David Bunis
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Hebrew and Jewish Languages, Faculty Member
- Judezmo (Ladino, Judeo Spanish), Yiddish, Hebrew, Jewish Languages, Linguistics, and 48 moreSociolinguistics, Languages and Linguistics, Applied Linguistics, Semiotics, Semantics, Arabic Language and Linguistics, Phonetics, Hebrew Bible, Language Education, Arabic, Hebrew Language, Contact Linguistics, Etymology, Ladino, Judeo-Spanish, Judezmo, Aramaic, Lexicology, Hybridity, Yiddish Literature, Borrowing, Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) Language and Literature, Sephardic Studies, Sephardic Jews, Jewish Languages and Linguistics, Judeo-Spanish (Ladino) language, Sephardic Literature, Ladino Language, Sephardic Literature and Culture, Judeo Spanish, THESSALONIKI, Sephardic Jewish Heritage, Judeo Spanish) Studies, History of Jewish Languages, Cairo Genizah, Hebrew and Jewish Languages--Romanisation--Library Use, Ladino Language & Literature, Ladino Djudeo-Espanyol, Ottoman Studies, Jews of Medieval Spain, History of the Jews in Spain, Sephardic music, Ottoman Balkans, Sephardi/Mizrahi Studies, Sephardic Diaspora and Migrations, Language Ideologies, Judeo and Jewish-Romance Languages I, and Literatura Sefardíedit
- David M. Bunis (PhD., Columbia University, 1981) is a professor in the Department of Hebrew and the Center for Jewish... moreDavid M. Bunis (PhD., Columbia University, 1981) is a professor in the Department of Hebrew and the Center for Jewish Languages and Literatures, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and heads its program in Judezmo (or Ladino) studies. He is also an advisor to the Israel National Authority for Ladino Language and Culture and a member of the Ladino Academy of Israel. He is the author of A Lexicon of the Hebrew and Aramaic Elements in Modern Judezmo (Jerusalem, 1993), The Judezmo Language (in Hebrew, Jerusalem, 1999), Voices from Jewish Salonika (Jerusalem-Salonika, 1999), and numerous articles on the Judezmo language and its literature and on Jewish languages as a field of scholarly inquiry. He is the editor of Languages and Literatures of Sephardic and Oriental Jews (Jerusalem, 2009), and a co-editor of Massorot, and Caminos de leche y miel: Festscrift in Honor of Michael Studemund- Halevy II (Barcelona, 2018).edit
Among scholars of Judezmo (Ladino, Judeo-Spanish), David Fresco, editor of the important Istanbul Judezmo periodical El Tyempo and others, is well known for his strong anti-Judezmo stance. The article demonstrates that, rather than being... more
Among scholars of Judezmo (Ladino, Judeo-Spanish), David Fresco, editor of the important Istanbul Judezmo periodical El Tyempo and others, is well known for his strong anti-Judezmo stance. The article demonstrates that, rather than being an original idea of Fresco's, this stance reflected the strong influence on Fresco of the mostly Central and Eastern-European Haskalah, or Jewish Enlightenment, with its fierce opposition to Yiddish and other Jewish Diaspora languages. Like the European maskilim, Fresco was a supporter of and participant in the Hebrew Revival, and an advocate of the transfer from Judezmo to Turkish among the Jews of the Ottoman Empire.
Research Interests: Journalism, Ottoman History, Journalism History, Ottoman Empire, Ottoman Balkans, and 15 moreLate Ottoman Period, Jewish Languages and Linguistics, Ladino Language, Sephardic Studies, Jewish Languages, Sephardic Literature, Late Ottoman History, Ladino, Judeo-Spanish (Ladino) language, Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) Language and Literature, Sephardic Jews, The Jewish Enlightenment movement. HasKalah, Judezmo (Ladino, Sephardic Literature and Culture, and Sephardic Diaspora and Migrations
Between the sixteenth and mid-nineteenth centuries, the distinctive Rabbinic Judezmo (or Ladino or Judeo-Spanish) linguistic variety was the predominant literary variety used by the Sephardic Jews of the Ottoman Empire for publishing in... more
Between the sixteenth and mid-nineteenth centuries, the distinctive Rabbinic Judezmo (or Ladino or Judeo-Spanish) linguistic variety was the predominant literary variety used by the Sephardic Jews of the Ottoman Empire for publishing in the vernacular. An example of its use in Late Ottoman Eretz Israel (Land of Israel) or Palestine in the first half of the nineteenth century is the language of the taqqanot or communal regulations governing aspects of life in Eretz Israel at that time formulated by Ḥ. A. Gagin and published in the book Matoq mi-dĕvaš (Sweeter than honey) at the press of Israel Baeck in Jerusalem, 1842.
