View source for Judaeo-Spanish

{{Short description|Language derived from Medieval Spanish spoken by Sephardic Jews}}
{{Redirect|Ladino language|Ladin language (ISO 639–3: lld) in Northern Italy|Ladin language|other uses of the term "Ladino"|Ladino (disambiguation){{!}}Ladino}}
<noinclude>{{Requested move notice|1=Judeo-Spanish|2=Talk:Judaeo-Spanish#Requested move 10 December 2024}}
</noinclude>{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Judaeo-Spanish
| altname          = Ladino
| nativename       = {{hlist|
| {{nowrap|{{lang|lad-Latn|judeoespañol / español}}}}
| {{nowrap|{{lang|lad-Latn|judió / jidió}}}}
| {{nowrap|{{lang|lad-Latn|djudeo-espanyol / espanyol}}}}
| {{nowrap|{{lang|lad-Latn|djudyo / djidyo}}}}
| {{nowrap|{{lang|lad-Latn|Ladino}}}}
| {{nowrap|{{Script/Hebr|{{lang|lad-Hebr|גﬞודﬞיאו־איספאנייול|rtl=yes}}}}}}
| {{nowrap|{{Script/Hebr|{{lang|lad-Hebr|איספאנייול|rtl=yes}}}}}}
| {{nowrap|{{Script/Hebr|{{lang|lad-Hebr|גﬞידﬞייו / גﬞודﬞייו|rtl=yes}}}}}}
| {{nowrap|{{lang|lad-Cyrl|ӂудеоэспаньол / эспаньол}}}}
| {{nowrap|{{lang|lad-Cyrl|иудео-испанский / испанский / ӂудезмо}}}}
| {{nowrap|{{lang|lad-Grek|τζ̲ουδέο-εσπανιόλ / εσπανιόλ / τζ̲ουδέο}}}}
| {{nowrap|{{lang|lad-Arab|جوديو-اسپانيول|rtl=yes}}}}
}}
| image            = Judaeo-Spanish_in_Rashi_and_Soletreo.png
| imagescale       = 1.45
| imagealt         = judeoespañol / djudeo-espanyol
| imagecaption     = '''''Judeoespañol''''' in [[Solitreo]] and [[Rashi script]]s
| pronunciation    = {{IPA|lad|dʒuˈðeo‿spaˈɲol||Lad-judeo-español.ogg}}{{efn|Pronounced {{IPA|lad|dʒu-, ʒu-|}}, {{IPA|lad|-ˈðeo-, -ˈdeo-, -ˈðeu-, -ˈdeu-|}}, {{IPA|lad|-(e)spa-, -(e)ʃpa-|}}, {{IPA|lad|-ˈɲol, -ˈɲoɫ, -ˈnjol, -ˈnjoɫ|}} in different dialects.}}
| states           = [[Spain]], [[Israel]], [[Turkey]], [[Greece]] (12 reported 2017), [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]] (2 as of 2022), [[Morocco]] ([[Haketia|Ḥaketía]] dialect), [[Brazil]] ([[Haketia|Ḥaketía]] dialect), [[Algeria]] ([[Tetuani Ladino|Tetuani]] Dialect)
| region           = [[Mediterranean Basin]] (''native region''), formerly also the Americas
| ethnicity        = [[Sephardi Jews|Sephardic Jews]]
| speakers         = {{sigfig|51,016|2}}
| date             = 2018
| ref              = e25
| familycolor      = Indo-European
| fam2             = [[Italic languages|Italic]]
| fam3             = [[Latino-Faliscan languages|Latino-Faliscan]]
| fam4             = [[Latin]]
| fam5             = [[Romance languages|Romance]]
| fam6             = [[Italo-Western languages|Italo-Western]]
| fam7             = [[Western Romance languages|Western Romance]]
| fam8             = Gallo-Iberian
| fam9             = [[Iberian Romance languages|Ibero-Romance]]
| fam10            = [[West Iberian languages|West Iberian]]
| fam11            = [[Castilian languages|Castilian]]
| ancestor         = [[Old Latin]]
| ancestor2        = [[Vulgar Latin]]
| ancestor3        = [[Proto-Romance language|Proto-Romance]]
| ancestor4        = [[Old Spanish]]
| dia1             = South-Eastern (Istanbul, Salonica)
| dia2             = North-Eastern
| dia3             = North-Western (Sarajevo)
| dia4             = [[Haketia]] (Tangiers, [[Tetuani]])<ref name="Quintana">{{cite book|last1=Quintana Rodríguez|first1=Alidina|title=Geografía lingüística del judeoespañol: estudio sincrónico y diacrónico|date=2006|publisher=Peter Lang |isbn=978-3-03910-846-6|language=es}}</ref>
| script           = Mainly [[Latin script|Latin alphabet]]; also [[Hebrew alphabet|Hebrew]] (normally using [[Rashi script|Rashi]] or [[Solitreo]]); formerly [[Greek alphabet|Greek]], [[Cyrillic script|Cyrillic]] and [[Aljamiado|Aljamiado (Perso-Arabic)]]
| minority         = {{BIH}}<br/>{{FRA}}<br/>{{ISR}}
| iso2             = lad
| iso2comment      = Ladino
| iso3             = lad
| iso3comment      = Ladino
| glotto           = ladi1251
| glottoname       = Ladino
| lingua           = 51-AAB-ba … 51-AAB-bd
| ietf             = lad
| map              = Judeo-Spanish mediterranean speech communities.svg
| notice           = IPA
| mapcaption       = Historical Judeo-Spanish [[speech communities]] in the Mediterranean. Ringed circles represent modern speech communities.
}}

'''Judaeo-Spanish''' or '''Judeo-Spanish''' (autonym {{lang|lad-Latn|djudeoespanyol}}, [[Hebrew alphabet|Hebrew script]]: {{Script/Hebr|{{lang|lad-Hebr|גﬞודﬞיאו־איספאנייול|rtl=yes}}}}),<ref name="Lekute Tefilot">{{cite book|last1=Koen|first1=Hajim Mordehaj|title=ЛЕКУТЕ ТЕФИЛОТ (ОРАСJОНИС ЕСКУЖИДАС)|date=1927|location=Belgrade|language=lad}}</ref> also known as '''Ladino''', is a [[Romance languages|Romance language]] derived from [[Old Spanish]].

Originally spoken in Spain, and then after the [[Alhambra Decree|Edict of Expulsion]] spreading through the [[Ottoman Empire]] (the [[Balkans]], [[Turkey]], [[West Asia]], and [[North Africa]]) as well as [[France]], [[Italy]], [[Kingdom of the Netherlands|the Netherlands]], [[Morocco]], and [[Kingdom of England|England]], it is today spoken mainly by [[Sephardic Jews|Sephardic minorities]] in more than 30&nbsp;countries, with most speakers residing in [[Israel]].<ref name="Peim">{{cite web|last1=Peim |first1=Benjamin |title=Ladino Lingers on in Brooklyn – Barely |url=http://www.jpost.com/Magazine/Features/Ladino-lingers-on-in-Brooklyn-barely |website=[[The Jerusalem Post]] |date=16 April 2009 |access-date=12 August 2017}}</ref> Although it has no official status in any country, it has been acknowledged as a [[minority language]] in [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], Israel, and France. In 2017, it was formally recognised by the [[Royal Spanish Academy]].<ref name=rae>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/01/spain-honours-ladino-language-of-jewish-exiles |title=Spain honours Ladino language of Jewish exiles |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=1 August 2017 |first=Sam |last=Jones}}</ref>

The core [[vocabulary]] of Judaeo-Spanish is [[Old Spanish]], and it has numerous elements from the other old [[Romance languages]] of the [[Iberian Peninsula]]: [[Aragonese language|Old Aragonese]], [[Asturleonese languages|Asturleonese]], [[Old Catalan]], [[Galician-Portuguese]], and [[Andalusi Romance]].<ref>{{Cite journal|title=El desarollo histórico del judeoespañol |language=es |trans-title=The historical development of Judeo-Spanish |last=Minervini |first=Laura |date=2006 |journal=Revista Internacional de Lingüística Iberoamericana}}</ref> The language has been further enriched by [[Ottoman Turkish]] and [[Semitic languages|Semitic]] vocabulary, such as [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], [[Aramaic]], and [[Arabic]]—especially in the domains of [[religion]], [[law]], and [[spirituality]]—and most of the vocabulary for [[Modern era|new and modern]] concepts has been adopted through [[French language|French]] and [[Italian language|Italian]]. Furthermore, the language is influenced to a lesser degree by other local languages of the Balkans, such as [[Greek language|Greek]], [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]], and [[Serbo-Croatian]].<ref name="Papo" />

Historically, the [[Rashi script]] and its cursive form [[Solitreo]] have been the main orthographies for writing Judaeo-Spanish. However, today it is mainly written with the Latin alphabet, though some other [[alphabet]]s such as Hebrew and Cyrillic are still in use. Judaeo-Spanish has been known also by other names, such as: {{lang|lad-Latn|Español}} ({{lang|lad-Latn|Espanyol, Spaniol, Spaniolish, Espanioliko}}), {{lang|lad-Latn|Judió}} ({{lang|lad-Latn|Judyo, Djudyo}}) or {{lang|lad-Latn|Jidió}} ({{lang|lad-Latn|Jidyo, Djidyo}}), {{lang|lad-Latn|Judesmo}} ({{lang|lad-Latn|Judezmo, Djudezmo}}), {{lang|lad-Latn|Sefaradhí}} ({{lang|lad-Latn|Sefaradi}}) or {{lang|lad-Latn-015|Ḥaketía}} (in North Africa).<ref name="Thessaloniki Museum" /> In Turkey, and formerly in the Ottoman Empire, it has been traditionally called {{lang|tr|Yahudice}} in [[Turkish language|Turkish]], meaning the 'Jewish language.' In Israel, Hebrew speakers usually call the language {{lang|lad-Latn-IL|Ladino}}, {{lang|lad-Latn-IL|Espanyolit}} or {{lang|lad-Latn-IL|Spanyolit}}.

Judaeo-Spanish, once the Jewish [[lingua franca]] of the [[Adriatic Sea]], the Balkans, and the Middle East, and renowned for its rich literature, especially in [[Salonika]], today is under serious threat of [[language death|extinction]]. Most [[First language|native speakers]] are elderly, and the language is not transmitted to their children or grandchildren for various reasons; consequently, all Judeo-Spanish-speaking communities are undergoing a [[language shift]]. In 2018, four native speakers in Bosnia were identified<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Bosnians who speak medieval Spanish |url=https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20181017-the-bosnians-who-speak-medieval-spanish |access-date=2024-09-03 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en-GB}}</ref> however, two of them have since died, David Kamhi in 2021<ref>{{Cite web |title=In memoriam DAVID KAMHI |url=https://www.unsa.ba/en/novosti/memoriam-david-kamhi |access-date=2024-09-03 |website=University of Sarajevo |language=en}}</ref> and Moris Albahari in late 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-11-22 |title=Bosnian Jews mourn Moris Albahari, one of Sarajevo's last Ladino speakers |url=https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/article-723030 |access-date=2024-09-03 |website=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com |language=en}}</ref> In some [[expatriate]] communities in [[Spain]], [[Latin America]], and elsewhere, there is a threat of assimilation by modern Spanish. It is experiencing, however, a minor revival among Sephardic communities, especially in [[Sephardic music|music]].

== Name ==
[[File:Epoca_1902_Issue.jpg|thumb|left|A 1902 Issue of ''[[La Epoca (Ladino newspaper)|La Epoca]]'', a Judeo-Spanish newspaper from Salonica ([[Thessaloniki]]) during the [[Ottoman Empire]]]]

The scholar Joseph Nehama, author of the comprehensive Judeo-Spanish–French dictionary, referred to the language as {{lang|fr|Judeo-Espagnol}}. 
<ref>{{Cite book |title=Dictionnaire du judéo-espagnol (French Edition) (French) |last=Nehama |first=Joseph |year=1977}}</ref> The 1903 Hebrew–Judeo-Spanish [[Haggadah]] entitled "{{lang|he-latn|Seder Haggadah shel pesaḥ ʿim pitron be-lashon sefaradi}}" ({{lang|he|סדר הגדה של פסח עם פתרון בלשון ספרדי}}), from the Sephardic community of [[Livorno]], Italy, refers to the language used for explanation as the ''Sefaradi'' language.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/digital/collection/p16786coll3/id/278 |title=Cover |website=digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu}}</ref> The rare Judeo-Spanish-language textbook entitled {{lang|lad-latn|Nuevo Silibaryo Espanyol}}, published in Salonica in 1929, referred to the language as {{lang|lad-latn|Espanyol}} and {{lang|lad-latn|lingua Djudeo-Espanyola}}.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/digital/collection/p16786coll3/id/3595/rec/5 |title=Cover |website=digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu}}</ref>

The language is also called ''Judeo-Espanyol'',{{efn|group=note|Speakers use different orthographical conventions depending on their social, educational, national and personal backgrounds, and there is no uniformity in spelling although some established conventions exist. The [[exonym and endonym|endonym]] ''Judeo-Espagnol'' is also spelled as ''Cudeo-Espanyol'', ''Djudeo-Espagnol'', ''Djudeo-Espanyol'', ''Dschudeo-Espanjol'', ''Dzhudeo-Espanyol'', ''Džudeo-Espanjol'', ''Dzsudeo-Eszpanyol'' (Hungary), ''Dżudeo-Espańol'', ''Giudeo-Espagnol'' or ''Giudeo-Espaneol'' (Italy), ''Ġudeo-Espanjol'', ''Ǧudéo-Españól'', ''Judeo-Espaniol'', ''Ĵudeo-Español'' and ''Judeo-Espanýol'', ''Tzoudeo-Espaniol'' (Greece), ''Xhudeo-Espanjol''<!-- in which languages, countries? please add! -->. See the infobox for parallel spellings in scripts other than Latin.}} ''Judeoespañol'',<ref name="DRAE">[https://dle.rae.es/?id=MZfAhkl Entry "judeoespañol, la"], in the ''[[Diccionario de la Real Academia Española]]'' (DRAE). Retrieved on 1 June 2019.</ref> ''Sefardí'', ''Judío'', and ''Espanyol'' or ''Español sefardita''; ''[[Haketia]]'' (from {{langx|ar|حكى|translit=ḥakà}} 'tell') refers to the dialect of North Africa, especially [[Morocco]]. Judeo-Spanish has also been referred to as ''Judesmo'' (also ''Judezmo, Djudesmo'' or ''Djudezmo'').<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/ladino-today/ |title=Ladino Today {{!}} My Jewish Learning |work=My Jewish Learning |access-date=2018-10-05 |language=en-US}}</ref> The dialect of the [[Oran (department)|Oran area of Algeria]] was called ''[[Tetuani]]'' after the Moroccan city of [[Tétouan]] since many Orani Jews came from there. In Israel, the language is known as ''Spanyolit'' or ''Espanyolit''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Arnold |first1=Rafael D. |title=Judeo-Romance varieties |journal=Lexicographica |date=28 August 2018 |volume=33 |issue=2017 |pages=321–358 |doi=10.1515/lex-2017-0016 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327599741 |access-date=29 July 2024}}</ref>{{rp|p=325}} The names ''Djidio'', ''Kasteyano Muestro'', and ''Spanyol de mozotros'' have also been proposed to refer to the language;<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Attig |first1=Remy |title=Did the Sephardic Jews Speak Ladino? |journal=Bulletin of Spanish Studies |date=September 2012 |volume=89 |issue=6 |pages=831–838 |doi=10.1080/14753820.2012.712320 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14753820.2012.712320 |access-date=28 July 2024}}</ref> regional names to refer to the language include ''kastiyano viejo'', ''sepharadit'', ''ekseris romeka'', ''yahudije'', and ''musevije''.<ref name="garjose"/>{{rp|p=98}}

An entry in ''[[Ethnologue]]'' claims, "The name 'Judesmo' is used by Jewish linguists and Turkish Jews and American Jews; 'Judeo-Spanish' by Romance philologists; 'Ladino' by laymen, initially in Israel; 'Haketia' by Moroccan Jews; 'Spanyol' by some others."<ref name=e25/> That does not reflect the historical usage. In the Judaeo-Spanish press of the 19th and 20th centuries the native authors referred to the language almost exclusively as {{lang|lad-latn|Espanyol}}, which was also the name that its native speakers spontaneously gave to it for as long as it was their primary spoken language. More rarely, the bookish ''Judeo-Espanyol'' has also been used since the late 19th century.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Death of a language: The history of Judeo-Spanish |last=Harris |first=Tracy |publisher=University of Delaware Press |year=1994 |location=Newark, DE}}</ref>

