germanic languages
Category:Languages of Europe