With the onset of westernization and modernization from the end of the eighteenth century, a Judezmo press and secular literature began to emerge at the middle of the nineteenth century. In Ottoman Eretz Israel the first Judezmo periodical, Ḥavaṣelet: Mĕvasseret Yĕrušalayim, edited by Jerusalem-born E. Benveniste, began to appear at the press of Israel
Baeck in 1870/71. It continued to use some linguistic and stylistic features typical of Rabbinic Judezmo; but it also incorporated elements being borrowed into Judezmo at the time from influential Western European languages such as Italian and French. The language and style of the periodicals edited and published by the next generation of Judezmo journalists in Ottoman Eretz Israel, whose most outstanding representative was probably Jerusalem-born S. I. Sherezli, were characterized by far fewer features reminiscent of traditional Rabbinic
Judezmo and much more significant influence from Western European languages such as French, Italian, and to a lesser extent, Castilian. With the founding of the State of Israel in 1948 a new generation of journalists, mostly immigrants from regions of the former Ottoman Empire, continued Judezmo journalism, mostly based in Tel Aviv, employing an even more highly western-influenced language. But with the growing success of the Hebrew Revival movement in Eretz Israel and the State of Israel, Judezmo journalism there was almost entirely replaced by the burgeoning Hebrew press. The article illustrates and analyzes the transition in the Judezmo press of Late Ottoman Eretz Israel from a more traditional to a considerably more modernized, westernized language and style; as well as the allusions in the local Judezmo press to the increasing use of Hebrew as a living spoken and written language amongst all of the Jewish residents of Late Ottoman Eretz Israel.
With the onset of westernization and modernization from the end of the eighteenth century, a Judezmo press and secular literature began to emerge at the middle of the nineteenth century. In Ottoman Eretz Israel the first Judezmo periodical, Ḥavaṣelet: Mĕvasseret Yĕrušalayim, edited by Jerusalem-born E. Benveniste, began to appear at the press of Israel
Baeck in 1870/71. It continued to use some linguistic and stylistic features typical of Rabbinic Judezmo; but it also incorporated elements being borrowed into Judezmo at the time from influential Western European languages such as Italian and French. The language and style of the periodicals edited and published by the next generation of Judezmo journalists in Ottoman Eretz Israel, whose most outstanding representative was probably Jerusalem-born S. I. Sherezli, were characterized by far fewer features reminiscent of traditional Rabbinic
Judezmo and much more significant influence from Western European languages such as French, Italian, and to a lesser extent, Castilian. With the founding of the State of Israel in 1948 a new generation of journalists, mostly immigrants from regions of the former Ottoman Empire, continued Judezmo journalism, mostly based in Tel Aviv, employing an even more highly western-influenced language. But with the growing success of the Hebrew Revival movement in Eretz Israel and the State of Israel, Judezmo journalism there was almost entirely replaced by the burgeoning Hebrew press. The article illustrates and analyzes the transition in the Judezmo press of Late Ottoman Eretz Israel from a more traditional to a considerably more modernized, westernized language and style; as well as the allusions in the local Judezmo press to the increasing use of Hebrew as a living spoken and written language amongst all of the Jewish residents of Late Ottoman Eretz Israel.
Research Interests: Journalism, Ottoman History, Israel/Palestine, Palestine, Ottoman Studies, and 15 moreOttoman Empire, Jewish Languages and Linguistics, Ladino Language, Sephardic Studies, Jewish Languages, Sephardi/Mizrahi Studies, Economic and Social History of the Ottoman Empire, Sephardic Literature, Late Ottoman History, Ladino, Judeo-Spanish (Ladino) language, Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) Language and Literature, Sephardic Jews, Sephardic Literature and Culture, and Sephardic Diaspora and Migrations
Over the centuries of their sojourn in the Ottoman Empire, the attitude of the Ottoman Sephardim to the Turkish language has been consistently positive. Their attitude toward the Turkish component in their Judezmo group language, on the... more
Over the centuries of their sojourn in the Ottoman Empire, the attitude of the Ottoman Sephardim to the Turkish language has been consistently positive. Their attitude toward the Turkish component in their Judezmo group language, on the other hand, has diverged from period to period. This article discusses the Turkish component of Judezmo and the speakers' shifting attitudes toward it from the 16th through 20th centuries. The characteristics of the component in the 20th century are exemplified through a transcription and analysis of Izmir Judezmo writer and journalist Alexandre Benghiat's fictional turn-of-the-century series of letters "Letras del kazal' by 'Kabastil', which appeared in Benghiat's periodical El Meseret.