In recent decades in Israel, followed by the United States and Spain, the language has come to be referred to as ''Ladino'' ({{langx|lad|לאדינו}}), literally meaning 'Latin'. This name for the language was promoted by the {{lang|lad-Latn|[[Autoridad Nasionala del Ladino]]}}, although speakers of the language in Israel referred to their mother tongue as {{lang|lad-Latn-IL|Espanyolit}} or {{lang|lad-Latn-IL|Spanyolit}}. Native speakers of the language consider the name ''Ladino'' to be incorrect, having for centuries reserved the term for the "semi-sacred" language used in word-by-word translations from the Bible, which is distinct from the spoken [[vernacular]].<ref name="Thessaloniki Museum">Haim-Vidal Sephiha: [http://www.jmth.gr/web/thejews.htm ''Judeo-Spanish''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721081700/http://www.jmth.gr/web/thejews.htm |date=21 July 2011 }}, on the former website of the [[Jewish Museum of Thessaloniki]] ([[Salonika]]). {{Cite web |url=http://www.jmth.gr/web/thejews/pages/pages/judeo.htm |title=The Jews Necropolis |access-date=1 June 2019 |archive-date=15 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120215085431/http://www.jmth.gr/web/thejews/pages/pages/judeo.htm |url-status=bot: unknown }}. Retrieved on 19 October 2011.</ref> According to linguist [[Paul Wexler (linguist)|Paul Wexler]], Ladino is a written language that developed in the eighteenth century and is distinct from spoken Judaeo-Spanish.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wexler |first1=Paul |title=Ascertaining the Position of Judezmo within Ibero-Romance |journal=Vox Romanica |date=1977 |page=163}}</ref> According to the website of the Jewish Museum of Thessaloniki, the cultural center of Sephardic Judaism after the expulsion from Spain,
{{blockquote|Ladino is not spoken, rather, it is the product of a word-for-word translation of Hebrew or Aramaic biblical or liturgical texts made by rabbis in the Jewish schools of Spain. In these translations, a specific Hebrew or Aramaic word always corresponded to the same Spanish word, as long as no exegetical considerations prevented this. In short, Ladino is only Hebrew clothed in Spanish, or Spanish with Hebrew syntax. The famous Ladino translation of the Bible, the [[Ferrara Bible|Biblia de Ferrara]] (1553), provided inspiration for the translation of numerous Spanish Christian Bibles.<ref name="Thessaloniki Museum"/>}}

The derivation of the name ''Ladino'' is complicated. Before the [[expulsion of Jews from Spain]], the word meant "literary Spanish" as opposed to other dialects,{{Citation needed |date=February 2016}} or "Romance" in general as distinct from Arabic.<ref>{{in lang|es}} [https://dle.rae.es/?id=MmZovyA Entry "ladino, na"], in the ''[[Diccionario de la Real Academia Española]]'' (DRAE). Retrieved on 1 June 2019.</ref> One derivation has Ladino as derived from the verb ''enladinar'', meaning "to translate", from when Jews, Christians and Arabs translated works from Hebrew, Greek, and Arabic into Spanish (during the times of [[Alfonso X]]).<ref name="garjose">{{cite book |author1=Guillermo Angel R. José |editor1-last=Díaz-Mas |editor1-first=Paloma |editor2-last=den Boer |editor2-first=Harm |title=Fronteras e interculturalidad entre los sefardíes occidentales |date=2006 |publisher=Brill |isbn=9789401202503 |pages=97–110 |url=https://brill.com/display/book/9789401202503/B9789401202503-s010.xml |chapter=Sobre el Ladino: Yo havlo, meldo i eskrivo Djudio |doi=10.1163/9789401202503_010 |series=Foro Hispánico |volume=28}}</ref>{{rp|p=97}} (The first European language grammar and dictionary, of Spanish referred to it as {{lang|es|ladino}} or {{lang|es|ladina}}. In the [[Middle Ages]], the word ''Latin'' was frequently used to mean simply 'language', particularly one understood: a ''latiner'' or ''latimer'' meant a translator.) Following the Expulsion, Jews spoke of "the Ladino" to mean the word-for-word translation of the Bible into Old Spanish. By extension, it came to mean that style of Spanish generally in the same way that (among Kurdish Jews) ''[[Targum (Aramaic dialect)|Targum]]'' has come to mean [[Judeo-Aramaic language|Judeo-Aramaic]] and (among Jews of Arabic-speaking background) ''sharḥ'' has come to mean [[Judeo-Arabic]].<ref>[[Historia 16]], 1978.</ref>

Judaeo-Spanish ''Ladino'' should not be confused with the [[Ladin language]] ({{langx|it|ladino}}), spoken in part of [[Northeastern Italy]]. Ladin has nothing to do with Jews or with Spanish beyond being a [[Romance language]], a property that it shares with French, Italian, Portuguese and Romanian.

==Origins==
At the time of the expulsion from Spain, the day-to-day language of the Jews of different regions of the peninsula was hardly, if at all, different from that of their Christian neighbours, but there may have been some dialect mixing to form a sort of Jewish lingua franca. There was, however, a special style of Spanish used for purposes of study or translation, featuring a more archaic dialect, a large number of Hebrew and [[Aramaic]] loanwords and a tendency to render Hebrew word order literally ({{lang|he-latn|ha-laylah ha-zeh}}, meaning 'this night', was rendered {{lang|lad|la noche la esta}} instead of the normal Spanish {{lang|es|esta noche}}<ref>[http://www.cryptojews.com/clearing_up_ladino.htm "Clearing up Ladino, Judeo-Spanish, Sephardic Music"] Judith Cohen, HaLapid, winter 2001; {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080416142720/http://www.wzo.org.il/en/resources/view.asp?id=1596 |date=16 April 2008 |title=Sephardic Song}}, Judith Cohen, Midstream July/August 2003</ref>). As mentioned above, authorities confine the term ''Ladino'' to that style.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Attig|first=Remy|date=September 2012|title=Did the Sephardic Jews Speak Ladino?|journal=Bulletin of Spanish Studies|language=en|volume=89|issue=6|pages=831–838|doi=10.1080/14753820.2012.712320|s2cid=162360656|issn=1475-3820|url=https://hcommons.org/deposits/download/hc:17800/CONTENT/did-the-jews-speak-ladino-share.pdf/}}</ref>

Following the [[Expulsion of Jews from Spain|Expulsion]], the process of dialect mixing continued, but Castilian Spanish remained by far the largest contributor. The daily language was increasingly influenced both by the language of study and by the local non-Jewish vernaculars, such as Greek and Turkish. It came to be known as ''Judesmo'' and, in that respect, the development is parallel to that of [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]]. However, many speakers, especially among the community leaders, also had command of a more formal style, ''castellano'', which was nearer to the Spanish at the time of the Expulsion.

==Source languages==
===Spanish===
The grammar, the phonology, and about 60% of the vocabulary of Judaeo-Spanish is essentially Spanish but, in some respects, it resembles the dialects in southern Spain and South America, rather than the dialects of Central Spain. For example, it has [[yeísmo]] ("she" is ''{{Wikt-lang|lad|eya}}''/''{{Wikt-lang|lad|ella}}'' {{IPA|[ˈeja]}} (Judaeo-Spanish), instead of ''{{Wikt-lang|es|ella}}'') as well as [[seseo]].

In many respects, it reproduces the Spanish of the time of the Expulsion, rather than the modern variety, as it retains some archaic features such as the following:
* Modern Spanish ''j'', pronounced {{IPA|[x]}}, corresponds to two different phonemes in Old Spanish: ''x'', pronounced {{IPA|/ʃ/}}, and ''j'', pronounced {{IPA|/ʒ/}}. Judaeo-Spanish retains the original sounds. Similarly, ''g'' before ''e'' or ''i'' remains {{IPA|[d͡ʒ]}} or {{IPA|/ʒ/}}, not {{IPA|[x]}}.
** Contrast {{lang|lad|baxo/baṣo}} ('low' or 'down,' with {{IPA|/ʃ/}}, modern Spanish {{lang|es|bajo}}) and {{lang|es|mujer}} ('woman' or 'wife,' spelled the same, with {{IPA|/ʒ/}}).
* Modern Spanish ''z'' (''c'' before ''e'' or ''i''), pronounced [s] or {{IPA|[θ]}}, like the ''th'' in English ''think'', corresponds to two different phonemes in Old Spanish: ''ç'' (''c'' before ''e'' or ''i''), pronounced {{IPA|[ts]}}; and ''z'' (in all positions), pronounced {{IPA|[dz]}}. In Judaeo-Spanish, they are pronounced {{IPA|[s]}} and {{IPA|[z]}}, respectively.
**Contrast {{lang|lad|coraçón/korasón}} ('heart,' with {{IPA|/s/}}, modern Spanish {{lang|es|corazón}}) and {{lang|lad|dezir}} ('to say,' with {{IPA|/z/}}, modern Spanish {{lang|es|decir}}).
* In modern Spanish, the use of the letters ''b'' and ''v'' is determined partly on the basis of earlier forms of the language and partly on the basis of Latin etymology: both letters represent one phoneme ({{IPA|/b/}}), realised as {{IPA|[b]}} or as {{IPA|[β]}}, according to its position. In Judaeo-Spanish, {{IPA|/b/}} and {{IPA|/v/}} are different phonemes: {{lang|lad|boz}} {{IPA|/bɔs/}} 'voice' vs. {{lang|lad|vos}} {{IPA|/vɔs/}} 'you'. ''v'' is a [[labiodental consonant|labiodental]] "v," like in English, rather than a bilabial.

===Portuguese and other Iberian languages===
However, the phonology of both the consonants and part of the lexicon is, in some respects, closer to Portuguese and Catalan than to modern Spanish. That is explained by direct influence but also because Portuguese, Old Spanish and Catalan retained some of the characteristics of medieval Ibero-Romance languages that Spanish later lost. 
There was a mutual influence with the [[Judaeo-Portuguese]] of the [[Portuguese Jews]].

Contrast Judaeo-Spanish ''{{Wikt-lang|lad|daínda}}'' ('still') with Portuguese ''{{Wikt-lang|pt|ainda}}'' (Galician ''{{Wikt-lang|gl|ainda}}'' or ''{{Wikt-lang|pt|aínda}}'', Asturian ''{{Wikt-lang|ast|aína}}'' or ''{{Wikt-lang|ast|enaína}}'') and Spanish ''{{Wikt-lang|es|aún}}'' or the initial consonants in Judaeo-Spanish ''{{Wikt-lang|lad|fija}}'', ''{{Wikt-lang|lad|favla}}'' ('daughter,' 'speech'), Portuguese ''{{Wikt-lang|pt|filha}}'', ''{{Wikt-lang|pt|fala}}'' Galician ''{{Wikt-lang|gl|filha}}'' or ''{{Wikt-lang|gl|filla}}, ''{{Wikt-lang|gl|fala}}'', Asturian ''{{Wikt-lang|ast|fía}}'', ''{{Wikt-lang|ast|fala}}'', Aragonese ''{{Wikt-lang|an|filla}}'', ''{{Wikt-lang|an|fabla}}'', Catalan ''{{Wikt-lang|ca|filla}}''), Spanish ''{{Wikt-lang|es|hija}}'', ''{{Wikt-lang|es|habla}}''. ''It sometimes varied with dialect, as in Judaeo-Spanish popular songs, both {{Wikt-lang|lad|fijo}} and {{Wikt-lang|lad|hijo}} ('son') are found.

The Judaeo-Spanish pronunciation of ''s'' as "{{IPA|[ʃ]}}" before a "k" sound or at the end of certain words (such as ''{{Wikt-lang|lad|seis}}'', pronounced {{IPA|[seʃ]}}, for 'six') is shared with Portuguese (as spoken in Portugal, most of Lusophone Asia and Africa, and in a plurality of Brazilian varieties and registers with either partial or total forms of coda |S| palatalization) but not with Spanish.

===Hebrew and Aramaic===
Like other [[Jewish languages|Jewish vernaculars]], Judaeo-Spanish incorporates many Hebrew and Aramaic words, mostly for religious concepts and institutions. Examples are {{lang|lad|haham/ḥaḥam}} ('rabbi', from Hebrew {{lang|he-latn|ḥakham}}) and {{lang|lad|kal, kahal/cal, cahal}} ('synagogue', from Hebrew {{lang|he-latn|qahal}}). Some Judeao-Spanish words of Hebrew or Aramaic origins have more poetic connotations than their Spanish origin equivalents. Compare {{lang|lad|gaava}} ('pride, arrogance') from Hebrew {{lang|he-latn|ga'avá}} with {{lang|lad|arrogansya}} ('arrogance') from Spanish {{lang|lad|arrogancia}}.

===Turkish===
The majority of Judaeo-Spanish speaking people resided in the [[Ottoman Empire]], although a large minority on the northern Coast of [[Morocco]] and [[Algeria]] existed. As such, words of Turkish origin were incorporated into the local dialect of the language. Examples include {{lang|lad|emrenear}} ('rejoice') from Turkish {{lang|tr|imrenmek}}.

Some of these words themselves were inherited into Turkish from Arabic or Persian. Examples include {{lang|lad|bilbiliko}} ('nightingale'), from Persian (via Turkish) {{lang|fa-latn|bülbül}} and {{lang|lad|gam}} ('sorrow, anxiety, grief') from Arabic (via Persian then Turkish) {{lang|ar-latn|ḡamm}}.

The Turkish agentive suffix {{lang|tr|-ci}} (denoting a profession) was borrowed into Judaeo-Spanish as the suffix {{lang|lad|-djí}}. It can be found in words like {{lang|lad|halvadjí}} ('candyman'), derived from [[halva]] + {{lang|lad|-djí}}.

===French===
Due to the influence of the [[Alliance Israélite Universelle]] in the westernization and modernization of Judeao-Spanish speaking communities, many words of French origin were adopted. Most of these words refer to Western European innovations and introductions. Examples include: {{lang|lad|abazur}} ('lampshade'), from French {{lang|fr|abat-jour}}, {{lang|lad|fardate}} ('apply makeup'), from French {{lang|fr|se farder}}, and {{lang|lad|fusil}} ('gun') from French {{lang|fr|fusil}}.<ref name=":1" /> Some French political and cultural elements are present in Judeao-Spanish. For example, {{lang|lad|ir al Bismark}} ('to go to the Bismark') was a phrase used in some Judeao-Spanish communities in the late 20th century to mean 'to go to the restroom', referring to the [[Chancellor of Germany|German Chancellor]], [[Otto von Bismarck]] (an unpopular figure in France), as a euphemism for toilet.<ref name=":1" />

===Arabic===
Because of the large number of Arabic words in Spanish generally, it is not always clear whether some of these words were introduced before the Expulsion or adopted later; modern Spanish replaced some of these loans with [[Latinism]]s after the [[Reconquista]], where Judaeo-Spanish speakers had no motivation to do so. Some Arabic words were borrowed via Turkish or Persian.

[[Haketia]], the variety of Judaeo-Spanish spoken in the [[Maghreb]], has substantial influence from [[Moroccan Arabic|Moroccan]] and [[Algerian Arabic]], as well as local [[Amazigh languages]]. The varieties of Judaeo-Spanish spoken in the [[Levant]] and [[Egypt]] have some influence from [[Levantine Arabic]] and [[Egyptian Arabic]] respectively.

===Other source languages===
Judeao-Spanish speaking communities often incorporated words or phrases from surrounding languages. [[Greek language|Greek]], [[South Slavic languages|South Slavic]], [[Italian language|Italian]], and [[Romanian language|Romanian]] borrowings can be found in those respective communities.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pulido |first1=Ángel |title=Sephardic Jews and the Spanish language |date=2016 |publisher=Ateven Capsuto Books & Translation Services |location=New York |isbn=978-0997825404}}</ref>

==Varieties==
[[File:Idioma sefardí.PNG|thumb|Judaeo-Spanish speaking communities in the Mediterranean]]
A common way of dividing Judaeo-Spanish is by splitting first [[Haketia]], or "Western Judeao-Spanish", from other varieties, collectively referred to as "Eastern Judeao-Spanish".<ref>{{Cite web |title=EL JUDEOESPAÑOL O LADINO {{!}} Sefardiweb |url=http://www.proyectos.cchs.csic.es/sefardiweb/node/10 |access-date=2023-04-25 |website=www.proyectos.cchs.csic.es}}</ref> Within Eastern Judeao-Spanish, further division is made based on city of origin.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Judeo-Spanish (Ladino) and Its Deal with Dialects |url=https://lynnchenel.com/deal-with-ladino-dialects/ |access-date=2023-04-25 |website=Lynn Chenel |language=en-US}}</ref>

Aldina Quintana split Eastern Ladino into three groups:

1. ''Grupo noroccidental'' (Northwest group), centered around [[Sarajevo]] (Bosnia). It also includes the dialects of [[Bitola]] (Macedonia) and [[Kastoria]] (Greece). The most distinct characteristics of this group are: the reduction of {{IPA|/r/}} and {{IPA|/ɾ/}} into {{IPA|/ɾ/}} and the conservation of {{angle bracket|rd}} as in {{angle bracket|gordo}}.

