Jewish English languages
Encyclopedia
Jewish English languages are varieties of English that include significant amounts of vocabulary
and syntax
taken from Yiddish, and both classical and modern Hebrew. These varieties can be classified into several types: Yeshivish, Yinglish
, as well as more flexible mixtures of English and other Jewish languages
, which may contain features and other elements from languages other than Yiddish and Hebrew.
The classification "Jewish English" eliminates the need for concern with identifying the specific origin of the non-English components of any such variant. This offsets, for example, misperceptions that can result from failure to note the Hebrew origin of a word that may have become widely known in Anglophone
contexts via Yiddish, and may be, therefore, simply regarded as Yiddish. (This problem is illustrated in the list of English words of Yiddish origin.)
Vocabulary
A person's vocabulary is the set of words within a language that are familiar to that person. A vocabulary usually develops with age, and serves as a useful and fundamental tool for communication and acquiring knowledge...
and syntax
Syntax
In linguistics, syntax is the study of the principles and rules for constructing phrases and sentences in natural languages....
taken from Yiddish, and both classical and modern Hebrew. These varieties can be classified into several types: Yeshivish, Yinglish
Yinglish
Yinglish words are neologisms created by speakers of Yiddish in English-speaking countries, sometimes to describe things that were uncommon in the old country...
, as well as more flexible mixtures of English and other Jewish languages
Jewish languages
Jewish languages are the various languages and dialects that developed in Jewish communities around the world.Although Hebrew was the daily speech of the Jewish people for centuries, by the fifth century BCE, the closely related Aramaic joined Hebrew as the spoken language in Judea and by the third...
, which may contain features and other elements from languages other than Yiddish and Hebrew.
The classification "Jewish English" eliminates the need for concern with identifying the specific origin of the non-English components of any such variant. This offsets, for example, misperceptions that can result from failure to note the Hebrew origin of a word that may have become widely known in Anglophone
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
contexts via Yiddish, and may be, therefore, simply regarded as Yiddish. (This problem is illustrated in the list of English words of Yiddish origin.)