Research Interests: Jewish Studies, Ottoman History, Jewish History, Ottoman Studies, Ottoman Empire, and 15 moreModern Ottoman History, Jewish Languages and Linguistics, Ladino Language, Sephardic Studies, Jewish Languages, Economic and Social History of the Ottoman Empire, Sephardic Literature, Late Ottoman History, Ladino, İzmir, Judeo-Spanish (Ladino) language, Smyrna, Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) Language and Literature, Sephardic Jews, and Sephardic Literature and Culture
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Judezmo, or Ladino or Judeo-Spanish, is the traditional language of the Sephardic or Iberian Jews who after 1492 resettled in the Ottoman Empire, many of them remaining in the region into the 21st century. Structurally, Modern Judezmo is... more
Judezmo, or Ladino or Judeo-Spanish, is the traditional language of the Sephardic or Iberian Jews who after 1492 resettled in the Ottoman Empire, many of them remaining in the region into the 21st century. Structurally, Modern Judezmo is composed mostly of elements of popular medieval Ibero-Romance, Ibero-Arabic, Hebrew and Aramaic, Turkish and Balkan languages, and Italian and French. Into the first half of the 20th century, the language was written primarily in the Hebrew alphabet; from the second half of the 19th century, Romanization was also used, leading to the unique Romanization which predominates today. The language was not taught formally in the speech community until the 19th century; instead language study focused on Hebrew. In the late 1970s, popular social pressure led the Israeli government to acknowledge the important role played by Judezmo in the Sephardic Diaspora by introducing Judezmo courses in Israeli universities. The chapter focuses on the challenges of teaching Judezmo at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
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Since the resettlement of the Sephardim in the Ottoman Empire and Austro-Hungary following their expulsions from Iberia and into the modern era, Judezmo or Ladino, the distinctive Jewish language of the group often known today as the... more
Since the resettlement of the Sephardim in the Ottoman Empire and Austro-Hungary following their expulsions from Iberia and into the modern era, Judezmo or Ladino, the distinctive Jewish language of the group often known today as the ‘Ottoman Sephardim’ or more broadly, ‘Ottoman Jewry,’ has played a key role in its speakers’ practice of Jewish ritual and religious life. The article offers a panoramic overview of that role. Basing itself on primary rabbinical and periodical sources in Judezmo and Hebrew as well as the extensive research literature on the language and culture of Judezmo speakers, the article analyzes the centrality of Judezmo among the Ottoman Sephardim as a language of sacred-text translation (e.g., Biblical, Mishnaic and Hebrew liturgical texts), paraliturgical literary creativity (e.g., original songs, rhyming couplets, hymns and dirges enriching celebrations of the calendar and life cycle), and language of holiday and life-cycle event greetings, blessings, proverbs and sayings. Passages from Judezmo literature, in the original language and in translation, exemplify how the group’s rabbis and journalists related to Jewish religious ritual and custom, and commented on the decline of the traditional religious lifestyle under the influence of Western European liberal humanism from the beginning of the modern era. The article ends with some observations on the current Judezmo language and culture revival and suggests that this development may inspire a resuscitation of long-abandoned traditional religious ritual practices including some in which Judezmo played a central vital role.
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The Ibero-Romance-speaking Jews of medieval Christian Iberia were linguistically distinct from their non-Jewish neighbors primarily as a result of their language’s unique Hebrew-Aramaic component; preservations from older Jewish Greek,... more
The Ibero-Romance-speaking Jews of medieval Christian Iberia were linguistically distinct from their non-Jewish neighbors primarily as a result of their language’s unique Hebrew-Aramaic component; preservations from older Jewish Greek, Latin, and Arabic; a tradition of translating sacred Hebrew and Aramaic texts into their language using archaisms and Hebrew-Aramaic rather than Hispanic syntax; and their Hebrew-letter writing system. With the expulsions from Iberia in the late 15th century, most of the Sephardim who continued to maintain their Iberian-origin language resettled in the Ottoman Empire, with smaller numbers in North Africa and Italy. Their forced migration, and perhaps a conscious choice, essentially disconnected the Sephardim from the Spanish language as it developed in Iberia and Latin America, causing their language—which they came to call laðino ‘Romance’, ʤuðezmo or ʤuðjó ‘Jewish, Judezmo’, and more recently (ʤudeo)espaɲol ‘Judeo-Spanish’—to appear archaic when compared with modern Spanish. In their new locales the Sephardim developed the Hispanic component of their language along independent lines, resulting in further differentiation from Spanish. Divergence was intensified through borrowing from contact languages of the Ottoman Empire such as Turkish, Greek, and South Slavic. Especially from the late 18th century, factors such as the colonializing interests of France, Italy, and Austro-Hungary in the region led to considerable influence of their languages on Judezmo. In the 19th century, the dismemberment of the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires and their replacement by highly nationalistic states resulted in a massive language shift to the local languages; that factor, followed by large speech-population losses during World War II and immigration to countries stressing linguistic homogeneity, have in recent years made Judezmo an endangered language.
Research Interests: Modern Languages, History, Ancient History, Languages and Linguistics, Romance philology, and 15 moreHistory Portuguese and Spanish, Jewish Languages and Linguistics, Ladino Language, Sephardic Studies, Judaism, Jewish Languages, Romance Linguistics, Hebrew, Romance Languages, Ladino, Romance, Languages in Contact, Sephardic Jews, Romance Languages and Literatures, and Sephardic Literature and Culture
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Research Interests: Philosophy, Ladino Language, Sephardic Studies, Judaism, Sephardic Literature, and 15 moreSephardic Identity, Judeo Spanish, Ladino, Sephardic Jewish Heritage, Ladino Literature, Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) Language and Literature, Sephardic Jews, Sephardic History, Sephardic Judaism, Ladino Loan Words, Sephardic Literature and Culture, Sephardic Diaspora and Migrations, Sephardic Rabbinic Literature, Ladino Bibliography, and European Judaism
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Información del artículo Traslating from the Head and from the Heart: the essentially oral nature of the ladino Bible-traslation tradition.
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Información del artículo Tres formas de ladinar la Biblia en Italia en lso siglos XVI-XVII.
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Jewish languages contain a component derived from Hebrew and Aramaic, the earliest languages Jews used. We offer a historical comparative analysis of the structure and use of adjectives of Hebrew and Aramaic origin in the diverse spoken... more
Jewish languages contain a component derived from Hebrew and Aramaic, the earliest languages Jews used. We offer a historical comparative analysis of the structure and use of adjectives of Hebrew and Aramaic origin in the diverse spoken and written registers of Judezmo (Ladino, Judeo-Spanish) and Yiddish, the two major Jewish languages of the Sephardim and Ashkenazim of Europe. Attention is paid both to adjectives whose forms are entirely of Hebrew or Aramaic origin, as well as those constructed of bases of Hebrew and Aramaic origin, and derivational morphemes of Hispanic and Turkish origin (Judezmo), and Germanic and Slavic origin (Yiddish). The incorporation of the adjectives within the syntactic and semantic systems of Judezmo and Yiddish is examined, and comparisons made between the relative quantity and function of the adjectives in the two languages. It is meant as a model for the comparative study of the linguistic structures of Jewish languages.