2. ''Grupo nororiental'' (Northeast group) that includes most of (northern) Bulgaria and Romania including [[Sofia]] and [[Bucharest]]. It represented an intermediate state between the other varieties: the reduction of {{IPA|/r/}} and {{IPA|/ɾ/}} into {{IPA|/ɾ/}}, but the metathesis of {{angle bracket|rd}} into {{angle bracket|dr}} as in {{angle bracket|godro}}.

3. ''Grupo suroriental'' (Southeast group) that included the main Sephardic cultural hubs of [[Salonika]] (Greece) and [[Istanbul]] (Turkiye), as well as the remainder of Anatolia, and Eastern Greece. The varieties of this group maintain the gradient in difference between {{IPA|/e : i/}} and {{IPA|/o : u/}} in the final position, as well as maintaining a difference between {{IPA|/r/ : /ɾ/}}. The metathesis of {{angle bracket|rd}} into {{angle bracket|dr}} is also present.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Quintana |first1=Aldina |title=Geografía lingüística del judeoespañol. Estudio sincrónico y diacrónico |date=January 2006 |isbn=978-3-0351-0275-8 }}</ref>

While unsorted, the variety of spoken in Judeo-Spanish in [[Italy]] ([[Venice]], [[Trieste]], [[Ferrera]]) and [[Budapest]] more closely followed the Northwest group. Egyptian Judeo-Spanish ([[Alexandria]], [[Cairo]]) followed more the patterns of the Southeast Group. Levantine Judeo-Spanish ([[Jerusalem]], [[Jaffa]], [[Hebron]]) and [[Rhodes]]li Judeo-Spanish represented intermediate states, more similar to the Northeast group. Although Levantine Judeo-Spanish phonology and syntax, especially its usage of {{IPA|[ħ]}}, {{IPA|[ʕ]}}, {{IPA|[ʔ]}}, and {{IPA|[h]}} was unique enough to be defined separately.

Differences between varieties usually include [[phonology]] and [[lexicon]]. The dialect spoken in the [[North Macedonia|Macedonian]] city of [[Bitola]] (traditionally referred to as Monastir) has relatively many lexical differences as compared with other varieties of Judeao-Spanish.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last1=Kohen |first1=Elli |title=Ladino-English/English-Ladino Concise Encyclopedic Dictionary (Judeo-Spanish) |last2=Kohen-Gordon |first2=Dahlia |publisher=Hippocene Books |year=2000 |isbn=0-7818-0658-5 |location=New York}}</ref> An example of this can be seen is the word for 'carriage'. In many dialects, such as those that were spoken in [[Istanbul]] and [[Thessaloniki]], ''araba'' is used, a loanword from Arabic via Turkish, while the Monastir dialect uses ''karrose'', possibly from Italian.<ref name=":1" />

==Phonology==
The number of [[phoneme]]s in Judaeo-Spanish varies by dialect. Its phonemic inventory consists of 24-26 [[consonant]]s and 5 [[vowel]]s.

===Consonants===
{| class="wikitable"
|+Consonant phonemes in Istanbul Judaeo-Spanish<ref name="IstanbulIPA">{{Cite journal |last1=Hualde |first1=José Ignacio |author-link=José Ignacio Hualde |last2=Şaul |first2=Mahir |date=2011 |title=Istanbul Judeo-Spanish |journal=Journal of the International Phonetic Association |language=en |volume=41 |issue=1 |pages=89–110 |doi=10.1017/S0025100310000277 |s2cid=145143546 |issn=0025-1003|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Phonetics">{{Cite web|url=http://archive.phonetics.ucla.edu/Language/LAD/lad.html|title=Ladino|website=archive.phonetics.ucla.edu}}</ref>
! &nbsp;
![[bilabial consonant|Bilabial]]
![[labiodental consonant|Labio-<br/>dental]]
![[dental consonant|Dental]]
![[alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
![[postalveolar consonant|Post-<br/>alveolar]]
![[palatal consonant|Palatal]]
![[velar consonant|Velar]]
![[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-align=center
![[nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| {{IPA link|m}}
|
|
| {{IPA link|n}}
|
| ({{IPA link|ɲ}})
| ({{IPA link|ŋ}})
|
|-align=center
![[stop consonant|Stop]]
| {{IPA link|p}}&emsp;{{IPA link|b}}
|
| {{IPA link|t}}&emsp;{{IPA link|d}}
|
|
|
| {{IPA link|k}}&emsp;{{IPA link|ɡ}}
|
|-align=center
![[affricate consonant|Affricate]]
|
|
|
|
| {{IPA link|t͡ʃ}}&emsp;{{IPA link|d͡ʒ}}
|
|
|
|-align=center
![[fricative consonant|Fricative]]
| ({{IPA link|β}})
| {{IPA link|f}}&emsp;{{IPA link|v}}
| ({{IPA link|ð}})
| {{IPA link|s}}&emsp;{{IPA link|z}}
| {{IPA link|ʃ}}&emsp;{{IPA link|ʒ}}
|
| {{IPA link|x}}&emsp;({{IPA link|ɣ}})
|({{IPA link|h}})
|-align=center
![[trill consonant|Trill]]
|
|
|
| {{IPA link|r}}
|
|
|
|
|-align=center
![[flap consonant|Tap]]
|
|
|
| ({{IPA link|ɾ}})
|
|
|
|
|-align=center
![[approximant consonant|Approximant]]
|
|
|
| {{IPA link|l}}
|
| {{IPA link|j}}
| {{IPA link|w}}
|
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|+Consonant phonemes in other dialects
!
![[bilabial consonant|Bilabial]]
![[labiodental consonant|Labio-<br />dental]]
![[dental consonant|Dental]]
![[alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
![[postalveolar consonant|Post-<br />alveolar]]
![[palatal consonant|Palatal]]
![[velar consonant|Velar]]
![[Uvular consonant|Uvular]]
![[Pharyngeal consonant|Pharyngeal]]
![[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
![[nasal consonant|Nasal]]
|{{IPA link|m}}
|
|
|{{IPA link|n}}
|
|{{IPA link|ɲ}}
|
|
|
|
|-
![[stop consonant|Stop]]
|{{IPA link|p}} {{IPA link|b}}
|
|{{IPA link|t}} {{IPA link|d}}
|
|
|
|{{IPA link|k}} {{IPA link|g}}
|({{IPA link|q}})
|
|
|-
![[affricate consonant|Affricate]]
|
|
|
|({{IPA link|t͡s}})
|{{IPA link|t͡ʃ}} {{IPA link|d͡ʒ}}
|
|
|
|
|
|-
![[fricative consonant|Fricative]]
|
|{{IPA link|f}} {{IPA link|v}}
|({{IPA link|ð}})
|{{IPA link|s}} {{IPA link|z}}
|{{IPA link|ʃ}} {{IPA link|ʒ}}
|
|{{IPA link|x}}
|
|({{IPA link|ħ}}) ({{IPA link|ʕ}})
|({{IPA link|h}}) 
|-
![[trill consonant|Trill]]
|
|
|
|({{IPA link|r}})
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
![[flap consonant|Tap]]
|
|
|
|{{IPA link|ɾ}}
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
![[approximant consonant|Approximant]]
|
|
|({{IPA link|ð̞}})
|
|
|{{IPA link|j}}
|
|
|
|
|-
![[Lateral consonant|Lateral]]
|
|
|
|{{IPA link|l}}
|
|
|
|
|
|
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Most dialects merge {{IPA|/ð~ð̞/}} with {{IPA|/d/}} and {{IPA|/ħ/}} with {{IPA|/x/}}.
* Some dialects merge the rhotic phonemes. The realization of the merged rhotic is variable, though speakers typically pronounce it as a tap.
* {{IPA|/t͡s/}} and {{IPA|/h/}} only appear in loanwords. Some dialects merge {{IPA|/t͡s/}} with {{IPA|/s/}}.
* {{IPA|/q/}} and {{IPA|/ʕ/}} only appear in dialects heavily influenced by Arabic, such as [[Haketia]].

===Vowels===
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ Vowel phonemes
|-
!
! [[Front vowel|Front]] !! [[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
! [[Close vowel|Close]]
| {{IPA link|i}} ([[Close front rounded vowel|y]]) || {{IPA link|u}}
|-
![[Mid vowel|Mid]]
| {{IPA link|e}} ([[Mid front rounded vowel|ø]]) || {{IPA link|o}}
|-
![[Open vowel|Open]]
|colspan="2"| {{IPA link|ä|a}}
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Front rounded vowels only appear in French loanwords. They do not exist in every dialect.

===Phonological differences from Spanish===
As exemplified in the Sources section above, much of the phonology of Judaeo-Spanish is similar to that of standard modern Spanish. Here are some exceptions:
* It is claimed that, unlike all other non-creole varieties of Spanish, Judaeo-Spanish does not contrast the trill {{IPA|/r/}} and the tap/flap {{IPA|/ɾ/}}.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Variation and Change in Spanish|url=https://archive.org/details/variationchangei0000penn|url-access=limited|last=Penny|first=Ralph|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2000|isbn=0-521-60450-8|pages=[https://archive.org/details/variationchanges00penn/page/n194 179]–189}}</ref> However, that claim is not universally accepted.<ref>Travis G. Bradley and Ann Marie Delforge, ''Phonological Retention and Innovation in the Judeo-Spanish of Istanbul'' in ''Selected Proceedings of the 8th Hispanic Linguistics'' Symposium, ed. Timothy L. Face and Carol A. Klee, 73–88. 2006. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project.</ref>
* The Spanish {{IPA|/nue-/}} is {{IPA|/mue-/}} in some dialects of Judaeo-Spanish: {{lang|es|nuevo, nuestro}} → {{lang|lad|muevo, muestro}}.<ref name=":0" />
* The Judaeo-Spanish phoneme inventory includes separate {{IPA|[d͡ʒ]}} and {{IPA|[ʒ]}}: {{lang|lad|jurnal}} {{IPA|/ʒuɾˈnal/}} ('newspaper') vs {{lang|lad|jugar/djugar}} {{IPA|/d͡ʒuˈgar/}} ('to play'). Neither phoneme is used in modern Spanish,<ref name=":0" /> where they have been replaced by the {{lang|es|jota}} [x]: {{lang|es|jornal}} {{IPA|/xor'nal/}}, {{lang|es|jugar}} {{IPA|/xu'gar/}}.
* While Spanish pronounces both ''b'' and ''v'' as {{IPA|/b/}} ({{IPA|[b]}} or {{IPA|[β]}}), Judeo-Spanish distinguishes between the two, with ''b'' representing {{IPA|[b~β]}} and ''v'' representing {{IPA|[v]}}: {{lang|lad|bivir}} {{IPA|/biˈviɾ/}} ('to live').
* Judaeo-Spanish has (at least in some varieties) little or no diphthongization of tonic vowels, e.g. in the following lullaby:
** (Judaeo-Spanish text) {{lang|lad|'''Durme, durme,''' kerido ijiko, [...] '''Serra''' tus lindos ojikos, [...]}}
** (Equivalent Spanish) {{lang|es|'''Duerme, duerme,''' querido hijito, [...] '''Cierra''' tus lindos ojitos, [...]}}
** (Translation) ''Sleep, Sleep, beloved little son, [...] close your beautiful little eyes, [...]''
* There is a tendency to drop {{IPA|[s]}} at the end of a word or syllable, as in [[Andalusian Spanish#Phonological features|Andalusian Spanish]] and many other Spanish dialects in Spain and the Americas: {{lang|es|amargasteis}} -> {{lang|lad|amargátex/amargatesh}} ('you have embittered'). 
* The form {{lang|es|Dios}} -> {{lang|lad|Dio}} ('God') is sometimes explained as an example of dropping the final {{IPA|[s]}}, or more often as an example of [[folk etymology]]: taking the ''s'' as a plural ending (which it is not) and attributing it to Christian [[Trinity|trinitarianism]]. Thus, removing the ''s'' supposedly produced a more clearly monotheistic word for God. This is probably a folk etymology, however, as {{linktext|dio}} is an Old Spanish alternative spelling of {{lang|es|dios}}, the former derived from the Latin accusative form {{lang|la|deum}} and the latter from the nominative form {{lang|la|deus}}.

==Morphology==
Judaeo-Spanish is distinguished from other Spanish dialects by the presence of the following features:
* Judaeo-Spanish maintains the second-person [[pronouns]] {{lang|es|tú}}''/''{{lang|lad|tu}} (informal singular), {{lang|lad|vos}} (formal singular) and {{lang|es|vosotros}}/{{lang|lad|vozotros}} (plural); the third-person {{lang|es|él/ella/ellos/ellas}} ''/'' {{lang|lad|el/eya/eyos/eyas}} are also used in the formal register.<ref name=":0" /> The Spanish pronouns ''[[usted]]'' and {{lang|es|ustedes}} do not exist.
* In verbs, the [[preterite]] indicates that an action taken once in the past was also completed at some point in the past. That is as opposed to the [[imperfect]], which refers to any continuous, habitual, unfinished or repetitive past action. Thus, "I ate falafel yesterday" would use the first-person preterite form of 'eat', {{lang|lad|comí/komí}} but "When I lived in Izmir, I ran five miles every evening" would use the first-person imperfect form, {{lang|lad|corría/koria}}. Though some of the morphology has changed, usage is just as in normative Spanish.
* In general, Judaeo-Spanish uses the Spanish plural morpheme /-(e)s/. The Hebrew plural endings ''/-im/'' and ''/-ot/'' are used with Hebrew [[loanword]]s, as well as with a few words from Spanish: {{lang|es|ladrón}}/{{lang|lad|ladron}} ('thief'): {{lang|lad|ladrones, ladronim}}; {{lang|lad|hermano/ermano}} ('brother'): {{lang|lad|hermanos/hermanim / ermanos/ermanim}}.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.orbilat.com/Languages/Spanish-Ladino/Grammar/Ladino-Noun.htm#Formation%20of%20the%20Plural|title=Judeo-Spanish: Noun|last=Batzarov|first=Zdravko|website=orbilat.com|access-date=2016-11-09}}</ref> Similarly, some loaned feminine nouns ending in ''-á'' can take either the Spanish or Hebrew plural: {{lang|lad|quehilá/keilá}} ('synagogue'): {{lang|lad|quehilás/quehilot / keilas/keilot}}. 
* Judaeo-Spanish contains more gendering cases than standard Spanish, prominently in adjectives, ({{lang|lad|grande/-a}}, {{lang|lad|inferior/-ra}}) as well as in nouns ({{lang|lad|vozas, fuentas}}) and in the interrogative {{lang|lad|qualo/quala / kualo/kuala}}.<ref name=":0" />

===Verb conjugation===
Regular conjugation for the present tense:
{|class="wikitable"
!&nbsp; || -er verbs<br />(comer/komer: "to eat") || -ir verbs<br />(bivir: "to live") || -ar verbs<br />(favlar: "to speak")
|-
! align="center" | ''yo''
| colspan=3 | -o : com'''o'''/kom'''o''', biv'''o''', favl'''o'''
|-
!''tú/tu''
| colspan=2 | -es : com'''es'''/kom'''es''', biv'''es''' || -as : favl'''as'''
|-
!''él/el'', ''ella''/''eya''
| colspan=2 | -e : com'''e'''/kom'''e''', biv'''e''' || -a : favl'''a'''
|-
!''mosotros''/''mozotros'', ''mosotras''/''mozotras''
| -emos : com'''emos'''/kom'''emos'''
| -imos : biv'''imos''' || -amos : favl'''amos'''
|-
!''vos'', ''vosotros''/''vozotros'', ''vosotras''/''vozotras''
| -ex/esh : com'''ex'''/kom'''esh'''|| -ix/ish : biv'''ix'''/biv'''ish''' || -ax/ash : favl'''ax'''/favl'''ash'''
|-
!''ellos''/''eyos'', ''ellas''/''eyas''
| colspan=2 | -en : com'''en'''/kom'''en''', biv'''en''' || -an : favl'''an'''
|}

