Do u think Yiddish will die as a language in a few years? ?

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Irit

i love your question it's very interesting! NO it's absolutely NOT dead, u maybe wont hear it allot among the israelis but allot of Hassids and orthodox Jew still speak yiddish.
i learn Little bit from a friend of mine in u.s.a. and she is not even religious. more we speak and teach our kids - more it will stay with us!

dandyl

i agree yiddish language is not a dead language, but slowly dying, less and less people speak it.
The major exception to the decline of spoken Yiddish can be found in Haredi communities all over the world. In some of the more closely-knit such communities Yiddish is spoken as a home and schooling language, especially in Hasidic, litvish or yeshivish communities such as Brooklyn's Borough Park, Williamsburg and Crown Heights, and in Monsey, Kiryas Joel, and New Square. (Over 88% of the population of Kiryas Joel is reported to speak Yiddish at home.[20]) ; Also in New Jersey Yiddish is widely spoken mostly in Lakewood but also in smaller yeshivishe towns with yeshivos such as Passaic and more... Yiddish is also widely spoken in the Antwerp Jewish community and in Haredi communities such as the ones in London, Manchester and Montreal. Among most Ashkenazi Haredim, Hebrew is generally reserved for prayer, while Yiddish is used for religious studies as well as a home and business language. In Israel, however, Haredim commonly speak Modern Hebrew, with the notable exception of many Hasidic communities. Nevertheless, the vast majority of Haredim who use Modern Hebrew also understand Yiddish. Many send their children to schools in which the primary language of instruction is Yiddish. Members of movements such as Satmar Hasidism, who view the commonplace use of Hebrew as a form of Zionism, use Yiddish almost exclusively.

Hundreds of thousands of young children have been, and are still, taught to translate the texts of the Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy into the Yiddish language. This process is called ×˜×²Ö·×˜×©×Ÿ (taytshn) â€” "translating" . Most Ashkenazi yeshivas' highest level lectures in Talmud and Halakha are delivered in Yiddish by the rosh yeshivas as well as ethical talks of mussar. Hasidic rebbes generally use only Yiddish to converse with their followers and to deliver their various Torah talks, classes, and lectures. The linguistic style and vocabulary of Yiddish have influenced the manner in which many Orthodox Jews who attend yeshivas speak English. This usage is distinctive enough that it has been dubbed "Yeshivish".

While Hebrew remains the language of Jewish prayer, the Hasidim have mixed considerable Yiddish into their Hebrew, and are also responsible for a significant secondary religious literature written in Yiddish. For example, the tales about the Baal Shem Tov were written largely in Yiddish. In addition, some Hassidic prayers, such as the Got fun Avrohom, were composed and are recited in Yiddish

Shay p

Yiddish is a Germanic language which is spoken by about 4 million Jews all around the world. The term â€˜Yiddishâ€™ itself means Jewish. The language came about sometime between the 9th and 12th centuries as an amalgamation of Middle High German dialects and was also influenced heavily from Hebrew/ Aramaic terms that are found in traditional Jewish literature.

Yiddish after some time split into West and East Yiddish and East Yiddish further split into North and South Yiddish. Modern Yiddish especially East Yiddish also has been influenced greatly by the Slavic languages. Yiddish is written in the Hebrew language although Yiddish is not linguistically related to Hebrew in spite of the fact that it has absorbed many things from Jewish tradition.

Most Askenazi Hassidim world wide still speak Yiddish and will continue to use Yiddish as a religious language. It is the current practice still,in many yeshivas to explain and discuss the mishnaic Torah commentaries in Yiddish.
Yiddish is unquestionably the Second Language of their children. If the Yeshiva is in London OR New York, the dominant language -- the one they actually use to talk to each other on all subjects other than religion is Yiddish.

There is also a small community of academic scholars, young and middle aged teachers of Yiddish in Universities, some of them not even Jewish.

nylatinanurse

Yiddish is not dead As a matter of fact the Hasidic community always speaks in yiddish. In order to not lose it it must be spoken.

fax4voice3

Not as long as Williamsburg and Flatbush exist.