Research Interests: History, Yiddish Literature, Yiddish Language, Art, Hebrew Language, and 15 moreSlavic Languages, Yiddish, Linguistics, Jewish Languages and Linguistics, Ladino Language, Sephardic Studies, Jewish Languages, Hebrew Component in Jewish Languages, Ashkenazic Judaism, Hebrew, Modern Hebrew Language, Biblical Hebrew, Yiddish Culture and Language, Sephardic Jews, and Sephardic Literature and Culture
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Israel and the Palestinians, the Real Story. A source for accurate, reliable information in English on Israel in its interaction with the local Arabs:
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Research Interests: Middle East Studies, Middle East & North Africa, Israel Studies, Propaganda, Israel/Palestine, and 15 moreAnti-Semitism, Middle East Politics, Sephardic Studies, Israeli-Arab Relations, Israel, Israel and Zionism, Middle East, Arab-Israeli conflict, Islamic radicalism, Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Hamas, Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) Language and Literature, Gaza Strip, Jihadism and Radical Islamism, and Terrorism and Anti Terrorism
A call by academicians world-wide to condemn the heinous Hamas terrorist attack on Israel and to free the hostages and kidnapped. Academicians from Israel and abroad are asked to sign.
Research Interests: Israel Studies, Israel/Palestine, Jewish Languages and Linguistics, Israeli Politics, Sephardic Studies, and 15 moreIsraeli-Arab Relations, Israel, Israel and Zionism, Arab-Israeli conflict, Islamic radicalism, Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Anti money laundering and Terrorist Financing, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Hamas, Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) Language and Literature, Sephardic Jews, Jihadism and Radical Islamism, Sephardic Literature and Culture, History of Israel Palestine Conflict, and Terrorism and Anti Terrorism
References to, and Romanized transcriptions and analysis of 19th-century Judezmo (Ladino, Judeo-Spanish) sources describing the people and sites in Jerusalem of that century.
Research Interests: Israel/Palestine, Jewish History, Missionary History, Late Ottoman Period, Jewish Languages and Linguistics, and 15 moreLadino Language, Sephardic Studies, Jewish Languages, Sephardi/Mizrahi Studies, Land of Israel Studies, Sephardic Literature, Jerusalem, History of Palestine and Israel, Late Ottoman History, Ottoman History of Palestine, Judeo-Spanish (Ladino) language, Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) Language and Literature, Sephardic Jews, Sephardic Literature and Culture, and Sephardic Diaspora and Migrations
This chapter presents an overview of Judeo-Spanish (Judezmo/Ladino) from the vantage point of four types of linguists: Hispanic and general Romance linguists, Jewish language specialists, linguists concerned with broader sociolinguistic... more
This chapter presents an overview of Judeo-Spanish (Judezmo/Ladino) from the vantage point of four types of linguists: Hispanic and general Romance linguists, Jewish language specialists, linguists concerned with broader sociolinguistic topics, and linguists concerned with languages of the Balkans. The first section discusses fundamental concepts concerning the language. The next section reviews the evolution of Judezmo studies from its late nineteenth-century origins into the present. Then, a general overview of the structure of Judezmo in its historical, regional, stylistic and
sociolinguistic diversity is offered.
Keywords: Judeo-Spanish; Sephardim/Sephardic Jews; Jewish languages; Balkan languages; sociolinguistics
sociolinguistic diversity is offered.
Keywords: Judeo-Spanish; Sephardim/Sephardic Jews; Jewish languages; Balkan languages; sociolinguistics
Research Interests: Diachronic Linguistics (Or Historical Linguistics), Historical Linguistics, Spanish, History Portuguese and Spanish, Ottoman Empire, and 15 moreSpanish Linguistics, Spanish Grammar, Jewish Languages and Linguistics, Ladino Language, Sephardic Studies, Jewish Languages, Turkish Language, Hebrew linguistics, Balkan and Slavic Languages, Judeo-Spanish (Ladino) language, Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) Language and Literature, Sephardic Jews, Judezmo (Ladino, Sephardic Literature and Culture, and Sephardic Diaspora and Migrations
The linguistic features of Judezmo (or Ladino, Judeo-Spanish) in the Sephardic Old Yishuv community of Eretz Israel, its role in the speech community, and the literature created in it.
Research Interests: Ottoman History, Ottoman Studies, Early modern Ottoman History, Ottoman-Turkish Westernization, Jewish Languages and Linguistics, and 15 moreLadino Language, Sephardic Studies, Jewish Languages, Sephardic Literature, Jerusalem, Late Ottoman History, Ladino, Judeo-Spanish (Ladino) language, Sephardic Jewish Heritage, History of Jerusalem, Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) Language and Literature, Sephardic Jews, Sephardic culture, Sephardic history, Ladino, Sephardic Literature and Culture, and Sephardic Diaspora and Migrations
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Remarks in honor of the late Moshe Shaul z"l, a major activist in the field of Judezmo (or Ladino or (Djudeoespanyol or Espanyol) language and culture.