Regular conjugation in the preterite:

{|class="wikitable"
!&nbsp; || -er verbs<br />(comer/komer: "to eat") || -ir verbs<br />(bivir: "to live") || -ar verbs<br />(favlar: "to speak")
|-
! align="center" | ''yo''
| colspan=3 | -í : com'''í'''/kom'''i''', biv'''í'''/biv'''i''', favl'''i'''/favl'''í'''
|-
!''tú/tu''
| colspan=2 | -ites : com'''ites'''/kom'''ites''', biv'''ites''' || -ates : favl'''ates'''
|-
!''él/el'', ''ella''/''eya''
| colspan=2 | -yó : com'''ió'''/kom'''ió''', biv'''ió'''/biv'''io''' || -ó : favl'''ó'''
|-
!''mosotros''/''mozotros'', ''mosotras''/''mozotras''
| colspan=3 | -imos : com'''imos'''/kom'''imos''', biv'''imos''', favl'''imos'''
|-
!''vos'', ''vosotros''/''vozotros'', ''vosotras''/''vozotras''
| colspan=2 | -ítex/itesh : com'''ítex'''/kom'''itesh''', biv'''ítex'''/biv'''itesh''' || -átex/atesh : favl'''átex'''/favl'''atesh'''
|-
!''ellos''/''eyos'', ''ellas''/''eyas''
| colspan=2 | -ieron : com'''ieron'''/kom'''ieron''', biv'''ieron''' || -aron : favl'''aron'''
|}

Regular conjugation in the imperfect:

{|class="wikitable"
!&nbsp; || -er verbs<br />(comer/komer: "to eat") || -ir verbs<br />(bivir: "to live") || -ar verbs<br />(favlar: "to speak")
|-
! align="center" | ''yo''
| colspan=2 | -ía : com'''ía'''/kom'''ia''', biv'''ía'''/biv'''ia''' || -ava : favl'''ava'''
|-
!''tú/tu''
| colspan=2 | -ías : com'''ías'''/kom'''ias''', biv'''ías'''/biv'''ias''' || -avas : favl'''avas'''
|-
!''él/el'', ''ella''/''eya''
| colspan=2 | -ía : com'''ía'''/kom'''ia''', biv'''ía'''/biv'''ia''' || -ava : favl'''ava'''
|-
!''mosotros''/''mozotros'', ''mosotras''/''mozotras''
| colspan=2 | -íamos : com'''íamos'''/kom'''iamos''', biv'''íamos'''/biv'''iamos''' || -ávamos : favl'''avamos'''
|-
!''vos'', ''vosotros''/''vozotros'', ''vosotras''/''vozotras''
| colspan=2 | -íax/iash : com'''íax'''/kom'''iash''', biv'''íax'''/biv'''iash''' || -avax/avash : favl'''avax'''/favl'''avash'''
|-
!''ellos''/''eyos'', ''ellas''/''eyas''
| colspan=2 | -ían : com'''ían'''/kom'''ian''', biv'''ían'''/biv'''ian''' || -avan : favl'''avan'''
|}

== Syntax ==
Judaeo-Spanish follows Spanish for most of its [[syntax]]. (That is not true of the written calque language involving word-for-word translations from Hebrew, which scholars refer to as "Ladino", as described above.) Like Spanish, it generally follows a subject–verb–object [[word order]], has a [[morphosyntactic alignment|nominative-accusative alignment]], and is considered a [[fusional language|fusional]] or [[inflection|inflected]] language.

==Orthography==
[[File:Rashiscript.PNG|thumb|The [[Rashi script]], originally used to print the language]]

Two Israeli organizations, the [[Akademia Nasionala del Ladino]] and the [[Autoridad Nasionala del Ladino]], jointly regulate Judæo-Spanish orthography. The organizations allow speakers to choose between the [[Hebrew alphabet|Hebrew script]], which was historically the most prevalent writing system for the language, and the [[Latin script]], which gained prominence after the fall of the Ottoman Empire.

=== Hebrew script ===
Printed works in Judæo-Spanish use the [[Rashi script]], whereas the handwritten language uses a cursive form of the Hebrew alphabet called [[Solitreo]]. In the Hebrew script, a silent {{angle bracket|{{script/Hebr|א}}}} must precede word-initial vowels. Moreover, it is necessary to separate adjacent vowels with {{angle bracket|{{script/Hebr|א}}}} or {{angle bracket|{{script/Hebr|י}}}}. Whereas {{angle bracket|{{script/Hebr|א}}}} can separate any pair of vowels, {{angle bracket|{{script/Hebr|י}}}} can only separate front vowels ({{IPA|/i/}} and {{IPA|/e/}}, both represented by {{angle bracket|{{script/Hebr|י}}}}) from adjacent vowels. Furthermore, {{angle bracket|{{script/Hebr|י}}}} cannot separate diphthongs that include a non-syllabic {{IPA|/u/}} ({{IPA|[w]}}).

Hebrew and Aramaic loanwords and morphemes (except those that were borrowed indirectly through other languages) are spelled according to [[Hebrew spelling|Hebrew orthography]]. The rest of the language's lexicon is spelled as illustrated in the following table:
{| class="wikitable"
|+Table of orthography
![[Grapheme]]
!Name
![[Phoneme]] ([[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]])
!Notes
|-
|{{script/Hebr|א}}
|{{script/Hebr|אָלֶף}}
|
* As a consonant (intervocalically and word-initially before a vowel), silent
* As a vowel, {{ipa|/a/}}
|
* A silent consonantal {{angle bracket|{{script/Hebr|א}}}} must precede word-initial vowels. It is also necessary to separate consecutive vowels with a consonantal {{angle bracket|{{script/Hebr|א}}}} or {{angle bracket|{{script/Hebr|י}}}}.
* As a consonant, {{angle bracket|{{script/Hebr|א}}}} can separate any pair of vowels.
* As a vowel, {{angle bracket|{{script/Hebr|א}}}} cannot represent {{IPA|/a/}} word-finally (see {{angle bracket|{{script/Hebr|ה}}}}). 
|-
|{{script/Hebr|בּ}}
|{{script/Hebr|בֵּית}}
|{{IPA|/b/}}
|Only appears in Hebrew and Aramaic loanwords. In native words, the ''[[dagesh]]'' is unnecessary.
|-
|{{script/Hebr|ב}}
|{{script/Hebr|בֵית}}
|
* {{IPA|/b/}} in native words
* {{IPA|/v/}} in Hebrew and Aramaic loanwords
|
* Cannot represent {{IPA|/v/}} in native words (see {{angle bracket|{{script/Hebr|ב׳}}}}).
* Represents an etymological {{IPA|/β/}} in Hebrew and Aramaic loanwords.
|-
|({{Script/Hebr|ב׳}}) {{Script/Hebr|בﬞ}}
|{{script/Hebr|בֵית רָפֶה}}
|{{IPA|/v/}}
|
|-
|{{script/Hebr|ג}}
|{{script/Hebr|גִימֶל}}
|{{IPA|/g/}}
|
|-
|({{Script/Hebr|ג׳}}) {{Script/Hebr|גﬞ}}
|{{script/Hebr|גִﬞימֶל}}
|{{IPA|/d͡ʒ/}}
|
|-
|{{script/Hebr|ג׳׳}}
|{{script/Hebr|גִ׳׳ימֶל}}
|{{IPA|/t͡ʃ/}}
|
|-
|{{script/Hebr|ד}}
|{{script/Hebr|דָּלֶת}}
|{{IPA|/d/}}
|
|-
|({{Script/Hebr|ד׳}}) {{Script/Hebr|דﬞ}}
|{{script/Hebr|דָּלֶת רָפֶה}}
|{{IPA|/ð~ð̞/}}
|Most dialects merge {{IPA|/ð~ð̞/}} with {{IPA|/d/}}. Therefore, Judæo-Spanish orthography does not always distinguish the two phonemes.
|-
|{{script/Hebr|ה}}
|{{script/Hebr|הֵא}}
|
* As a consonant, {{IPA|/h/}} (sometimes silent in unstressed syllables and word-finally)
* As a vowel (word-finally), {{IPA|/a/}}
|
* Consonantal {{IPA|/h/}} only appears in Hebrew and Aramaic loanwords.
* {{IPA|/a/}} is represented by {{angle bracket|{{script/Hebr|ה}}}} word-finally.
|-
|{{script/Hebr|ו}}
|{{script/Hebr|וָאו}}
|
* As a consonant, {{IPA|/v/}} in Hebrew and Aramaic loanwords
* As a vowel, {{IPA|/u/}} or {{IPA|/o/}}
|
* In Hebrew and Aramaic loanwords, consonantal {{angle bracket|{{script/Hebr|ו}}}} represents an etymological {{IPA|/w/}}.
* In didactic works, authors may add a ''[[Kubutz and shuruk|shurúq]]'' to the letter ({{angle bracket|{{script/Hebr|וּ}}}}) to represent {{IPA|/u/}}, thereby distinguishing {{IPA|/u/}} from {{IPA|/o/}}.
|-
|{{script/Hebr|ז}}
|{{script/Hebr|זַיִן}}
|{{IPA|/z/}}
|
|-
|({{Script/Hebr|ז׳}}) {{Script/Hebr|זﬞ}}
|{{script/Hebr|זַיִן רָפֶה}}
|{{IPA|/ʒ/}}
|
|-
|{{script/Hebr|ח}}
|{{script/Hebr|חֵית}}
|{{IPA|/ħ/}}
|Most dialects merge {{IPA|/ħ/}} with {{IPA|/x/}}.
|-
|{{script/Hebr|ט}}
|{{script/Hebr|טֵית}}
|{{IPA|/t/}}
|In Hebrew and Aramaic loanwords, {{angle bracket|{{script/Hebr|ט}}}} represents an etymologically pharyngealized {{IPA|/t/}}.
|-
|{{script/Hebr|י}}
|{{script/Hebr|יוֹד}}
|
* As a consonant (when adjacent to another {{angle bracket|{{script/Hebr|י}}}}), {{IPA|/j/}}
* As a vowel, {{IPA|/i/}} or {{IPA|/e/}}
|
* When adjacent to a front vowel ({{IPA|/i/}} or {{IPA|/e/}}, both represented by {{angle bracket|{{script/Hebr|י}}}}), {{IPA|/j/}} is represented by a single {{angle bracket|{{script/Hebr|י}}}} (see {{angle bracket|{{script/Hebr|יי}}}}).
* In didactic works, authors may add a ''[[Hiriq|ḥiríq]]'' to the letter ({{angle bracket|{{script/Hebr|יִ}}}}) to represent {{IPA|/i/}}, thereby distinguishing {{IPA|/i/}} from {{IPA|/e/}}.
|-
|{{script/Hebr|יי}}
|{{script/Hebr|יוֹד ג׳׳יפﬞטי}}
|{{IPA|/j/}}
|{{IPA|/j/}} is represented by a double {{angle bracket|{{script/Hebr|יי}}}}, except when it is adjacent to a front vowel ({{IPA|/i/}} or {{IPA|/e/}}, both represented by {{angle bracket|{{script/Hebr|י}}}}).
|-
|{{script/Hebr|כּ}}
|{{script/Hebr|כַּף}}
|{{IPA|/k/}}
|Only appears in Hebrew and Aramaic loanwords.
|-
|{{script/Hebr|כ}}
|{{script/Hebr|כַף}}
|{{IPA|/x/}}
|Only appears in Hebrew and Aramaic loanwords.
|-
|{{script/Hebr|ל}}
|{{script/Hebr|לָמֶד}}
|{{IPA|/l/}}
|
|-
|{{script/Hebr|מ}}
|{{script/Hebr|מֵם}}
|{{IPA|/m/}}
|
|-
|{{script/Hebr|נ}}
|{{script/Hebr|נוּן}}
|{{IPA|/n/}}
|
|-
|{{script/Hebr|ני}}
|
|
* Before {{angle bracket|{{script/Hebr|י}}}}, usually {{IPA|/ɲ/}}, though sometimes {{IPA|/n+j/}}
* {{IPA|/n+i/}} otherwise
|
* Though {{angle bracket|{{script/Hebr|ני}}}} is usually a digraph, as in {{script/Hebr|אי'''ני'''יבﬞי}} ''i'''ny'''eve'' 'snow,' it may also be a sequence of two letters, as in {{script/Hebr|אינגﬞי'''ני'''ירו}} ''indje'''ni'''ero'' 'engineer.' When it precedes {{angle bracket|{{script/Hebr|י}}}}, it is typically a digraph.
* When it precedes a front vowel ({{IPA|/i/}} or {{IPA|/e/}}, both represented by {{angle bracket|{{script/Hebr|י}}}}), {{IPA|/ɲ/}} is represented by the digraph {{angle bracket|{{script/Hebr|ני}}}} (see {{angle bracket|{{script/Hebr|ניי}}}}).
|-
|{{script/Hebr|ניי}}
|
|
* Before central and back vowels ({{IPA|/a/}}, {{IPA|/o/}}, and {{IPA|/u/}}), usually {{IPA|/ɲ/}}, though sometimes {{IPA|/n+j/}}
* {{IPA|/ɲe/}} otherwise
|
* Though {{angle bracket|{{script/Hebr|ניי}}}} is usually a trigraph, as in {{script/Hebr|א'''ניי'''ו}} ''a'''ny'''o'' 'year,' it may also represent a sequence of two phonemes, {{IPA|/n+j/}} or {{IPA|/ɲ+e/}}, as in {{script/Hebr|גﬞו'''ניי'''ו}} ''dju'''ni'''o'' 'June' or {{script/Hebr|אי'''ניי'''טו}} ''i'''ny'''eto'' 'grandson,' respectively. When it precedes central and back vowels ({{IPA|/a/}}, {{IPA|/o/}} and {{IPA|/u/}}), it is typically a trigraph.
|-
|{{script/Hebr|ס}}
|{{script/Hebr|סָמֶךְ}}
|{{IPA|/s/}}
|
|-
|{{script/Hebr|ע}}
|{{script/Hebr|עַיִן}}
|silent
|Represents an etymological {{IPA|/ʕ/}} in Hebrew and Aramaic loanwords.
|-
|{{script/Hebr|פּ}}
|{{script/Hebr|פֵּא}}
|{{IPA|/p/}}
|Only appears in Hebrew and Aramaic loanwords. In native words, the ''[[dagesh]]'' is unnecessary.
|-
|{{script/Hebr|פ}}
|{{script/Hebr|פֵא}}
|
* {{IPA|/p/}} in native words
* {{IPA|/f/}} in Hebrew and Aramaic loanwords
|Cannot represent {{IPA|/f/}} in native words (see {{angle bracket|{{script/Hebr|פﬞ}}}}).
|-
|({{Script/Hebr|פ׳}}) {{Script/Hebr|פﬞ}}
|{{script/Hebr|פֵא רָפֶה}}
|{{IPA|/f/}}
|
|-
|{{script/Hebr|צ}}
|{{script/Hebr|צָדִי}}
|{{IPA|/t͡s/}}
|
* Only appears in Hebrew and Aramaic loanwords.
* Some speakers merge {{IPA|/t͡s/}} with {{IPA|/s/}}.
|-
|{{script/Hebr|ק}}
|{{script/Hebr|קוֹף}}
|{{IPA|/k/}}
|Represents an etymological {{IPA|/q/}} in Hebrew and Aramaic loanwords.
|-
|{{script/Hebr|ר}}
|{{script/Hebr|רֵיש}}
|{{IPA|/ɾ/}}
|
|-
|{{script/Hebr|ש}}
|{{script/Hebr|שין}}
|{{IPA|/ʃ/}}
|
|-
|{{script/Hebr|שׁ}}
|{{script/Hebr|שִׁין}}
|{{IPA|/ʃ/}}
|Only appears in Hebrew and Aramaic loanwords.
|-
|{{script/Hebr|שׂ}}
|{{script/Hebr|שִׂין}}
|{{IPA|/s/}}
|Only appears in Hebrew and Aramaic loanwords, wherein it represents an etymological {{IPA|/ɬ/}}.
|-
|{{script/Hebr|ת}}
|{{script/Hebr|תָו}}
|{{IPA|/t/}}
|Only appears in Hebrew and Aramaic loanwords.
|}'''Notes:'''
* The Hebrew ''[[geresh]]'' diacritic is used most often when typing, as it is the most accessible, whereas the diacritic ''[[rafe]]'' is used in handwriting.

