Adjectives of Hebrew and Aramaic Origin in Judezmo and Yiddish

Abstract

Abstract 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.