Research Interests: Jewish History, Jewish Languages and Linguistics, Ladino Language, Sephardic Studies, Jewish Languages, and 14 moreModern Jewish History, Sephardic Literature, Turkish Jews, Ladino, Judeo-Spanish (Ladino) language, Sephardic Jewish Heritage, Ladino Language & Literature, Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) Language and Literature, Sephardic Jews, Sephardic culture, Sephardic history, Ladino, Ladino Djudeo-Espanyol, Judezmo (Ladino, Sephardic Literature and Culture, and Sephardic Diaspora and Migrations
Judezmo as a Jewish language: An overview.
Research Interests: Jewish Languages and Linguistics, Ladino Language, Sephardic Studies, Jewish Languages, Hebrew morphology, Ladino texts, and 11 moreLadino, Judeo-Spanish (Ladino) language, Sephardic Jewish Heritage, Ladino Language & Literature, Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) Language and Literature, Sephardic Jews, History of Jewish Languages, Sephardic culture, Sephardic history, Ladino, Ladino Djudeo-Espanyol, Judezmo (Ladino, and Sephardic Literature and Culture
Linguistic remarks on the Judezmo (or Ladino, Judeo-Spanish) and Yiddish used in the booklet "Livro de embezar las linguas ingleza i yúdish" [Book for learning the English and Yiddish languages], published by the New York Judezmo... more
Linguistic remarks on the Judezmo (or Ladino, Judeo-Spanish) and Yiddish used in the booklet "Livro de embezar las linguas ingleza i yúdish" [Book for learning the English and Yiddish languages], published by the New York Judezmo periodical "La America" at editor Moïse Gadol's La America Press in two editions, the first in 1911, and a more expanded one in 1916. The booklet was meant to enable Judezmo speakers in New York to interact with their Yiddish-speaking and English-speaking neighbors. While the Judezmo used in the booklet bore a resemblance to the popular language used by the Sephardic masses, the Yiddish was of the type often known as daytshmerish, often bearing a close resemblance to German.
Research Interests: Yiddish Literature, Jewish Studies, Yiddish Language, Yiddish, Eastern European and Russian Jewish History, and 15 moreJewish History, Jewish Languages and Linguistics, Ladino Language, Jewish historiography, Sephardic Studies, Jewish Languages, Sephardic Literature, Yiddish Studies, Yiddish Culture and Language, Judeo-Spanish (Ladino) language, Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) Language and Literature, Sephardic Jews, Sephardic Literature and Culture, Sephardic Diaspora and Migrations, and History of the Sephardic Jews
David M. Bunis interviewed by Judith Roumani at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem about the beginnings of his career in Judezmo linguistics, his contributions to the field, and his ideas on controversial issues of interest to the... more
David M. Bunis interviewed by Judith Roumani at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem about the beginnings of his career in Judezmo linguistics, his contributions to the field, and his ideas on controversial issues of interest to the speakers and scholars of Judezmo.
Research Interests: History of Linguistics, Jewish Studies, Yiddish Language, Yiddish, Jewish Languages and Linguistics, and 8 moreLadino Language, Sephardic Studies, Jewish Languages, Yiddish Studies, Ladino, Yiddish Culture and Language, Judeo-Spanish (Ladino) language, and Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) Language and Literature
An analysis of Judezmo inanimate nouns with bases of diverse origins and non Romance-origin (e.g., Hebrew, Turkish) suffixes.
Research Interests: Morphology, Jewish Languages and Linguistics, Ladino Language, Sephardic Studies, Jewish Languages, and 15 moreSephardi/Mizrahi Studies, Romance Linguistics, Morphology (Languages And Linguistics), Sephardic Literature, Morphology and Syntax, Ladino, Judeo-Spanish (Ladino) language, Linguistics. Word-formation. Morphology. Lexicology. Semantics., Derivational Morphology, Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) Language and Literature, Sephardic Jews, History of Jewish Languages, Romance Languages and Literatures, Sephardic Literature and Culture, and Sephardic Diaspora and Migrations
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A historical overview of the Jewish languages of the Middle Ages and the literatures created in them.
Research Interests: Yiddish Literature, Yiddish Language, Yiddish, Jewish Languages and Linguistics, Ladino Language, and 10 moreMedieval Jewish History, Sephardic Studies, Jewish Languages, Yiddish Studies, Ladino, Yiddish Culture and Language, Judeo-Spanish (Ladino) language, Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) Language and Literature, Sephardic Jews, and Sephardic Literature and Culture
Since the resettlement of the Sephardim in the Ottoman Empire and Austro-Hungary following their expulsions from Iberia and into the modern era, Judezmo or Ladino, the distinctive Jewish language of the group often known today as the... more
Since the resettlement of the Sephardim in the Ottoman Empire and Austro-Hungary following their expulsions from Iberia and into the modern era, Judezmo or Ladino, the distinctive Jewish language of the group often known today as the ‘Ottoman Sephardim’ or more broadly, ‘Ottoman Jewry,’ has played a key role in its speakers’ practice of Jewish ritual and religious life. The chapter offers a panoramic overview of that role. Basing itself on primary rabbinical and periodical sources in Judezmo and Hebrew as well as the extensive research literature on the language and culture of Judezmo speakers, the chapter analyzes the centrality of Judezmo among the Ottoman Sephardim as a language of sacred-text translation (e.g., Biblical, Mishnaic and Hebrew liturgical texts), paraliturgical literary creativity (e.g., original songs, rhyming couplets, hymns and dirges enriching celebrations of the calendar and life cycle), and language of holiday and life cycle event greetings, blessings, proverbs and sayings. Passages from Judezmo literature, in the original language and in translation, exemplify how the group’s rabbis and journalists related to Jewish religious ritual and custom, and commented on the decline of the traditional religious lifestyle under the influence of Western European liberal humanism from the beginning of the modern era. The chapter ends with some observations on the current Judezmo language and culture revival and suggests that this development may inspire a resuscitation of long-abandoned traditional religious ritual practices including some in which Judezmo played a central vital role.