=== Latin script ===
This orthography uses an [[interpunct]] {{angle bracket|·}} to distinguish the sequence {{IPA|/s+x/}} (written {{angle bracket|s·h}}) from the {{IPA|/ʃ/}} phoneme (written {{angle bracket|sh}}). It also uses acute accents to mark irregular stress. The regular stress pattern is as follows:

* Words that end with a vowel or with {{IPA|/n/}}, {{IPA|/s/}}, or {{IPA|/ʃ/}} are paroxytones.
* Words that end with any other consonant are oxytones.

{| class="wikitable"
|+Table of orthography<ref>Sevi, Aldo et. al. (ed.), "Grafía del Djudeo-Espanyol Sigún el Método de Akí Yerushaláyim." ''Akí Yerushaláyim'', no. 113, October 2024, pp. 117-120</ref>{{Citation needed|reason=No specification of which orthography is being used (article remarks that there are many). It'd be good if different orthographies were displayed here side-by-side.|date=August 2024}}
!Grapheme
!Name
!Phoneme (IPA)
|-
|a
|A
|{{IPA|/a/}}
|-
|b
|Be
|{{IPA|/b/}}
|-
|ch
|Che
|{{IPA|/t͡ʃ/}}
|-
|d
|De
|{{IPA|/d/}}
|-
|dj
|Dje
|{{IPA|/d͡ʒ/}}
|-
|e
|E
|{{IPA|/e/}}
|-
|f
|Ef
|{{IPA|/f/}}
|-
|g
|Ge
|{{IPA|/g/}}
|-
|h
|He
|{{IPA|/x/}}
|-
|'h
|'He
|{{IPA|/h/}}
|-
|i
|I
|{{IPA|/i/}}
|-
|j
|Je
|{{IPA|/ʒ/}}
|-
|k
|Ka
|{{IPA|/k/}}
|-
|l
|El
|{{IPA|/l/}}
|-
|m
|Em
|{{IPA|/m/}}
|-
|n
|En
|{{IPA|/n/}}
|-
|ny
|Nye
|{{IPA|/ɲ/}}
|-
|o
|O
|{{IPA|/o/}}
|-
|ö
|Ö
|{{IPA|/ø/}}
|-
|p
|Pe
|{{IPA|/p/}}
|-
|r
|Er
|{{IPA|/ɾ/}}
|-
|rr
|
|{{IPA|/r/}}
|-
|s
|Es
|{{IPA|/s/}}
|-
|sh
|She
|{{IPA|/ʃ/}}
|-
|t
|Te
|{{IPA|/t/}}
|-
|ts
|
|{{IPA|/t͡s/}}
|-
|u
|U
|{{IPA|/u/}}
|-
|ü
|Ü
|{{IPA|/y/}}
|-
|v
|Ve
|{{IPA|/v/}}
|-
|x
|Iks
|{{IPA|/g+z/}}
|-
|y
|Ye
|{{IPA|/j/}}
|-
|z
|Zed
|{{IPA|/z/}}
|}

=== Historical orthographies ===
Prior to the adoption of the official orthographies, the following systems of writing Judaeo-Spanish had been used or proposed.
* Formerly, the Hebrew-script orthography represented an etymological {{IPA|/ʎ/}}, which has merged with {{IPA|/j/}}.
* The [[Greek alphabet]] and the [[Cyrillic script]] were used in the past,<ref>''Verba Hispanica'' X: [http://hispanismo.cervantes.es/documentos/smidX.pdf Los problemas del estudio de la lengua sefardí] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080407074136/http://hispanismo.cervantes.es/documentos/smidX.pdf |date= 7 April 2008}}, Katja Šmid, Ljubljana, pages 113–124: ''Es interesante el hecho que en Bulgaria se imprimieron unas pocas publicaciones en alfabeto cirílico búlgaro y en Grecia en alfabeto griego. [...] Nezirović (1992: 128) anota que también en Bosnia se ha encontrado un documento en que la lengua sefardí está escrita en alfabeto cirilico''. The Nezirović reference is: Nezirović, M., ''Jevrejsko-Španjolska književnost''. Institut za književnost, Svjetlost, Sarajevo, Bosnia 1992.</ref> but this is rare or nonexistent nowadays.
* In Turkey, Judaeo-Spanish was most commonly written in the [[Turkish alphabet|Turkish variant]] of the [[Latin alphabet]]. That may have been the most widespread system in use prior to the adoption of the official orthography, as following the decimation of Sephardic communities throughout much of Europe (particularly in Greece and the [[Balkans]]) during [[the Holocaust]], the greatest proportion of speakers remaining were Turkish Jews. 
* The American [[Library of Congress]] has published the [[romanization]] standard it uses.
* Works published in Spain usually adopted the standard orthography of modern Spanish to make them easier for modern Spanish speakers to read.<ref>See preface by [[Jacob Hassan|Iacob M. Hassán]] to Romero, ''Coplas Sefardíes'', Cordoba, pp. 23–24.</ref> The editions often used diacritics to show where the Judaeo-Spanish pronunciation differs from modern Spanish.
* Pablo Carvajal Valdés and others suggested adopting the orthography that was used at the time of the Expulsion

==History==
In the medieval [[Iberian peninsula]], now Spain and Portugal, Jews spoke a variety of Romance dialects. [[Jews in the Middle Ages]] were instrumental in the development of Spanish into a [[prestige language]]. Erudite Jews translated Arabic and Hebrew works, often translated earlier from Greek, into Spanish. Christians [[Translations into Latin (c. 1050-c.1250)|translated them again into Latin]] for transmission to Europe.

Following the 1490s expulsion from Spain [[expulsion of the Jews from Portugal|and Portugal]], most of the Iberian Jews resettled in the [[Ottoman Empire]]. Jews in the Ottoman [[Balkans]], [[Western Asia]] (especially Turkey), and [[North Africa]] (especially [[Morocco]]) developed their own Romance dialects, with some influence from Hebrew and other languages, which became what is now known as Judaeo-Spanish. Until recent times, the language was widely spoken throughout the Balkans, Turkey/Western Asia and North Africa, as Judaeo-Spanish had been brought there by the Jewish refugees.<ref>[http://www.sephardicstudies.org/quickladino.html "Ladinoikonunita: A quick explanation of Ladino (Judaeo-Spanish)]. Sephardicstudies.org. Retrieved on 19 October 2011.</ref> Later on, many Portuguese Jews also escaped to France, Italy, the [[Habsburg Netherlands|Netherlands]] and [[England]], establishing small groups in those nations as well, but these spoke [[Early Modern Spanish]] or Portuguese rather than Judaeo-Spanish. The contact among Jews of different regions and languages, including [[Catalan language|Catalan]], [[Leonese language|Leonese]] and [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] developed a unified dialect, differing in some aspects from the Spanish norm that was forming simultaneously in Spain, but some of the mixing may have already occurred in exile rather than in the Iberian Peninsula.

In the 16th century, the development Judeo-Spanish was significantly influenced by the extensive mobility of Sephardic Jews. By the end of the century, Spanish had become the dominant language of commerce for Sephardic communities across Italy and the eastern Mediterranean.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Ray |first=Jonathan Stewart |title=After expulsion: 1492 and the making of Sephardic Jewry |date=2013 |publisher=New York University Press |isbn=978-0-8147-2911-3 |location=New York |pages=137–138}}</ref> This standardization was further supported by practices such as hiring tutors to teach Castilian in [[Hebrew alphabet|Hebrew script]], as noted in a 1600 deposition from [[Pisa]]. Additionally, itinerant rabbis who preached in the vernacular contributed to the spread and standardization of Judeo-Spanish among diverse Sephardic congregations, including those in [[Greek language|Greek]]- and [[Arabic]]-speaking regions.<ref name=":2" />

The closeness and mutual comprehensibility between Judaeo-Spanish and Spanish favoured trade among Sephardim, often relatives, from the Ottoman Empire to the Netherlands and the ''[[converso]]s'' of the Iberian Peninsula.

Over time, a corpus of literature, both liturgical and secular, developed. Early literature was limited to translations from Hebrew. At the end of the 17th century, Hebrew was disappearing as the vehicle for rabbinic instruction. Thus, a literature appeared in the 18th century, such as [[Me'am Lo'ez]] and poetry collections. By the end of the 19th century, the Sephardim in the Ottoman Empire studied in schools of the [[Alliance Israélite Universelle]]. French became the language for foreign relations, as it did for [[Maronite]]s, and Judaeo-Spanish drew from French for neologisms. New secular genres appeared, with more than 300 journals, history, theatre, and biographies.

Given the relative isolation of many communities, a number of regional dialects of Judaeo-Spanish appeared, many with only limited mutual comprehensibility, largely because of the adoption of large numbers of loanwords from the surrounding populations, including, depending on the location of the community, from Greek, Turkish, Arabic and, in the [[Balkans]], [[Slavic languages]], especially [[Serbo-Croatian]] and [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]]. The borrowing in many Judaeo-Spanish dialects is so heavy that up to 30% of their vocabulary is of non-Spanish origin. Some words also passed from Judaeo-Spanish into neighbouring languages. For example, the word {{lang|lad|palavra}} 'word' ([[Vulgar Latin vocabulary|Vulgar Latin]] {{lang|la|parabola}}; Greek {{lang|grc-latn|parabole}}), passed into Turkish, Greek and Romanian<ref name="DER">''[http://dexonline.ro/search.php?cuv=palavra&source=12 palavră]'' in the ''Dicționarul etimologic român'', {{ill|Alexandru Ciorănescu|ro}}, [[Universidad de la Laguna]], [[Tenerife]], 1958–1966: ''Cuvînt introdus probabil prin. iud. sp'': "Word introduced probably through Judaeo-Spanish.</ref> with the meaning 'bunk, hokum, humbug, bullshit' in Turkish and Romanian and 'big talk, boastful talk' in Greek (compare the English word ''palaver'').

The language was known as ''Yahudice'' (Jewish language) in the Ottoman Empire. In the late 18th century, Ottoman poet Enderunlu Fazıl ([[Fazyl bin Tahir Enderuni]]) wrote in his ''[[Zenanname]]'': "Castilians speak the Jewish language but they are not Jews."

[[File:Nuevo Silibaryo Espanyol Ladino textbook Salonica 1929.jpg|thumb|''Nuevo Silibaryo Espanyol''. Judaeo-Spanish textbook, [[Salonica]], 1929]]

Judaeo-Spanish was the common language of [[Salonica]] during the Ottoman period. The city became part of Greece in 1912 and was subsequently renamed Thessaloniki. Despite the [[Great Fire of Thessaloniki]] and mass settlement of Christian refugees, the language remained widely spoken in Salonica until the deportation of 50,000 Salonican Jews in the Holocaust during the [[Second World War]]. According to the 1928 census, the language had 62,999 native speakers in Greece. The figure drops down to 53,094 native speakers in 1940, but 21,094 citizens "usually" spoke the language.<ref>[http://www.greek-language.gr/greekLang/studies/guide/thema_c6/04.html Συγκριτικός πίνακας των στοιχείων των απογραφών του 1928, 1940 ΚΑΙ 1951 σχετικά με τις ομιλούμενες γλώσσες στην Ελλάδα.] – Μεινοτικές γλώσσες στην Ελλάδα, Κωνσταντίνος Τσιτσελίκης (2001), Πύλη για την Ελληνική Γλώσσα</ref> The language was so prominent in Salonica that the most prestigious monument of the city was known by its Judeo-Spanish name, [[Las Incantadas]] (meaning "the enchanted women").<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Marovitz |first1=Sanford E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rpUY_8OjqHUC |title=Melville "Among the Nations": Proceedings of an International Conference, Volos, Greece, July 2-6, 1997 |last2=Christodoulou |first2=Athanasios C. |publisher=Kent State University Press |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-87338-696-8 |location= |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=rpUY_8OjqHUC&pg=PA101 101] |quote=}}</ref>

Judaeo-Spanish was also a language used in ''[[Donmeh]]'' rites ({{lang|tr|Dönme}} being a Turkish word for 'convert' to refer to adepts of [[Sabbatai Zevi|Sabbatai Tsevi]] converting to Islam in the Ottoman Empire). An example is {{lang|lad|Sabbatai Tsevi esperamos a ti}}. Today, the religious practices and the ritual use of Judaeo-Spanish seems confined to elderly generations.

The Castilian colonisation of Northern Africa favoured the role of polyglot Sephards, who bridged between Spanish colonizers and Arab and Berber speakers.

From the 17th to the 19th centuries, Judaeo-Spanish was the predominant Jewish language in the Holy Land, but its dialect was different in some respects from the one in Greece and Turkey. Some families have lived in Jerusalem for centuries and preserve Judaeo-Spanish for cultural and folklore purposes although they now use Hebrew in everyday life.

An often-told Sephardic anecdote from [[Bosnia-Herzegovina]] has it that as a Spanish consulate was opened in [[Sarajevo]] in the [[interwar period]], two Sephardic women passed by. Upon hearing a Catholic priest who was speaking Spanish, they thought that his language meant that he was Jewish.<ref name="Papo">{{Cite journal |last=Papo |first=Eliezer |date=2007 |title=Serbo-Croatian Influences on Bosnian Spoken Judeo-Spanish |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/187247107783876329 |journal=European Journal of Jewish Studies |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=343–363 |doi=10.1163/187247107783876329 |issn=1025-9996}}</ref>

In the 20th century, the number of speakers declined sharply: entire communities were murdered in the Holocaust, and many of the remaining speakers, many of whom emigrated to Israel, adopted Hebrew. The government of the new [[nation-state]] encouraged instruction in Hebrew. Similarly in the US, Sephardic Jews were encouraged to speak English rather than Judaeo-Spanish, therefore, the language was not passed down to younger generations.<ref name="harris2011">{{cite journal|last1=Harris |first1=Tracy K. |title=The State of Ladino Today |journal=[[European Judaism: A Journal for the New Europe]] |date=2011 |volume=44 |issue=1 |pages=51–61 |doi=10.3167/ej.2011.44.01.07 |jstor=41444099 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41444099 |access-date=28 July 2024 |issn=0014-3006}}</ref> In Turkey, where there is a large community of Sephardic Jews, Judaeo-Spanish was considered a language of little prestige; additionally, parents refused to teach their children the language, fearing that their children would develop a "Jewish accent" and therefore face discrimination.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gerson Şarhon |first1=Karen |author1-link=Karen Gerson Şarhon |title=Ladino in Turkey: The Situation Today as Reflected by the Ladino Database Project |journal=European Judaism: A Journal for the New Europe |date=2011 |volume=44 |issue=1 |pages=62–71 |doi=10.3167/ej.2011.44.01.08 |jstor=41444100 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41444100 |access-date=28 July 2024 |issn=0014-3006}}</ref> At the same time, Judaeo-Spanish aroused the interest of philologists, as it conserved language and literature from before the standardisation of Spanish.

Judaeo-Spanish is in serious danger of extinction. As of 2011, the majority of fluent speakers are over the age of 70; the descendants of these speakers exhibit little to no knowledge of the language.<ref name="harris2011"/> Nevertheless, it is experiencing a minor revival among Sephardic communities, especially in music. In addition, Sephardic communities in several Latin American countries still use Judaeo-Spanish. There, the language is exposed to the different danger of assimilation to modern Spanish.

[[Kol Yisrael]]<ref name="REKA">[https://reka.iba.org.il/ Reka Network]: [[Kol Yisrael|Kol Israel International]] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070323082115/http://reka.iba.org.il/ |date=23 March 2007 }}</ref> and [[Radio Nacional de España]]<ref name="REE">[[Radio Exterior de España]]: [http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/audios/emision-en-sefardi/ Emisión en sefardí]</ref> hold regular radio broadcasts in Judaeo-Spanish. ''[[Law & Order: Criminal Intent]]'' showed an episode, titled "[[A Murderer Among Us]]", with references to the language. Films partially or totally in Judaeo-Spanish include Mexican film [[Novia que te vea (film)|''Novia que te vea'']] (directed by [[Guita Schyfter]]), [[The House on Chelouche Street]], and [[Every Time We Say Goodbye (film)|''Every Time We Say Goodbye'']].

Efforts have been made to gather and publish modern Judaeo-Spanish fables and folktales. In 2001, the [[Jewish Publication Society]] published the first English translation of Judaeo-Spanish folktales, collected by [[Matilda Koen-Sarano]], ''Folktales of Joha, Jewish Trickster: The Misadventures of the Guileful Sephardic Prankster.'' A survivor of [[Auschwitz]], [[Moshe Ha-Elion]], issued his translation into Judeo-Spanish of the ancient Greek epic ''[[Odyssey]]'' in 2012, in his 87th year,<ref>Nir Hasson, [http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/holocaust-survivor-revives-jewish-dialect-by-translating-greek-epic-1.417423 ''Holocaust survivor revives Jewish dialect by translating Greek epic,''] at [[Haaretz]], 9 March 2012.</ref> and later completed a translation of the sister epic, the ''[[Iliad]]'', into his mother tongue.

