09 November 2008

Boston: Global Jewish Languages conference, March 2009

A seminar on global Jewish languages and literature will be part of the ACLA conference in March 2009.

Jews have been creating unique fusion languages for thousands of years, beginning with Aramaic, which combined the lingua franca of the Assyrian and Persian Empires with classical Hebrew.

These languages include: Biblical andModern Hebrew, Aramaic, Judeo Spanish/Ladino/Judezmo, Yiddish, Judeo-Arabic, Judeo-Persian, Yevanic, Judeo-Malayalam, Shuadit, Judeo-Italian/Italkian, Judeo-Provencal, Judeo-Portuguese, Israeli Sign Language, Karaim, Judeo-Georgian, Israeli Sign Language and Judeo-Chinese, among others.

Papers on Jewish languages and literature are sought that address the following questions:

What constitutes a Jewish language?

How have Jewish languages been affected by modernity and geographical
dislocation?


What, if anything, makes a language"Jewish"?

Does linguistic "Jewishness" reside in typography, literature,alphabet, culture, or elsewhere?

What are the parameters of Jewish literature?


Topics include alphabetization, translation, oral tradition, diaspora, literary production and dissemination, and the sociology of Jewish languages.

For more information, check the ACLA website.

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