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Since the resettlement of the Sephardim in the Ottoman Empire and Austro-Hungary following their expulsions from Iberia and into the modern era, Judezmo or Ladino, the distinctive Jewish language of the group often known today as the... more
Since the resettlement of the Sephardim in the Ottoman Empire and Austro-Hungary following their expulsions from Iberia and into the modern era, Judezmo or Ladino, the distinctive Jewish language of the group often known today as the ‘Ottoman Sephardim’ or more broadly, ‘Ottoman Jewry,’ has played a key role in its speakers’ practice of Jewish ritual and religious life. The article offers a panoramic overview of that role. Basing itself on primary rabbinical and periodical sources in Judezmo and Hebrew as well as the extensive research literature on the language and culture of Judezmo speakers, the article analyzes the centrality of Judezmo among the Ottoman Sephardim as a language of sacred-text translation (e.g., Biblical, Mishnaic and Hebrew liturgical texts), paraliturgical literary creativity (e.g., original songs, rhyming couplets, hymns and dirges enriching celebrations of the calendar and life cycle), and language of holiday and life-cycle event greetings, blessings, proverbs and sayings. Passages from Judezmo literature, in the original language and in translation, exemplify how the group’s rabbis and journalists related to Jewish religious ritual and custom, and commented on the decline of the traditional religious lifestyle under the influence of Western European liberal humanism from the beginning of the modern era. The article ends with some observations on the current Judezmo language and culture revival and suggests that this development may inspire a resuscitation of long-abandoned traditional religious ritual practices including some in which Judezmo played a central vital role.
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Since the resettlement of the Sephardim in the Ottoman Empire and Austro-Hungary following their expulsions from Iberia and into the modern era, Judezmo or Ladino, the distinctive Jewish language of the group often known today as the... more
Since the resettlement of the Sephardim in the Ottoman Empire and Austro-Hungary following their expulsions from Iberia and into the modern era, Judezmo or Ladino, the distinctive Jewish language of the group often known today as the ‘Ottoman Sephardim’ or more broadly, ‘Ottoman Jewry,’ has played a key role in its speakers’ practice of Jewish ritual and religious life. The chapter offers a panoramic overview of that role. Basing itself on primary rabbinical and periodical sources in Judezmo and Hebrew as well as the extensive research literature on the language and culture of Judezmo speakers, the chapter analyzes the centrality of Judezmo among the Ottoman Sephardim as a language of sacred-text translation (e.g., Biblical, Mishnaic and Hebrew liturgical texts), paraliturgical literary creativity (e.g., original songs, rhyming couplets, hymns and dirges enriching celebrations of the calendar and life cycle), and language of holiday and life cycle event greetings, blessings, proverbs and sayings. Passages from Judezmo literature, in the original language and in translation, exemplify how the group’s rabbis and journalists related to Jewish religious ritual and custom, and commented on the decline of the traditional religious lifestyle under the influence of Western European liberal humanism from the beginning of the modern era. The chapter ends with some observations on the current Judezmo language and culture revival and suggests that this development may inspire a resuscitation of long-abandoned traditional religious ritual practices including some in which Judezmo played a central vital role.
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The Ibero-Romance-speaking Jews of medieval Christian Iberia were linguistically distinct from their non-Jewish neighbors primarily as a result of their language’s unique Hebrew-Aramaic component; preservations from older Jewish Greek,... more
The Ibero-Romance-speaking Jews of medieval Christian Iberia were linguistically distinct from their non-Jewish neighbors primarily as a result of their language’s unique Hebrew-Aramaic component; preservations from older Jewish Greek, Latin, and Arabic; a tradition of translating sacred Hebrew and Aramaic texts into their language using archaisms and Hebrew-Aramaic rather than Hispanic syntax; and their Hebrew-letter writing system. With the expulsions from Iberia in the late 15th century, most of the Sephardim who continued to maintain their Iberian-origin language resettled in the Ottoman Empire, with smaller numbers in North Africa and Italy. Their forced migration, and perhaps a conscious choice, essentially disconnected the Sephardim from the Spanish language as it developed in Iberia and Latin America, causing their language—which they came to call laðino ‘Romance’, ʤuðezmo or ʤuðjó ‘Jewish, Judezmo’, and more recently (ʤudeo)espaɲol ‘Judeo-Spanish’—to appear archaic when com...