The language was initially spoken by the [[Sephardic Jews in India|Sephardic Jewish community in India]], but was later replaced with [[Judeo-Malayalam]].

==Literature==
[[File:Loez2.jpg|thumb|Cover of ''[[Me'am Lo'ez|Me-'am lo'ez]]'']]
The first printed Judaeo-Spanish book was ''[[Me'am Lo'ez|Me-'am lo'ez]]'' in 1730. It was a commentary on the Bible in the Judaeo-Spanish language. Most Jews in the Ottoman Empire knew the Hebrew alphabet but did not speak Hebrew. The printing of {{lang|lad|Me-'am lo'ez}} marked the emergence of large-scale printing activity in Judaeo-Spanish in the western Ottoman Empire and in Istanbul in particular.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Simon|first=Rachel|date=2011|title=The Contribution of Hebrew Printing Houses and Printers in Istanbul to Ladino Culture and Scholarship|journal=Judaica Librarianship|volume=16/17|pages=125–135|doi=10.14263/2330-2976.1008|doi-access=free}}</ref> The earliest Judaeo-Spanish books were religious in nature, mostly created to maintain religious knowledge for exiles who could not read Hebrew; the first of the known texts is {{lang|lad|Dinim de shehitah i bedikah}} [The Rules of Ritual Slaughter and Inspection of Animals]; (Istanbul, 1510).<ref>{{Cite book|title=Modern Ladino Culture: Press, Belles Lettres, and Theater in the Late Ottoman Empire|last=Borovaya|first=Olga|publisher=Indiana University Press|year=2012|isbn=978-0-253-35672-7|pages=7}}</ref> Texts continued to be focussed on philosophical and religious themes, including a large body of rabbinic writings, until the first half of the 19th century. The largest output of secular Judaeo-Spanish literature occurred during the latter half of the 19th and the early 20th centuries in the Ottoman Empire. The earliest and most abundant form of secular text was the periodical press: between 1845 and 1939, Ottoman Sephardim published around 300 individual periodical titles.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Modern Ladino Culture: Press, Belles Lettres, and Theater in the Late Ottoman Empire|last=Borovaya|first=Olga|publisher=Indiana University Press|year=2012|isbn=978-0-253-35672-7|pages=24}}</ref> The proliferation of periodicals gave rise to serialised novels: many of them were rewrites of existing foreign novels into Judaeo-Spanish. Unlike the previous scholarly literature, they were intended for a broader audience of educated men and less-educated women alike. They covered a wider range of less weighty content, at times censored to be appropriate for family readings.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Modern Ladino Culture: Press, Belles Lettres, and Theater in the Late Ottoman Empire|last=Borovaya|first=Olga|publisher=Indiana University Press|year=2012|isbn=978-0-253-35672-7|pages=144}}</ref> Popular literature expanded to include love stories and adventure stories, both of which had been absent from Judaeo-Spanish literary canon.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Modern Ladino Culture: Press, Belles Lettres, and Theater in the Late Ottoman Empire|last=Borovaya|first=Olga|publisher=Indiana University Press|year=2012|isbn=978-0-253-35672-7|pages=191}}</ref> The literary corpus meanwhile also expanded to include theatrical plays, poems and other minor genres.

Multiple documents made by the Ottoman government were translated into Judaeo-Spanish; usually translators used terms from Ottoman Turkish.<ref name=Straussp36>{{cite book |last=Strauss |first=Johann|chapter-url=https://menadoc.bibliothek.uni-halle.de/menalib/download/pdf/2734659?originalFilename=true |year=2010 |chapter=A Constitution for a Multilingual Empire: Translations of the ''Kanun-ı Esasi'' and Other Official Texts into Minority Languages | editor=Herzog, Christoph|editor2=Malek Sharif|title= The First Ottoman Experiment in Democracy|publisher=[[Orient-Institut Istanbul]] |location= [[Würzburg]]|pages= 21–51 }} ([http://menadoc.bibliothek.uni-halle.de/urn/urn:nbn:de:gbv:3:5-91645 info page on book] at [[Martin Luther University]]) // CITED: p. 36 (PDF p. 38/338). "This seems surprising insofar as Judaeo-Spanish translators do not generally shun Turkish terms."</ref>

==Religious use==
The Jewish communities of [[Sarajevo]], Bosnia-Herzegovina, and [[Belgrade]], [[Serbia]], still chant part of the Sabbath Prayers (''Mizmor David'') in Judaeo-Spanish. The Sephardic Synagogue Ezra Bessaroth in [[Seattle, Washington]], United States, was formed by Jews from Turkey and the Greek island of [[Rhodes]], and it uses the language in some portions of its [[Shabbat]] services. The [[Siddur]] is called Zehut Yosef and was written by Hazzan Isaac Azose.

At Congregation Etz Ahaim of [[Highland Park, New Jersey]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.etzahaim.org/|title=Congregation Etz Ahaim – Sephardic|website=Congregation Etz Ahaim – Sephardic}}</ref> a congregation founded by Sephardic Jews from [[History of the Jews in Thessaloniki|Salonika]], a reader chants the [[Aramaic]] prayer ''B'rikh Shemay'' in Judaeo-Spanish before he takes out the [[Torah]] on [[Shabbat]]. That is known as {{lang|lad|Bendichu su Nombre}} in Judaeo-Spanish. Additionally, at the end of Shabbat services, the entire congregation sings the well-known Hebrew hymn ''[[Ein Keloheinu]],'' which is {{lang|lad|Non Como Muestro Dio}} in Judaeo-Spanish.

{{lang|lad|Non Como Muestro Dio}} is also included, alongside ''Ein Keloheinu'', in ''[[Mishkan T'filah]]'', the 2007 [[Reform Judaism|Reform]] prayerbook.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Frishman|editor1-first=Elyse D.|title=Mishkan T'filah: a Reform siddur: services for Shabbat|date=2007|publisher=Central Conference of American Rabbis|location=New York|isbn=978-0-88123-104-5|page=327}}</ref>

{{lang|lad|El Dio Alto}} ({{lang|lad|El Dyo Alto}}) is a Sephardic hymn often sung during the Havdalah service, its currently popular tune arranged by [[Judy Frankel]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=ben Or|first=David|date=2016|title=El Dio Alto|url=http://sefaradizo.org/muzica/el_dio_alto/index-en.html|access-date=2021-09-17|website=sefaradizo.org|archive-date=17 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210917183849/http://sefaradizo.org/muzica/el_dio_alto/index-en.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Hazzan Azose|Hazzan Isaac Azose]], cantor emeritus of Synagogue Ezra Bessaroth and second-generation Turkish immigrant, has performed an alternative Ottoman tune.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Guo|first=Ke|date=2020-12-30|title=Listen to Hazzan Isaac Azose sing a popular Ladino song with an Ottoman melody|url=https://jewishstudies.washington.edu/sephardic-studies/listen-to-hazzan-isaac-azose-sing-a-popular-ladino-song-with-an-ottoman-melody/|access-date=2021-09-17|website=UW Stroum Center for Jewish Studies|language=en-US}}</ref>

Rabbi [[Aryeh Kaplan]] translated some scholarly religious texts, including ''[[Me'am Loez]]'' into Hebrew, English or both.<ref>{{usurped|[https://web.archive.org/web/20060117103138/http://www.americansephardifederation.org/sub/events/exhibition-rare_book_levy.asp > Events > Exhibitions > Rare Book Library Collection Restoration Project – Ladino]}}. American Sephardi Federation (23 April 1918). Retrieved on 19 October 2011.</ref><ref>Yalkut May'Am Loez, Jerusalem 5736 Hebrew translation from Ladino language.</ref>

Izmir's grand rabbis [[Haim Palachi]], [[Abraham Palacci]], and [[Rahamim Nissim Palacci]] all wrote in the language and in Hebrew.
[[File:Dedicated Yad Vashem.jpg|thumb|Inscription at Yad Vashem in Hebrew, English, Yiddish, and Judaeo-Spanish]]

== Modern education and use ==
In 1967, linguist [[Haïm Vidal Séphiha]] of the [[University of Paris]] became the first professor of Judaeo-Spanish in the world; courses of Judaeo-Spanish have been introduced in universities since then in other European countries, along with research centers dedicated to the study of the language.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sephiha |first1=Haim Vidal |last2=Mitchell |first2=Bruce |title=The Instruction of Judeo-Spanish in Europe |journal=Shofar |date=2001 |volume=19 |issue=4 |pages=58–70 |jstor=42943398 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/42943398 |access-date=27 July 2024 |issn=0882-8539}}</ref> The ''National Authority of Ladino'', dedicated to the study and promotion of Judaeo-Spanish was established in Jerusalem in 1997.<ref name="harris2011"/>

As with Yiddish,<ref>Price, Sarah. (25 August 2005) [http://www.jewishjournal.com/articles/item/schools_to_teach_ein_bisel_yiddish_20050826/ Schools to Teach Ein Bisel Yiddish {{!}} Education]. Jewish Journal. Retrieved on 19 October 2011.</ref><ref>[http://yiddish.haifa.ac.il/tmr/tmr11/tmr11010.htm The Mendele Review: Yiddish Literature and Language, Volume 11, No. 10]. Yiddish.haifa.ac.il (30 September 2007). Retrieved on 19 October 2011.</ref> Judaeo-Spanish is seeing a minor resurgence in educational interest in colleges across the United States and in Israel.<ref>[http://www.ejpress.org/article/2998 EJP {{!}} News {{!}} Western Europe {{!}} Judaeo-Spanish language revived] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090529062649/http://www.ejpress.org/article/2998 |date=29 May 2009 }}. Ejpress.org (19 September 2005). Retrieved on 19 October 2011.</ref> Almost all [[American Jews]] are [[Ashkenazi]], with a tradition based on Yiddish, rather than Judaeo-Spanish, and so institutions that offer Yiddish are more common. {{As of|2011}} the [[University of Pennsylvania]]<ref>[http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/jwst/courses09c.htm#JWST231680 Jewish Studies Program] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121117204334/http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/jwst/courses09c.htm#JWST231680 |date=17 November 2012 }}. Ccat.sas.upenn.edu. Retrieved on 19 October 2011.</ref><ref>[http://www.jewishexponent.com/article/12032 Ladino Class at Penn Tries to Resuscitate Dormant Language] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110323123729/http://www.jewishexponent.com/article/12032 |date=23 March 2011 }}. The Jewish Exponent (1 February 2007). Retrieved on 19 October 2011.</ref> and [[Tufts University]]<ref>[https://ase.tufts.edu/grall/judaic/courses.asp Department of German, Russian & Asian Languages and Literature – Tufts University]. Ase.tufts.edu. Retrieved on 19 October 2011.</ref> offered Judaeo-Spanish courses among colleges in the United States; [[INALCO]] in Paris, the [[University of the Basque Country]] and [[University of Granada]] in Spain were offering courses as well.<ref name="harris2011"/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://jewishstandard.timesofisrael.com/For-love-of-Ladino/?/content/item/2617 |title=For love of Ladino |work=[[The Jewish Standard]] |access-date=19 October 2011}}</ref> In Israel, Moshe David Gaon Center for Ladino Culture at [[Ben-Gurion University]] of the Negev is leading the way in education (language and literature courses, Community oriented activities) and research (a yearly scientific journal, international congresses and conferences etc.). [[Hebrew University]] also offers courses.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pluto.huji.ac.il/~msladino/courses.htm |title=Courses – Ladino Studies At The Hebrew University of Jerusalem |website=[[Hebrew University of Jerusalem]] |date=30 July 2010 |access-date=19 October 2011}}</ref> The [[Complutense University of Madrid]] also used to have courses.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hebrew Philology courses (in Spanish) |url=http://www.ucm.es/info/portalempleo/guia/titu_especi.php?idtitulacion=104 |work=UCM |access-date=22 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121212121312/http://www.ucm.es/info/portalempleo/guia/titu_especi.php?idtitulacion=104 |archive-date=12 December 2012 }}</ref> Prof. [[David M. Bunis|David Bunis]] taught Judaeo-Spanish at the [[University of Washington]], in Seattle during the 2013–14 academic year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jewishstudies.washington.edu/blog/why-im-teaching-a-new-generation-to-read-and-write-ladino |title=Why I'm teaching a new generation to read and write Ladino |publisher=Jewish Studies |date=2014-02-23}}</ref> Bunis returned to the University of Washington for the Summer 2020 quarter.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-08-17 |title=The Legacy of Ladino |url=https://artsci.washington.edu/news/2020-08/legacy-ladino |access-date=2021-05-13 |website=College of Arts and Sciences – [[University of Washington]] |language=en}}</ref>

In Spain, the [[Spanish Royal Academy]] (RAE) in 2017 announced plans to create a Judaeo-Spanish branch in Israel in addition to 23 existing academies, in various Spanish-speaking countries, that are associated in the [[Association of Spanish Language Academies]]. Its stated purpose is to preserve Judaeo-Spanish. The move was seen as another step to make up for the Expulsion, following the [[Sephardi Jews#Spanish citizenship by Iberian Sephardic descent|offer of Spanish citizenship to Sephardim]] who had some connection with Spain.<ref name=rae/>

When French-medium schools operated by [[Alliance Israelite Universelle]] opened in the [[Ottoman Empire]] in the 1860s, the position of Judaeo-Spanish began to weaken in the Ottoman Empire areas. In time Judaeo-Spanish became perceived as a low status language,<ref name=Alphan>{{cite news|last=Alphan |first=Melis |author-link=Melis Alphan|url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/opinion/melis-alphan/ladino-a-judeo-ottoman-language-that-is-dying-in-turkey-123826 |title=Ladino: A Judeo-Ottoman language that is dying in Turkey |newspaper=[[Hürriyet]] |date=2017-12-09 |access-date=2019-06-14}}</ref> and Sephardic people began losing connections to that language.<ref>{{cite web|last=Austin|first=Dana|url=https://sfi.usc.edu/sites/default/files/profiles/World%20War%20II%20and%20the%20Decline%20of%20the%20Ladino%20Language-%20Dana%20Austin.pdf|title=World War II and the Decline of the Ladino Language|publisher=[[USC Shoah Foundation]]|access-date=2004-02-03|page=2/6}}</ref> Esther Benbassa and Aron Rodrigue, authors of ''[[Sephardi Jewry: A History of the Judeo-Spanish Community, 14th-20th Centuries]]'', wrote that the AIU institutions "gallicized" people who attended.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Benbassa|first1=Esther|last2=Rodrigue|first2=Aron|title=Sephardi Jewry: A History of the Judeo-Spanish Community, 14th-20th Centuries|publisher=[[University of California Press]]|date=2000-04-13|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=75yqSStYjocC&pg=PA3 93]}}</ref> As time progressed, Judaeo-Spanish language and culture declined. Although Mary Altabev in 1994 observed limited use of Ladino at home among educated Turkish Jews, [[Melis Alphan]] wrote in ''[[Hürriyet]]'' in 2017 that the Judaeo-Spanish language in Turkey was heading to extinction.<ref name="harris2011"/><ref name=Alphan/>

