Yiddish in Jewish Society

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the use of Yiddish as a first language in Ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities compared to the use of the local vernacular. It examines how one hypothesis often put forward to explain this is the history of modernization in the Jewish faith as a whole, and the effects this had on the use of the vernacular among different Haredim. It explores the daily patterns of the use of the vernacular by different groups of Orthodox Jews (Haredim) in various places, including London, Philadelphia, and Israel. The paper also looks at the effects that outside pressures have on the use of Yiddish and on issues of identity for Jews, in general, and includes reflections upon the issue of the use of Yiddish by Orthodox Jews in more general sociological terms, in terms of language and ethnicity, the use of language to determine group identity, and the use of language to define religious identity.

Outline
Summary
Introduction
Chapter 1: The Sociology of Language
Chapter 2: The Adoption of Yiddish by Orthodox Jewish Communities
Chapter 3: The Use of the Yiddish vs. the Vernacular Amongst Orthodox Jewish Communities
Chapter 4: Conclusions

From the Paper:

"Yiddish was used, but was not, however, liked, by the majority of Jews. Yiddish language books of ritual or religious significance were banned until the 18th century. By the 20th century, however, Yiddish was an article of faith for many Eastern European Jews, which was seen as a new threat to the non-Yiddish speaking Jews; the Orthodox defenders of Yiddish, however, continued to see Yiddish as a glorious and romanticized language, which left the Hissidic Orthodox Jews to reign uncontested in Eastern Europe. This fervor became tied in to the diaspora cultural-autonomist pro-Yiddish movement which developed in the Eastern European countries, in response to the increasing threats from Nazism and Communism."

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