Research Interests: Modern Languages, Languages and Linguistics, Romance philology, History Portuguese and Spanish, Spanish Grammar, and 14 moreJewish Languages and Linguistics, Ladino Language, Sephardic Studies, Jewish Languages, Sephardi/Mizrahi Studies, Romance Linguistics, Romance Languages, Ladino, Romance, Languages in Contact, Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) Language and Literature, Sephardic Jews, Romance Languages and Literatures, and Sephardic Literature and Culture
Research Interests:
The Ibero-Romance-speaking Jews of medieval Christian Iberia were linguistically distinct from their non-Jewish neighbors primarily as a result of their language's unique Hebrew-Aramaic component; preservations from older Jewish Greek,... more
The Ibero-Romance-speaking Jews of medieval Christian Iberia were linguistically distinct from their non-Jewish neighbors primarily as a result of their language's unique Hebrew-Aramaic component; preservations from older Jewish Greek, Latin, and Arabic; a tradition of translating sacred Hebrew and Aramaic texts into their language using archaisms and Hebrew-Aramaic rather than Hispanic syntax; and their Hebrew-letter writing system. With the expulsions from Iberia in the late 15th century, most of the Sephardim who continued to maintain their Iberianorigin language resettled in the Ottoman Empire, with smaller numbers in North Africa and Italy. Their forced migration, and perhaps a conscious choice, essentially disconnected the Sephardim from the Spanish language as it developed in Iberia and Latin America, causing their language-which they came to call laðino 'Romance', ʤuðezmo or ʤuðjó 'Jewish, Judezmo', and more recently (ʤudeo)espaɲol 'Judeo-Spanish'-to appear archaic when compared with modern Spanish. In their new locales the Sephardim developed the Hispanic component of their language along independent lines, resulting in further differentiation from Spanish. Divergence was intensified through borrowing from contact languages of the Ottoman Empire such as Turkish, Greek, and South Slavic. Especially from the late 18th century, factors such as the colonializing interests of France, Italy, and Austro-Hungary in the region led to considerable influence of their languages on Judezmo. In the 19th century, the dismemberment of the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires and their replacement by highly nationalistic states resulted in a massive language shift to the local languages; that factor, followed by large speech-population losses during World War II and immigration to countries stressing linguistic homogeneity, have in recent years made Judezmo an endangered language.
Research Interests: Modern Languages, Languages and Linguistics, Romance philology, History Portuguese and Spanish, Spanish Grammar, and 15 moreJewish Languages and Linguistics, Ladino Language, Sephardic Studies, Jewish Languages, Sephardi/Mizrahi Studies, Romance Linguistics, Romance Languages, Ladino, Romance, Judeo-Spanish (Ladino) language, Languages in Contact, Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) Language and Literature, Sephardic Jews, Romance Languages and Literatures, and Sephardic Literature and Culture
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Sephardic Studies, Sephardic Literature, Hebrew morphology, Ladino texts, Judeo Spanish, Sephardic Literature and Language, Judeo-Spanish Contemporary Poetry, Comparative Polish and Spanish Poetry, and 12 moreJudeo-Spanish (Ladino) language, Sephardic Jewish Heritage, Ladino Literature, Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) Language and Literature, Sephardic Jews, Sephardic culture, Sephardic history, Ladino, Ladino Loan Words, Judezmo (Ladino, Judeo Spanish) Studies, Sephardic Diaspora and Migrations, History of the Sephardic Jews, and Ladino History
The new International Ladino (Judezmo/Judeo-Spanish) Summer School will be held on the Mount Scopus Campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem from July 28 to August 12, 2024. The courses about the traditional language and culture of... more
The new International Ladino (Judezmo/Judeo-Spanish) Summer School will be held on the Mount Scopus Campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem from July 28 to August 12, 2024. The courses about the traditional language and culture of the Ottoman and post-Ottoman Sephardim (6 credits) will be held in English and will form a meeting point between Israeli and international students. The courses will include an introduction to Ladino for beginners, an advanced course with those already having a background, an introduction to the soletreo or Ladino cursive script, and lots of in-class readings. Special attention will be given to texts of particular interest to the participants. There will also be visits to Ladino collections, archival work, and field work with Ladino speakers with origins in Israel, Turkey, Greece and the Balkans. Rothberg MA students should register via their program. Non-HUJI international students should register via RIS Ladino Summer School (https://overseas.huji.ac.il/academics/summer-and-short-term-programs/summer-courses/ladino/).
Research Interests: Ottoman History, Ottoman Studies, Ottoman Empire, Ottoman Balkans, Modern Ottoman History, and 15 moreJewish Languages and Linguistics, Ladino Language, Sephardic Studies, Jewish Languages, Sephardi/Mizrahi Studies, Sephardic Literature, Late Ottoman History, Mizrahi Jews, Ladino, Judeo-Spanish (Ladino) language, Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) Language and Literature, Sephardic Jews, History of Jewish Languages, Sephardic Literature and Culture, and Sephardic Diaspora and Migrations
This volume is an excellent basic resource for scholars and textbook for students, it offers a new look at the history of Izmir and will not only be an exciting eye-opener for scholars but willl also surprise those familiar with the... more
This volume is an excellent basic resource for scholars and textbook for students, it offers a new look at the history of Izmir and will not only be an exciting eye-opener for scholars but willl also surprise those familiar with the field. The contributors of this solid and wellresearched reader-historians, linguists, Hebraists, Romance scholars, journalists-explore the rich, complex, and contradictory history of Jewish Izmir, and seek to capture and interpret the diversity of the Jewish experience in its breadth and diversity from a multidisciplinary perspective. With an eye toward urban studies, the reader brings together language and literature, archaeology and art, architecture and cemeteries, printing and journalism, music and theater, Jewish institutions, Jewish-owned business and shops, history, and family history.