== Samples ==

=== Comparison with other languages ===
{|class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2" |Judaeo-Spanish
!Aki Yerushalayim orthography
|{{Script/Hebr|{{lang|lad-Hebr|איל גﬞודיאו־איספאנײול איס לה לינגואה פﬞאבﬞלאדה די לוס גﬞודיוס ספﬞרדים ארונגﬞאדוס די לה איספאנײה איניל 1492. איס אונה לינגואה דיריבﬞאדה דיל איספאנײול אי פﬞאבﬞלאדה די 150,000 פירסונאס אין קומוניטאס אין ישראל, לה טורקײה, אנטיקה יוגוסלאבﬞײה, לה גריסײה, איל מארואיקוס, מאיורקה, לאס אמיריקאס, אינטרי מונגﬞוס אוטרוס לוגאריס.|rtl=yes}}}}
{{lang|lad-Latn-IL|El djudeo-espanyol es la lingua favlada de los djudios sefardim arondjados de la Espanya enel 1492. Es una lingua derivada del espanyol i favlada de 150.000 personas en komunitas en Israel, la Turkia, antika Yugoslavia, la Gresia, el Maruekos, Mayorka, las Amerikas, entre munchos otros lugares.}}
|-
!Castillian-inspired orthography
|{{lang|lad-Latn-IL|El judeoespañol es la lingua fablada de los judiós sefaradim arronjados de la España en el 1492. Es una lingua derivada del español y fablada de 150.000 personas en comunitás en Israel, la Turquía, antica Yugoslavia, la Grecia, el Marruecos, Mayorca, las Américas, entre munchos otros lugares.}}
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Castillian language|Castillian]]
|{{lang|es|El judeoespañol es la lengua hablada por los judíos sefardíes expulsados{{efn|group=note|The direct Spanish cognate of Judaeo-Spanish 'arondjado(s)' is 'arrojado(s)', which has the meaning of 'thrown' and 'kicked-out', but not 'exiled' like its Judaeo-Spanish counterpart.}} de España en 1492. Es una lengua derivada del español y hablada por 150.000 personas en comunidades en Israel, Turquía, la antigua Yugoslavia, Grecia, Marruecos, Mallorca, las Américas, entre muchos otros lugares.}}
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Asturian language|Asturian]]
|{{lang|ast|El xudeoespañol ye la llingua falada polos xudíos sefardinos espulsaos d'España en 1492. Ye una llingua derivada del español y falada por 150.000 persones en comunidaes n'Israel, Turquía, na antigua Yugoslavia, Grecia, Marruecos, Mallorca, nes Amériques, ente munchos otros llugares.}}
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[Galician language|Galician]]
!Standard
|{{lang|gl|O xudeo-español é a lingua falada polos xudeus sefardís expulsados de España en 1492. É unha lingua derivada do español e falada por 150.000 persoas en comunidades en Israel, Turquía, antiga Iugoslavia, Grecia, Marrocos, Maiorca, Américas, entre moitos outros lugares.}}
|-
!Reintegrationist
|{{lang|gl|O judeu-espanhol é a língua falada polos judeus sefardis espulsados de Espanha em 1492. É uma língua derivada do espanhol e falada por 150.000 pessoas em comunidades em Israel, Turquia, antiga Iugoslávia, Grécia, Marrocos, Maiorca, Américas, entre muitos outros lugares.}}
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]
|{{lang|pt|O judeu-espanhol é a língua falada pelos judeus sefardis expulsos de Espanha em 1492. É uma língua derivada do espanhol e falada por 150.000 pessoas em comunidades em Israel, Turquia, antiga Jugoslávia, Grécia, Marrocos, Maiorca, Américas, entre muitos outros lugares.}}
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Aragonese language|Aragonese]]
|{{lang|an|O chodigo-espanyol ye la luenga parlata por os chodigos sefardís expulsats d'Espanya en 1492. Ye una luenga derivata de l'espanyol i parlata por 150.000 personas en comunitatz en Israel, Turquía, l'antiga Yugoslavia, Grecia, Marruecos, Mallorca, las Américas, entre muitos atros lugares.}}
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Catalan language|Catalan]]
|{{lang|ca|El judeoespanyol és la llengua parlada pels jueus sefardites expulsats d'Espanya al 1492. És una llengua derivada de l'espanyol i parlada per 150.000 persones en comunitats a Israel, Turquia, l'antiga Iugoslàvia, Grècia, el Marroc, Mallorca, les Amèriques, entre molts altres llocs.}}
|-
![[Occitan language|Occitan]]
![[Languedocien dialect]]
|{{lang|oc-lengadoc|Lo judeoespanhol es la lenga parlada pels jusieus sefarditas expulsats d'Espanha en 1492. Es una lenga venent del castelhan que 150&nbsp;000 personas la parlan dins de comunautats en Israèl, Turquia, èx-Iogoslavia, Grècia, Marròc, Malhòrca, las Americas, entre fòrça autres luòcs.}}
|-
! colspan="2" |English
|Judaeo-Spanish is the language spoken by Sephardic Jews expelled from Spain in 1492. It is a language derived from Spanish and spoken by 150,000 people in communities in Israel, Turkey, the former Yugoslavia, Greece, Morocco, Majorca, the Americas, among many other places.
|-
|}

=== Songs ===
Folklorists have been collecting ''romances'' and other folk songs, some dating from before the expulsion. Many religious songs in Judeo-Spanish are translations of Hebrew, usually with a different tune. For example, here is ''[[Ein Keloheinu]]'' in Judeo-Spanish:
{{blockquote|<poem>
{{lang|lad|Non komo muestro Dio,
Non komo muestro Sinyor,
Non komo muestro Rey,
Non komo muestro Salvador.}}
''etc.''
</poem>}}

Other songs relate to secular themes such as love:

{|
|-
! {{lang|lad|Adio, kerida}}
!Goodbye, My Love (translation)
|-
|<poem>
{{lang|lad|Tu madre kuando te pario
Y te kito al mundo,
Korason ella no te dio
Para amar segundo.
Korason ella no te dió
Para amar segundo.

Adio,
Adio kerida,
No kero la vida,
Me l'amargates tu.
Adio,
Adio kerida,
No kero la vida,
Me l'amargates tu.

Va, bushkate otro amor,
Aharva otras puertas,
Aspera otro ardor,
Ke para mi sos muerta.
Aspera otro ardor,
Ke para mi sos muerta.

Adio,
Adio kerida,
No kero la vida,
Me l'amargates tu.
Adio,
Adio kerida,
No kero la vida,
Me l'amargates tú.}}
</poem>
|<poem>
When your mother gave birth to you
And brought you into the world
She gave you no heart
To love another.
She gave you no heart
To love another.

Farewell,
Farewell my love,
I no longer want my life
You made it bitter for me
Farewell,
Farewell my love,
I no longer want my life
You made it bitter for me

Go, find yourself another lover,
Knock at other doors,
Wait for another passion
For you are dead to me
Wait for another passion
For you are dead to me

Farewell,
Farewell my love,
I no longer want my life
You made it bitter for me
Farewell,
Farewell my love,
I no longer want my life
You made it bitter for me
</poem>
|-
!{{lang|lad|Por una Ninya}}
!For a Girl ''(translation)''
|-
|<poem>{{lang|lad|Por una ninya tan fermoza
l'alma yo la vo a dar
un kuchilyo de dos kortes
en el korason entro.}}</poem>
|<poem>For a girl so beautiful
I will give my soul
a double-edged knife
pierced my heart.</poem>
|-
|<poem>{{lang|lad|No me mires ke'stó kantando
es lyorar ke kero yo
los mis males son muy grandes
no los puedo somportar.}}</poem>
|<poem>Don't look at me; I am singing,
it is crying that I want,
my sorrows are so great
I can't bear them.</poem>
|-
|<poem>{{lang|lad|No te lo kontengas tu, fijika,
ke sos blanka komo'l simit,
ay morenas en el mundo
ke kemaron Selanik.}}</poem>
|Don't hold your sorrows, young girl,<br/>for you are white like bread,<br/>there are dark girls in the world<br/>who set fire to [[Thessaloniki]].
|-
|&nbsp;
|-
![[Quando el Rey Nimrod]] ''(Adaptation)''
!When King Nimrod ''(translation)''
|-
|<poem>{{lang|lad|Quando el Rey Nimrod al campo salía
mirava en el cielo y en la estrellería
vido una luz santa en la [[Jewish quarter (diaspora)|djudería]]
que havía de nascer Avraham Avinu.}}</poem>
|<poem>When King [[Nimrod]] was going out to the fields
He was looking at heaven and at the stars
He saw a holy light in the Jewish quarter
[A sign] that [[Abraham]], our father, must have been born.</poem>
|-
|<poem>{{lang|lad|Avraham Avinu, Padre querido,
Padre bendicho, luz de Yisrael.}}</poem>
|<poem>Abraham Avinu [our Father], dear father
Blessed Father, light of Israel.</poem>
|-
|<poem>{{lang|lad|Luego a las comadres encomendava
que toda mujer que prenyada quedara
si no pariera al punto, la matara
que havía de nascer Abraham Avinu.}}</poem>
|<poem>Then he was telling all the [[midwife|midwives]]
That every pregnant woman
Who did not give birth at once was going to be killed
because Abraham our father was going to be born.</poem>
|-
|<poem>{{lang|lad|Avraham Avinu, Padre querido,
Padre bendicho, luz de Yisrael.}}</poem>
|<poem>Abraham Avinu, dear father
Blessed Father, light of Israel.</poem>
|-
|<poem>{{lang|lad|La mujer de Terach quedó prenyada
y de día en día le preguntava
¿De qué teneix la cara tan demudada?
ella ya sabía el bien que tenía.}}</poem>
|<poem>[[Terach]]'s wife was pregnant
and each day he would ask her
Why do you look so distraught?
She already knew very well what she had.</poem>
|-
|<poem>{{lang|lad|Avraham Avinu, Padre querido,
Padre bendicho, luz de Yisrael.}}</poem>
|<poem>Abraham Avinu, dear father
Blessed Father, light of Israel.</poem>
|-
|<poem>{{lang|lad|En fin de nueve meses parir quería
iva caminando por campos y vinyas,
a su marido tal ni le descubría
topó una meara, allí lo pariría}}</poem>
|<poem>After nine months she wanted to give birth
She was walking through the fields and vineyards
Such would not even reach her husband
She found a cave; there, she would give birth.</poem>
|-
|<poem>{{lang|lad|Avraham Avinu, Padre querido,
Padre bendicho, luz de Yisrael.}}</poem>
|<poem>Abraham Avinu, dear father
Blessed Father, light of Israel.</poem>
|-
|<poem>{{lang|lad|En aquella hora el nascido avlava
"Andavos mi madre, de la meara
yo ya topó quen me alexara
mandará del cielo quen me accompanyará
porque so criado del Dio bendicho."}}</poem>
|<poem>In that hour the newborn was speaking
'Get away of the cave,<ref>meara=מערה=Heb. cave</ref> my mother
I will somebody to take me out
He will send from the heaven the one that will go with me
Because I am raised by the blessed God.'</poem>
|-
|<poem>{{lang|lad|Avraham Avinu, Padre querido,
Padre bendicho, luz de Yisrael}}</poem>
|<poem>Abraham Avinu, dear father
Blessed Father, light of Israel.</poem>
|-
!{{lang|lad|Yo era ninya}}
!I Was a Girl ''(translation)''
|-
|<poem>{{lang|lad|Yo era ninya de kaza alta
No savia de sufrir
Por kaer kon ti berbante
Me metites a servir}}</poem>
|<poem>I was a girl from an upper-class family
And I never knew of any suffering,
Because I fell in love with you, you scoundrel
You've brought me misfortune.</poem>
|-
|&nbsp;
|-
|}
Anachronistically, Abraham—who in the Bible is an Aramean and the very first Hebrew and the ancestor of all who followed, hence his appellation {{lang|lad|Avinu}} (Our Father)—is in the Judeo-Spanish song born already in the {{lang|lad|djudería}} (modern Spanish: {{Lang|es|judería}}), the Jewish quarter. This makes Terach and his wife into Hebrews, as are the parents of other babies killed by Nimrod. In essence, unlike its Biblical model, the song is about a Hebrew community persecuted by a cruel king and witnessing the birth of a miraculous saviour—a subject of obvious interest and attraction to the Jewish people who composed and sang it in [[medieval Spain]].

The song attributes to Abraham elements that are from the story of [[Moses]]'s birth, the cruel king killing innocent babies, with the midwives ordered to kill them, the 'holy light' in the Jewish area, as well as from the careers of [[Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego]] who emerged unscathed from the fiery furnace, and [[Jesus of Nazareth]]. [[Nimrod (king)|Nimrod]] is thus made to conflate the role and attributes of three archetypal cruel and persecuting kings: [[Nebuchadnezzar]] and [[Pharaoh]] and [[Herod the Great|Herod]]

Another example is the [[Coplas de Purim]], a folk song about [[Purim]].

=== Dialectal differences ===
{| class=wikitable
!Turkish ([[Istanbul]])
|{{lang|lad-Latn-IL| Esto sta bueno. Importa voz soş las ratoneras, i los mansevos son los ratuneros. Dime tu a mi, stuvo kazado este Tolstoy?}}
|-
!Serbo-Croatian ([[Sarajevo]])
|{{lang|lad-Latn-IL| Estu sta buenu. Importa vuoztras sos las ratoneras, i lus mansevus son lus ratunis. Dizmi tu a mi, stuvu kazadu esti Tolstoj?}}
|-
!Greek ([[Thessaloniki]])
|{{lang|lad-Latn-IL| Esto sta bueno. Importa voz sos las ratoneras, i los mansevos son los ratuneros. Dime tu a mi, stuvo kasado este Tolstoi?}}
|-
!Macedonian ([[Bitola]])
|{{lang|lad-Latn-IL| Estu sta buenu. Impurta vuoztras sos las ratoneras, i lus mansevus son lus ratunis. Dizmje tu a mi, stuvu kazadu isti Tolstoj?}}
|}

=== Selected words by origin ===
Words derived from Arabic:
* {{lang|lad|'''Alforría'''}}&nbsp;– 'liberty, freedom'
* {{lang|lad|'''Alhát'''}}&nbsp;– 'Sunday'
* {{lang|lad|'''Atemar'''}}&nbsp;– 'to terminate'
* {{lang|lad|'''Saraf'''}}&nbsp;– 'money changer'
* {{lang|lad|'''Shara'''}}&nbsp;– 'wood'
* {{lang|lad|'''Ziara'''}}&nbsp;– 'cemetery visit'

Words derived from Hebrew:
* {{lang|lad|'''Alefbet'''}}&nbsp;– 'alphabet' (from the Hebrew names of the first two letters of the alphabet)
* {{lang|lad|'''Anav'''}}&nbsp;– 'humble, obedient'
* {{lang|lad|'''Arón'''}}&nbsp;– 'grave'
* {{lang|lad|'''Atakanear'''}}&nbsp;– 'to arrange'
* {{lang|lad|'''Badkar'''}}&nbsp;– 'to reconsider'
* {{lang|lad|'''Beraxa'''}}&nbsp;– 'blessing'
* {{lang|lad|'''Din'''}}&nbsp;– 'religious law'
* {{lang|lad|'''Kal'''}}&nbsp;– 'community', 'synagogue'
* {{lang|lad|'''Kamma'''}}&nbsp;– 'how much?', 'how many?'
* {{lang|lad|'''Maaráv'''}}&nbsp;– 'west'
* {{lang|lad|'''Maasé'''}}&nbsp;– 'story, event'
* {{lang|lad|'''Maabe'''}}&nbsp;– 'deluge, downpour, torrent'
* {{lang|lad|'''Mazal'''}}&nbsp;– 'star', 'destiny'
* {{lang|lad|'''Met'''}}&nbsp;– 'dead'
* {{lang|lad|'''Niftar'''}}&nbsp;– 'dead'
* {{lang|lad|'''Purimlik'''}}&nbsp;– 'Purim present' (eerived from the Hebrew {{lang|he-latn|Purim}} + Turkic ending ''-lik'')
* {{lang|lad|'''Sedaka'''}}&nbsp;– 'charity'
* {{lang|lad|'''Tefilá'''}}&nbsp;– 'prayer'
* {{lang|lad|'''Zahut'''}}&nbsp;– 'blessing'

Words derived from Persian:
* {{lang|lad|'''Chay'''}}&nbsp;– 'tea'
* {{lang|lad|'''Chini'''}}&nbsp;– 'plate'
* {{lang|lad|'''Paras'''}}&nbsp;– 'money'
* {{lang|lad|'''Shasheo'''}}&nbsp;– 'dizziness'

Words derived from Portuguese:
* {{lang|lad|'''Abastádo'''}}&nbsp;– 'almighty, omnipotent' (referring to God)
* {{lang|lad|'''Aínda'''}}&nbsp;– 'yet'
* {{lang|lad|'''Chapeo'''}}&nbsp;– 'hat'
* {{lang|lad|'''Preto'''}}&nbsp;– 'black' (in color)
* {{lang|lad|'''Trocar'''}}&nbsp;– 'to change'

Words derived from Turkish:
* {{lang|lad|'''Balta'''}}&nbsp;– 'axe'
* {{lang|lad|'''Biterear'''}}&nbsp;– 'to terminate'
* {{lang|lad|'''Boyadear'''}}&nbsp;– 'to paint, color'
* {{lang|lad|'''Innat'''}}&nbsp;– 'whim'
* {{lang|lad|'''Kolay'''}}&nbsp;– 'easy'
* {{lang|lad|'''Kushak'''}}&nbsp;– 'belt, girdle'
* {{lang|lad|'''Maalé'''}}&nbsp;– 'street, quarters, neighbourhood'; {{lang|lad|'''Maalé yahudí'''}}&nbsp;– 'Jewish quarters'

