The Yiddish Language | Hebrew Courses

      Yiddish (אידיש, "Jewish" in Yiddish itself) was spoken by more than 11 million Jews before World War II. Today it is spoken by approximately 1.5 million people, mainly in ultra-Orthodox communities.
    

Origin

Arose in the 10th century in the Jewish communities along the Rhine (Germany). It combines Medieval German with Hebrew/Aramaic and later incorporated Slavic elements (Polish, Russian, Ukrainian).

Writing

Written with the Hebrew alphabet, right to left. But unlike Hebrew, in Yiddish the vowels are written explicitly with the letters: א, ו, י, ע.

Culture

Yiddish produced rich literature, theater (New York Yiddish Theater), cinema and music. Composers like Irving Berlin and writers like Sholem Aleichem (Fiddler on the Roof) wrote in Yiddish.

Basic Yiddish Vocabulary

Yiddish	Pronunciation	English	Origin
שלום עליכם	Sholem Aleychem	Peace be upon you	Hebrew
מזל טוב	Mazl Tov	Congratulations!	Hebrew/Aramaic
נודניק	Nudnik	Annoying person / pest	Slavic
שלעפן	Shlepn	To carry / drag	German (schleppen)
קיבעץ	Kibets	To mock / meddle	German
כנישׂה	Kinis	Synagogue	Hebrew
מאמע	Mame	Mom	German (Mama)
טאטע	Tate	Dad	German
עסן	Esn	To eat	German (essen)
שמאלץ	Shmalts	Chicken fat / sentimentalism	German (Schmalz)

Difference from Hebrew: Hebrew is a Semitic language; Yiddish is a Germanic language written in Hebrew characters. They are two distinct languages, although they share the same alphabet and many words of Hebrew root.