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Yiddish, [a] historically Judeo-German, [11] [b] is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews.It originated in 9th-century [12]: 2 Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with many elements taken from Hebrew (notably Mishnaic) and to some extent Aramaic.
Although a far smaller number of Jews still speak Yiddish, Yiddishkeit can be identified in manners of speech, in styles of humor, in patterns of association. Broadly speaking, a Jew is one who associates culturally with Jews, supports Jewish institutions, reads Jewish books and periodicals, attends Jewish movies and theater, travels to Israel ...
Yiddish is a Germanic language, but incorporates elements of Hebrew and Slavic languages. Yiddish saw a decline in its prevalence among the Israeli population in the early statehood of Israel, due to its use being banned in theatres, movies and other cultural activities. It has undergone a cultural revival in recent years.
Ukrainian Yiddish was the basis for standard theatre Yiddish, while Lithuanian Yiddish was the basis of standard literary and academic Yiddish. [7] [nb 2] About three-quarters of contemporary Yiddish speakers speak Southern Yiddish varieties, the majority speaking Polish Yiddish. [7]
Use of Yiddish, which was the main competitor prior to World War II, was discouraged, [120] and the number of Yiddish speakers declined as the older generations died out, though Yiddish is still commonly used in Ashkenazi haredi communities.
A variety of other languages are still spoken within some American Jewish communities that are representative of the various Jewish ethnic divisions from around the world that have come together to make up all of America's Jewish population. Many of America's Hasidic Jews, being exclusively of Ashkenazi descent, are raised speaking Yiddish ...
However, Yiddish did not become a completely “dead” language after the Holocaust. In the mid 20th century there was the establishment of the Yungntruf, a movement for young Yiddish speakers which still continues today. The Yungntruf movement also created the Yiddish Farm in 2012, a farm in New York which offers an immersive education for ...
Most Hasidim speak the language of their countries of residence but use Yiddish among themselves as a way of remaining distinct and preserving tradition. Thus, children are still learning Yiddish today, and the language, despite predictions to the contrary, has not died.