Research Interests: Ottoman History, Ottoman Studies, Ottoman Empire, Modern Ottoman History, Jewish Languages and Linguistics, and 15 moreLadino Language, Sephardic Studies, Jewish Languages, Romance Linguistics, Turkish Language, Sephardic Literature, Late Ottoman History, İzmir, Judeo-Spanish (Ladino) language, Smyrna, Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) Language and Literature, Sephardic Jews, Romance Languages and Literatures, History of İzmir, and Sephardic Literature and Culture
ANTI-TERROR GROUP STATEMENT REGARDING THE “SBL COUNCIL STATEMENT CONCERNING THE ONGOING HUMANITARIAN CRISIS IN GAZA AND ISRAEL”
Research Interests: Terrorism, Israel Studies, Political Violence and Terrorism, Israel/Palestine, Israeli Politics, and 15 moreSephardic Studies, Counter terrorism, Israeli-Arab Relations, Israel, Israel and Zionism, Arab-Israeli conflict, History of Palestine and Israel, Terrorism and Counter-terrorism, Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Anti money laundering and Terrorist Financing, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Hamas, Gaza Strip, Terrorism and Counterterrorism, and Israeli Politics and Society
Brief description of the Program in Sephardic and Eastern Jewish Studies, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2022-2023: Languages, Literatures, History, Music and more
Research Interests:
A description of the new Program in Sephardic and Eastern Jewish Studies, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2022-2023: History, Music, Ladino/Judezmo and other Jewish Languages, and more.
Research Interests: Ladino Language, Sephardic Studies, Judeo-Arabic, Sephardi/Mizrahi Studies, Sephardic Literature, and 8 moreMizrahi Jews, Ladino, Judeo-Spanish (Ladino) language, Mizrahim, Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) Language and Literature, Sephardic Jews, Judeo-Arabic Language and Linguistics, and Sephardic Literature and Culture
Program of the Eighth International Conference on Jewish Languages which will take place at the Hebrew University Mount Scopus Campus, Jerusalem, from August 1 to 4, 2022. The conference, on “Tradition and Innovation in Jewish Languages,”... more
Program of the Eighth International Conference on Jewish Languages which will take place at the Hebrew University Mount Scopus Campus, Jerusalem, from August 1 to 4, 2022. The conference, on “Tradition and Innovation in Jewish Languages,” is organized by the Center for Jewish Languages of the Hebrew University, and is dedicated to Professor David M. Bunis on the occasion of his 70th birthday.
The four-day conference, which is supported by the Israel Science Foundation, includes lectures on Ladino (Judezmo), Yiddish, varieties of Judeo-Arabic, Jewish Neo-Aramaic, Judeo-Persian, Juhuri, Judeo-Italian, Judeo-Portuguese, Judeo-Georgian, and other Jewish languages.
The four-day conference, which is supported by the Israel Science Foundation, includes lectures on Ladino (Judezmo), Yiddish, varieties of Judeo-Arabic, Jewish Neo-Aramaic, Judeo-Persian, Juhuri, Judeo-Italian, Judeo-Portuguese, Judeo-Georgian, and other Jewish languages.
Research Interests: Yiddish Literature, Languages and Linguistics, Yiddish Language, Historical Linguistics, Sociolinguistics, and 15 moreYiddish, Linguistics, Jewish Languages and Linguistics, Ladino Language, Sephardic Studies, Jewish Languages, Judeo-Arabic, Sephardi/Mizrahi Studies, Ashkenazic Judaism, Iran, Ancient and Sasanian History; Early Judeo-Persian, Judeo-Spanish (Ladino) language, Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) Language and Literature, Sephardic Jews, Sephardic Literature and Culture, and Judeo-Italian
Research Interests: Yiddish Literature, Yiddish Language, Yiddish, Ladino Language, Sephardic Studies, and 27 moreJudeo-Spanish, Sephardic Literature, Yiddish Studies, Sephardic Identity, Judeo Spanish, Sephardic Literature and Language, Judeo-Spanish Contemporary Poetry, Comparative Polish and Spanish Poetry, Yiddish Culture and Language, Judeo-Spanish (Ladino) language, Sephardic Jewish Heritage, Ladino Language & Literature, Jewish Studies/Middle East Studies/Sephardic Studies, Ladino Literature, Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) Language and Literature, Sephardic Jews, Sephardic culture, Sephardic history, Ladino, Ladino Djudeo-Espanyol, Sephardic History, Sephardic Judaism, Judezmo (Ladino, Judeo Spanish), Sephardic Literature and Culture, Judeo Spanish) Studies, Hasidic Yiddish, Yiddish Linguistics, Sephardic Diaspora and Migrations, Sephardic-Mizrahi Studies, and Sephardic Rabbinic Literature
Bunis_Course_Sephardic Life in the East through the Reading of Ladino Texts, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Spring Semester Mondays, 17:00-18:45, Humanities Rm 2505 Instructor: Prof. David Bunis An introduction to the life of the... more
Bunis_Course_Sephardic Life in the East through the Reading of Ladino Texts, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Spring Semester Mondays, 17:00-18:45, Humanities Rm 2505 Instructor: Prof. David Bunis
An introduction to the life of the Judezmo-speaking Jews of the Ottoman Empire and its successor states through reading and analysis of Judezmo (Ladino) texts.
An introduction to the life of the Judezmo-speaking Jews of the Ottoman Empire and its successor states through reading and analysis of Judezmo (Ladino) texts.
Research Interests:
A close look at the Jewish theater in the Ottoman Empire and Turkey, in Judezmo (Ladino, Judeo-Spanish) and Turkish, from its nineteenth-century origins to the present.