I'm about as goy as it gets, but I've taken a few years of German, and I've learned a lot of Hebrew words by osmosis, so I was surprised at how well I understood it when I heard it spoken there.

NYC Chutzpah

We will not be sitting shiva for Yiddish. Many Yiddish words have been adopted into colloquial English in my part of the world. Also Yiddish has a great tradition of literature and theater. Occasionally only a Yiddish word will do to express oneself. Oy Vey :)

vansemmmanuel *JPA

No. It will take a while to decline if it does. Because in Ultra Orthodoxy in Israel and everywhere else frowns upon Hebrew being used in daily life because its a holy tougue and should be for prayer only. Thats how Yiddush has gotten back to Jewish mainstream. With the rising of Ultra Orthodox population with a high birthrate and more are converting, this might rise in the number of speakers.

Amy W

No. There are a lot of "ultra-orthodox" Jews who speak it. They seem to average about seven kids per family, who will keep the language going.

Ladino, however, is dying. (And the word "Ladino" is not recognized by the spell checker!)

Moshiach Now!!!

No. There are still people who talk to their kids in yiddish. a lot of parents talk to their kids in yiddish. my parents didn't, but the would stick yiddish words into their sentences sometimes. they would say things like, "watch your keppy(head)", "go shluffy(sleep)" and "hold my henty(hand)". a lot of kids have to learn yiddish in school these days if the learn the Lubavitcher Rebbe's sichos (written in yiddish). It's not going to die out. believe me...

Hasids still speak it as a first language and there the fastest growing Jewish community.

You go to NYC and you ll here Yiddish in all the Jewish parts of the city. Lubavitcher have been slowly moving toward speaking mainly Hebrew though but the others are sticking with Yiddish it seems.

beckyr

Very good answers over here. I don't think it will die out to soon. I'm from Boro Park - Brooklyn, New York. Yiddish is the primary language here. I grew up in a yiddish speaking household. So did many of my friends. family....

Burnsey.

i sure hope not. i think its one of the most interesting languages. i wish i could speak it fluenty. i wish i was jewish also i think its interesting. and cuz barbra streisand and bette midler are sexy women.

lemon_lorrain

The beauty of Yiddish lies in its idioms and phrases which, although I'm quite articulate in English, I find that I do occasionally have to use since no adequate expression exists in English! To answer your Question: A Yid gefind seich an eitza! Yiddish was the language used by Jews from Poland, Germany, Russia, Hungary, Romania, Lita, Czechoslovakia, so you understand its necessity as a common language. A huge literature also developed, and only if we express our thoughts in Yiddish will the language once again flourish, but most of us have switched over to using Hebrew. I would suggest that certain types of genres be written in Yiddish--can you imagine a sex novel in Yiddish!

mobilemark

oh va I dont think so

Duke of Tudor

Today Yiddish is spoken by about 4 million Jews, located primarily in Argentina, Canada, France, Israel, Mexico, Romania, and the United States. In the late 20th century, a Russian-Yiddish dictionary and a few novels in Yiddish were published by Russian Jews. In Israel, Yiddish is a second language to Hebrew and is cultivated mostly by older Israelis who have an eastern European background. In America, the study of Yiddish language and literature is enjoying a revival on some college campuses. Some common Yiddish words found in English today include shlamazel (unlucky person), mishugana (crazy person), shlep (drag), kvetsh (complainer), goyim (non-Jews), nosh (snack), and mentsh (gentleman). SPECIAL CHARACTER: Since Yiddish was spoken by ordinary people rather than by scholars, its vocabulary is simple. Since European Jews had little contact with nature, Yiddish has few words descriptive of nature. In contrast, Yiddish has a wealth of words and expressions descriptive of character and of relations among people. Terms of endearment and proverbial expressions are considerable. Thus, Yiddish has a uniquely warm and personal flavor.

haggerpotter

yiddish is already considered a dead languague.

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