Judeo-Roman (Italian: Giudaico-Romanesco) or Italkit is the only still living dialect of the Judeo-Italian languages, historically used by the Jews living in Rome.[1] It is spoken by 250 people, most of whom live in Italy. The language is on the decline and most of its remaining speakers are elderly.[1] There are efforts to preserve the language and keep it from extinction.[2]
History
Judeo-Roman, like other Jewish languages, emerged due to the Jews of Rome being isolated in the Rome Ghetto, on order of the Pope.[3] The language declined as Jews were emancipated and Roman Jews switched to the Roman dialect of Italian.
Younger Italian Jews are attempting to preserve the language.[2]
Vocabulary
Judeo-Roman has at least 360 Hebrew words and phrases in it. Many of these were used to conceal what the users were saying from Christians.[2] examples include:
| Judeo-Roman[3] | Root Hebrew Word[3] | English[3] |
|---|---|---|
| Kadosc Baruchù | Kadosh Baruch Hu | Holy blessed be he |
| Caròvve | Karov | Close relative |
| Mangkòdde | Ma’ot | Money |
| Ngesa’vve | ‘Esav | Christian/Christians |
Grammar
Judeo-Italian has several letter shifts that differentiate it from standard Italian these include:[1]
/e/ becoming /i/ (e.g. detto to ditto)
/l/ becoming /r/ (e.g. qualcuno to quarcuno)
It also contains several vowel shifts and other changes:
Loss of initial vowels (e.g. oppure to pure)
Loss of final consonants (e.g. con to co')
Contractions (e.g. dir ti to ditte)
Archaisms (e.g. di te to d'oo ti)
In media
Plays
A theater group called Chaimme 'a sore 'o sediaro e 'a moje (Chaim, the sister, the chairmaker and the wife) makes plays in Judeo-Roman.[4]
Writing
There is a collection of poems written by Crescenzo del Monte from 1908 and republished in 2007[1] in Judeo Roman.[5] These works include The sonnets of Crescenzo del Monte.
Internet
Several Youtube videos have been posted in Judeo-Roman.[1]
Sample text
| Judeo-Roman[1] | English[1] |
|---|---|
| Jorno | Day |
| Capeto | Understood |
| Ar | At the |
| Letigate | Fight |
| Gniente | Nothing |
| Quarcuno | Someone |
| Quarche | Some |
| Aremane | To remain |
| Kadosc Baruchù | Holy blessed be he |
| Judeo-Roman[2] | English |
|---|---|
| Due donne sono sedute vicino alla pasticceria del Portico d’Ottavia, Settimia e Fiorella.
Come pretenni che fieto parli bene ancora un ajo capeto, tu e mariteto tutto o jorno, ‘o sento io, che letigate in giudaico Romanesco. te sbai Settì ce stamo attenti, da retta a me, me devi da crede ‘o stamo proprio a fa pe lui, un volemo che viè sù che i ngaciri dicheno che è uno de piazza. |
Two women are seated near the pastry shop at the Portico d’Ottavia, [their names are] Settimia and Fiorella
How you can pretend that your son speaks well, I still don't understand. You and your husband all day — I heard it myself, that you quarrel in Giudaico-Romanesco. You are mistaken Settì, we are careful. Listen to me, you have to believe me, we are specifically doing it for him. I don't want him to grow up so that the rich [people] say that he is one from the Piazza [the Ghetto]. |
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "Judeo-Italian". Jewish Languages. Retrieved 2023-12-14.
- ^ a b c d L. De Benedetti, Jana (1997). DABBERA IN SCIONACCODESCE (SPEAK GIUDAICO-ROMANESCO): KEEPING THE JEWISH-ROMAN DIALECT ALIVE (Thesis). Albany, New York State: College of Arts and Sciences Linguistics and Philosophy.
- ^ a b c d "OVERVIEW OF GIUDAICO-ROMANESCO A. GIUDAICO-ROMANESCO AS LANGUAGE OR DIALECT" (PDF). images.shulcloud.com. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
- ^ "Judeo-Italian: Italian Dialect or Jewish Language?". www.jochnowitz.net. Retrieved 2023-12-16.
- ^ CoşKun, Altay; Engels, David, eds. (2019-04-02). Rome and the Seleukid East: Selected Papers from Seleukid Study Day V, Brussels, 21-23 August 2015. Vol. 360. Peeters Publishers. doi:10.2307/j.ctv1q26ncx.17. ISBN 978-90-429-3928-8. JSTOR j.ctv1q26ncx. S2CID 242733282.
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