Home Linguistics & Semiotics 25 Judeo-Spanish
Chapter
Licensed
Unlicensed Requires Authentication

25 Judeo-Spanish

  • Travis G. Bradley
Become an author with De Gruyter Brill

Abstract

Judeo-Spanish refers to the varieties of Spanish spoken by the Sephardic Jews, who were expelled from Spain in 1492 and resettled around the Mediterranean, in North Africa and in areas of the Ottoman Empire. The language presents a mix of archaic features retained from medieval Ibero-Romance languages and innovative features arising from both internal change and contact with other languages. Despite its continued use for five centuries, Judeo-Spanish is at present severely endangered, which has prompted revitalization efforts and a renewed interest in the language from the perspectives of contemporary linguistic theory. This chapter presents a unified descriptive account of Judeo-Spanish phonology and phonetics. The account includes diachronic and synchronic comparisons across dialects and with other Ibero-Romance languages, as well as an examination of the phonological patterning of loanwords borrowed from co-territorial languages in the diaspora.

Abstract

Judeo-Spanish refers to the varieties of Spanish spoken by the Sephardic Jews, who were expelled from Spain in 1492 and resettled around the Mediterranean, in North Africa and in areas of the Ottoman Empire. The language presents a mix of archaic features retained from medieval Ibero-Romance languages and innovative features arising from both internal change and contact with other languages. Despite its continued use for five centuries, Judeo-Spanish is at present severely endangered, which has prompted revitalization efforts and a renewed interest in the language from the perspectives of contemporary linguistic theory. This chapter presents a unified descriptive account of Judeo-Spanish phonology and phonetics. The account includes diachronic and synchronic comparisons across dialects and with other Ibero-Romance languages, as well as an examination of the phonological patterning of loanwords borrowed from co-territorial languages in the diaspora.

Downloaded on 20.12.2025 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110550283-026/html?lang=en
Scroll to top button