Words derived from Greek:
* {{lang|lad|'''meldar'''}}&nbsp;– 'read, learn'
* {{lang|lad|'''bora'''}}&nbsp;– 'storm, torrential rain, gust of wind'
* {{lang|lad|'''demet'''}}&nbsp;– 'bouquet'
* {{lang|lad|'''domate'''}}&nbsp;– 'tomato'
* {{lang|lad|'''fasaria'''}}&nbsp;– 'a fuss, to-do, agitation, bustle'
* {{lang|lad|'''fota'''}}&nbsp;– 'the moment when work, motion, traffic reaches its highest intensity'
* {{lang|lad|'''kuturu'''}}&nbsp;– 'a pile of mismatched objects, of overripe fruit, of mixed leftovers'

== Modern singers ==
[[Jennifer Charles]] and [[Oren Bloedow]] from the New York-based band [[Elysian Fields (band)|Elysian Fields]] released a CD in 2001 called ''La Mar Enfortuna,'' which featured modern versions of traditional Sephardic songs, many sung by Charles in Judeo-Spanish. The American singer Tanja Solnik has released several award-winning albums that feature songs in the languages: ''From Generation to Generation: A Legacy of Lullabies'' and ''Lullabies and Love Songs''. There are a number of groups in Turkey that sing in Judeo-Spanish, notably Janet – Jak Esim Ensemble, Sefarad, Los Pasharos Sefaradis and the children's chorus Las Estreyikas d'Estambol. There is a Brazilian-born singer of Sephardic origins, [[Fortuna (Brazilian singer)|Fortuna]], who researches and plays Judeo-Spanish music.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=2009 |title=Conference News |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5703/shofar.28.1.127 |journal=Shofar |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=131 |jstor=10.5703/shofar.28.1.127 |issn=0882-8539}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=BIOGRAPHY |url=http://fortunaoficial.com/en/biography/ |access-date=2023-12-24 |language=en-GB}}</ref>

Israeli folk-duo [[Esther & Abi Ofarim]] recorded the song "Yo M'enamori d'un Aire" for their 1968 album ''Up To Date''. [[Esther Ofarim]] recorded several Judaeo-Spanish songs as a solo artist. These included "{{lang|lad|Povereta Muchachica|italics=no}}", "{{lang|lad|Noches Noches|italics=no}}", "{{lang|lad|El Rey Nimrod|italics=no}}", "{{lang|lad|Adio Querida|italics=no}}" and "{{lang|lad|Pampaparapam|italics=no}}".
<ref>{{cite web |title=Esther Ofarim web site|url=http://www.esther-ofarim.de/Disco.htm |website=Esther Ofarim}}</ref>

The Jewish Bosnian-American musician [[Flory Jagoda]] recorded two CDs of music taught to her by her grandmother, a Sephardic folk singer, among a larger discography.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Flory Jagoda |url=https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/jagoda-flory |access-date=2023-12-24 |website=Jewish Women's Archive |date=23 June 2021 |language=en}}</ref> Following her death in 2021, gentile musicians in Bosnia have recorded music in Judaeo-Spanish as well.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Klein |first1=David I. |title=In Bosnia, gentile musicians work to preserve the country's Sephardic Jewish tradition |url=https://religionnews.com/2023/11/20/in-bosnia-gentile-musicians-work-to-preserve-the-countrys-sephardic-jewish-tradition/ |access-date=28 July 2024 |work=Religion News Service |date=20 November 2023}}</ref>

The cantor Ramón Tasat, who learned Judeo-Spanish at his grandmother's knee in [[Buenos Aires]], has recorded many songs in the language, with three of his CDs focusing primarily on that music.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ramón Tasat |url=https://msac.org/directory/artists/ramon-tasat |access-date=December 24, 2023 |website=Maryland State Arts Council}}</ref>

The Israeli singer [[Yasmin Levy]] has also brought a new interpretation to the traditional songs by incorporating more "modern" sounds of Andalusian [[Flamenco]]. Her work revitalising Sephardic music has earned Levy the [[Anna Lindh Memorial Fund|Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation Award]] for promoting cross-cultural dialogue between musicians from three cultures:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/About/08EventMediaRelease_YasminLevy.aspx |title=2008 Event Media Release – Yasmin Levy |publisher=Sydney Opera House |access-date=2008-08-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080828192546/http://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/About/08EventMediaRelease_YasminLevy.aspx |archive-date=28 August 2008 }}</ref> In Yasmin Levy's own words:

<blockquote>''I am proud to combine the two cultures of Ladino and flamenco, while mixing in Middle Eastern influences. I am embarking on a 500 years old musical journey, taking Ladino to Andalusia and mixing it with flamenco, the style that still bears the musical memories of the old Moorish and Jewish-Spanish world with the sound of the Arab world. In a way it is a 'musical reconciliation' of history.''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/worldmusic/a4wm2007/2007_yasmin_levy.shtml |title=BBC – Awards for World Music 2007 – Yasmin Levy |publisher=[[BBC]] |access-date=2008-08-19}}</ref></blockquote>

Notable music groups performing in Judeo-Spanish include [[Voice of the Turtle]], [[Oren Bloedow]] and [[Jennifer Charles]]' ''[[La Mar Enfortuna (band)|La Mar Enfortuna]]'' and [[Vanya Green]], who was awarded a [[Fulbright Fellowship]] for her research and performance of this music. She was recently selected as one of the top ten world music artists by the We are Listening International World of Music Awards for her interpretations of the music.

Robin Greenstein, a New York-based musician, received a federal CETA grant in the 1980s to collect and perform Sephardic Music under the guidance of the American Jewish Congress. Her mentor was Joe Elias, noted Sephardic singer from Brooklyn. She recorded residents of the [[Sephardic Home for the Aged]], a nursing home in [[Coney Island, New York]], singing songs from their childhood. The voices recorded included Victoria Hazan, a well known Sephardic singer who recorded many 78's in Judaeo-Spanish and Turkish from the 1930s and 1940s. Two Judaeo-Spanish songs can be found on her ''Songs of the Season'' holiday CD, released in 2010 on Windy Records.

German band [[In Extremo]] also recorded a version of the above-mentioned song ''Avram Avinu.''

The Israeli-German folk band [https://www.baladino.com/ Baladino] has released two albums that have songs with lyrics in Judaeo-Spanish.

== See also ==
{{div col}}
* [[Haketia]]
* [[Jewish languages]]
* [[Judaism]]
* [[Judeo-Gascon]]
* [[Judaeo-Portuguese]]
* [[Judaeo-Romance languages]]
* [[Judaeo-Spanish Wikipedia]]
* [[Knaanic language]]
* [[Mozarabic language]]
* [[Los Serenos Sefarad]], Judaeo-Spanish hip-hop
* [[Laura Papo Bohoreta]]
* [[Matilda Koen-Sarano]]
* [[Sephardi Jews]]
* [[Tetuani]]
* [[Cicurel family]]
* [[Pallache family]]
* ''[[Şalom]]'', a Turkish newspaper with a Judaeo-Spanish page<ref>[http://www.salom.com.tr/news/list/category/19-Judeo-Espanyol.aspx Åžalom Gazetesi – 12.10.2011 – Judeo-Espanyol Ä°Ã§erikleri] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211031624/http://www.salom.com.tr/news/list/category/19-Judeo-Espanyol.aspx |date=11 December 2008 }}. Salom.com.tr. Retrieved on 19 October 2011.</ref>
* ''[[El Amaneser]]'', a Turkish  monthly newspaper in Judaeo-Spanish
* ''[[Aki Yerushalayim]]'', an Israeli magazine in Judaeo-Spanish published 2–3 times a year
* [[Yiddish]], language historically spoken by [[Ashkenazi Jews]]
* [[Judeo-Iranian languages]], languages historically spoken by [[Mizrahi Jews]] in the former territories of the Persian Empire
{{div col end}}

==References==
'''Notes'''
{{notelist}}
{{reflist|group=note}}

'''Citations'''
{{Reflist}}

'''Bibliography'''
* {{cite journal|date=2024 |first=Álvaro |last=Arias |number=1: 1-36 |periodical=Revista de Filología Española |title=La abertura /e/ > /a/ condicionada por /r/ y /l/ en judeoespañol |url=https://xn--revistadefilologiaespaola-uoc.revistas.csic.es/index.php/rfe/article/download/1420/1666/2353 |volume=104}}<!-- auto-translated from Spanish by Module:CS1 translator -->
* Barton, Thomas Immanuel (Toivi Cook) (2010) ''Judezmo Expressions''. USA {{ISBN|978-89-00-35754-7}}
* Barton, Thomas Immanuel (Toivi Cook) (2008) ''Judezmo (Judeo-Castilian) Dictionary''. USA {{ISBN|978-1-890035-73-0}}
* [[David M. Bunis|Bunis, David M.]] (1999) ''Judezmo: an introduction to the language of the Sephardic Jews of the Ottoman Empire''. Jerusalem {{ISBN|978-965-493-024-6}}
* Bunis, David M. (2015) ''Judezmo (Ladino)''. In Lily Kahn and Aaron D. Rubin (eds.), Handbook of Jewish languages, 366–451. Leiden: Brill.
* Габинский, Марк А. (1992) ''Сефардский (еврейской-испанский) язык'' (M. A. Gabinsky. ''Sephardic (Judeo-Spanish) language'', in Russian). Chişinău: Ştiinţa
* Harris, Tracy. 1994. Death of a language: The history of Judeo-Spanish. Newark, DE: University of Delaware Press.
* Hemsi, Alberto (1995) ''Cancionero Sefardí''; edited and with an introduction by Edwin Seroussi (Yuval Music Series; 4.) Jerusaelem: The Jewish Music Research Centre, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
* Hualde, José Ignacio (2013) "Intervocalic lenition and word-boundary effects: Evidence from Judeo-Spanish". ''Diachronica'' 30.2: 232–26.
* Kohen, Elli; Kohen-Gordon, Dahlia (2000) ''Ladino-English, English-Ladino: concise encyclopedic dictionary''. New York: Hippocrene Books
* Markova, Alla (2008) ''Beginner's Ladino with 2 Audio CDs''. New York: Hippocrene Books {{ISBN|0-7818-1225-9}}
* Markus, Shimon (1965) ''Ha-safa ha-sefaradit-yehudit'' (''The Judeo-Spanish language'', in Hebrew). Jerusalem
* Minervini, Laura (1999) "The Formation of the Judeo-Spanish koiné: Dialect Convergence in the Sixteenth Century". In ''Proceedings of the Tenth British Conference on Judeo-Spanish Studies''. Edited by Annete Benaim, 41–52. London: Queen Mary and Westfield College.
* Minervini, Laura (2006) "El desarollo histórico del judeoespañol", ''Revista Internacional de Lingüística Iberoamericana'' 4.2: 13–34.
* Molho, Michael (1950) ''Usos y costumbres de los judíos de Salónica''
* Quintana Rodriguez, Aldina. 2001. Concomitancias lingüisticas entre el aragones y el ladino (judeoespañol). Archivo de Filología Aragonesa 57–58, 163–192.
*Quintana Rodriguez, Aldina. 2006. Geografía lingüistica del judeoespañol: Estudio sincrónico y diacrónico. Bern: Peter Lang.
*Sephiha, Haïm-Vidal. 1997. "Judeo-Spanish", in Weinstock, Nathan, Sephiha, Haïm-Vidal (with Anita Barrera-Schoonheere) ''Yiddish and Judeo-Spanish: a European Heritage. European Languages 6''. Brussels: European Bureau for Lesser-Used Languages, 23–39.
* {{cite book |last1=Varol-Bornes |first1=Marie-Christine |title=Manual of Judeo-Spanish: language and culture |date=2008 |publisher=University Press of Maryland |location=Bethesda, Md. |isbn=978-2-915255-75-1 |translator-last=Tarica |translator-first=Ralph}}

===Further reading===
* Lleal, Coloma (1992) "A propósito de una denominación: el judeoespañol", available at Centro Virtual Cervantes, [http://www.cervantesvirtual.com/FichaObra.html?Ref=19944 A propósito de una denominación: el judeoespañol]
* Saporta y Beja, Enrique, comp. (1978) ''Refranes de los judíos sefardíes y otras locuciones típicas de Salónica y otros sitios de Oriente''. Barcelona: Ameller

==External links==
{{sister project links|auto=1|wikt=Category:Ladino language|b=Beginners Guide to Ladino|v=no|voy=Ladino phrasebook|iw=lad}}
{{Incubator|lad|Wiktionary}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120322074956/http://www.ladino-authority.com/ Autoridad Nasionala del Ladino] {{in lang|lad}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110721081700/http://www.jmth.gr/web/thejews.htm Jewish Museum of Thessaloniki]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081009032805/http://www.ladino-biu.com/ Ladino Center]
* [http://www.sephardicstudies.org/komunita.html Ladinokomunita], an email list in ''Ladino''
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140622201209/http://aki-yerushalayim.co.il/ay/index.htm La pajina djudeo-espanyola de Aki Yerushalayim]
* [http://www.mishkan.com/ladinoalefbet.html The Ladino Alphabet]
* [http://www.orbilat.com/Languages/Spanish-Ladino/index.html Judeo-Spanish (Ladino) at Orbis Latinus]
* [http://www.primary-music.com Ladino music] by [http://www.primary-music.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4&Itemid=9 Suzy] and [[Margalit Matitiahu]]
* [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=8989551 Socolovsky, Jerome. "Lost Language of Ladino Revived in Spain"], ''Morning Edition'', National Public Radio, 19 March 2007.
* [http://www.grijalvo.com/Matilda_Koen_Sarano/b_Matilda_Kuzina_kongreso.htm A randomly selected example of use of ladino on the Worldwide Web: La komponente kulinaria i linguístika turka en la kuzina djudeo-espanyola]
* [http://www.tapuz.co.il/tapuzforum/main/anashim.asp?forum=420&pass=1 Israeli Ladino Language Forum (Hebrew)]
* [http://www.ladinotype.com LadinoType – A Ladino Transliteration System for Solitreo, Meruba, and Rashi]
* [http://www.jewishsf.com/content/2-0-/module/displaystory/story_id/7777/edition_id/147/format/html/displaystory.html Habla Ladino? Sephardim meet to preserve language] Friday 9 January 1998
* [http://www.rtve.es/rne/ree/pnsefar/sefardi.htm Edición SEFARAD, Radio programme in Ladino from Radio Nacional de España]
* [http://www.antoniodenebrija.org/indice.html Etext of Nebrija's ''Gramática de la lengua castellana'', showing orthography of Old Spanish] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100510193155/http://www.antoniodenebrija.org/indice.html |date=10 May 2010 }}.
* [http://sefarad.revistas.csic.es Sefarad], Revista de Estudios Hebraicos, Sefardíes y de Oriente Próximo, [http://www.ilc.csic.es ILC], [[Spanish National Research Council|CSIC]]
* [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/8953-judaeo-spanish-language-ladino-and-literature Judæo-Spanish Language (Ladino) and Literature, Jewish Encyclopedia]
* Yitshak (Itzik) Levy [https://www.youtube.com/user/yitshak45/about- An authentic documentation of Ladino heritage and culture ]
* Sephardic Studies Digital Library & Museum [http://jewishstudies.washington.edu/seattle-sephardic-treasures/ – UW Stroum Jewish Studies ]
** ''[https://jewishstudies.washington.edu/sephardic-studies/david-bunis-ladino-or-not-ladino/ "Ladino" or not "Ladino"?]'', [[David M. Bunis]].
* [https://www.academia.edu/18371509/An_inside_look_into_the_Portuguese_corpus_of_words_in_Nehamas_Dictionnaire_du_Judeo-Espagnol/ An inside look into the Portuguese corpus of words in Nehama's Dictionnaire du Judeo-Espagnol] Yossi Gur, 2003.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20201030144320/https://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/romanization/ladino.pdf Ladino romanization standard used by the Library of Congress]

{{Jews and Judaism|state=expanded}}
{{Jewish languages}}
{{Languages of Spain}}
{{Romance languages}}
{{Portal bar|Spain|Judaism|Languages}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Judaeo-Spanish| ]]
[[Category:Judaeo-Spanish languages]]
[[Category:Endangered Romance languages]]
[[Category:Sephardi Jewish culture]]
[[Category:Languages of Turkey]]
[[Category:Languages of Greece]]
[[Category:Languages of Spain]]
[[Category:Diaspora languages]]
[[Category:Endangered diaspora languages]]
[[Category:Languages of Israel]]
[[Category:Languages attested from the 16th century]]
[[Category:Severely endangered languages]]