Jewish Culture and Languages, two scientific papers

1. Introduction

"If there was ever a language that is quintessentially 'Europe', born in Europe, matured in many different parts of the continent [...] that language is Yiddish. European more than anything else quite simply because it has thrived across the time and space of medieval and modern Europe." (Katz, "A Thousand Years of Yiddish in the European Arena", 1)

Despite David Katz' above-quoted heartfelt statement about Yiddish since earliest times it has always been in a precarious position, being regarded as "always present but always in a secondary role – as seen from the perspective of the community's own value system" (Fishman, "The Rise of Modern Yiddish Culture", 5) yet at the same time being "the signal of the intimacy of home, of endearment, of the parents who take care of you." (Kliger & Peltz 99) It is an integral part of Jewish history in Europe as well as of Jewish emancipation in the United States of America and helped shape the Jewish community into what it is today.

But why is language so important beyond mere verbal and written communication? Firstly, language is also always a marker of national or ethnic identity. Many people think of their mother tongue fondly or grow to love it dearly when they have to adopt a new language. Someone speaking Hebrew will most likely be Jewish, someone living close to and having ties to Israel, or someone who out of sympathy learned the language. The same holds true for Yiddish. In times of racism and Antisemitism this can become very dangerous.

While Yiddish clearly was always the stepsibling of classic Hebrew it was also the beloved language accompanying Jews wherever they settled and made themselves a home. It carries the sentiment of ones heritage, of family, of identity.

"The beloved language is the ongoing extension, realization and implementation of that bond [of ethnicity and kinship], stretching over time immemorial." (Fishman, "In Praise of the Beloved Language", 37)

Despite our efforts to protect cultural heritages adoration and tender feeling towards ones roots is still the most effective way to preserve customs and languages.

Most research in the past was concerned with describing a perceived language situation or creating rules for the ideal, 'proper' language use. Yet only very little to no research was done on the social repercussions and significance of language use until Labov visited various stores frequented by different social classes to find out if there was a difference in pronunciation. The earnest study of the sociology of immigrant languages is even newer though observations about their communication systems and speaking habits have been done prior.

There are two sides to evaluating the social standing and importance of a language. Sociolinguists usually concentrate on how others would judge the language usage of an individual within society and how this individual might adapt their language to this fact, which features, registers and pronunciation are perceived as an expression of social class, ethnicity, educational background, and working life. But especially for immigrants language is also a connection to their heritage and reveals more about how they identify as a person. Therefore sociolinguistics can also give answers how others see speakers of a foreign language and how speakers from within this community view their own language usage.

Most immigrants will strive to acquire the language which is spoken by the majority or considered to be the official language of their new country, following generations usually grow up bilingual by necessity or even only with the new language as mother tongue. All the more importance must be ascribed to people who dedicate their life to teaching and maintaining their language. Compiling historic data and making culture a part of daily life is an important part of this mission. In the case of Yiddish and Jewish history and culture the brunt is carried by YIVO-founder Max Weinreich and his son Uriel Weinreich, David Katz, as well as Joshua Fishman and his son David Fishman who made their research available not only in Yiddish but also in English and German. Most notable researchers of Yiddish were at some point either close colleagues or students of one of these men.

A good reason to focus on language use, perceived or statistically proven, in the Diaspora is that once an ethnic group disperses it is understandably difficult to maintain the native language. Before humans started to spread all over the world it was a given that religious beliefs were strongly restricted to ethnic groups and as a result of the strong link between language and religion language was therefore restricted as well (Fishman, "In Praise of the Beloved Language", 31). But not all Jewish languages are bound to the Jewish religion. Foremost it is important to distinguish between Yiddish and Hebrew, Classic as well as Modern. Both forms of Hebrew are Semitic languages as well as Aramaic which contributed to the Yiddish basis. Yiddish on the other hand is counted into the group of Germanic languages though it is by no means as 'German' as many people think. History and societies have treated these languages accordingly.

Due to the long history of Jewish culture which has always been subject to change, discrimination, repression and the political whims of the states they lived in it is impossible to give a detailed overview of every aspect of language usage and its social implications. It was therefore necessary to limit this paper to the more recent incisive events. Though Semitic languages encompasses Arabic, Aramaic, and Maltese next to Hebrew and Yiddish is, strictly speaking, not a Semitic language there is a clear trend in usage of the words Semitic and Antisemitic in the past. In people's mind Semitic languages are closely bound to the Hebrew and other Jewish languages.

Next to the choice of popular and linguistic terms it is just as important to give a summary of the origin and perception of Yiddish and Hebrew in Europe because European immigrants who arrived in the United States did not only carry their impressions of concentration camps with them but generations of oppression and instrumentalization of their language and culture. How did this oppression and instrumentalization take place? And which consequences did it have? Though we like to pride ourselves on being more liberal and advanced than we were in the past how are languages of minorities treated nowadays? All these questions and their answers formed Jewish languages and especially Yiddish into what they are today.