| Yiddish: Biography of a Language Contributor(s): Shandler, Jeffrey (Author) |
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ISBN: 0190651962 ISBN-13: 9780190651961 Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA OUR PRICE: $32.29 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: October 2020 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Foreign Language Study | Yiddish - Language Arts & Disciplines | Linguistics - Sociolinguistics - Religion | Holidays - Jewish |
| Dewey: 439.1 |
| LCCN: 2020007938 |
| Physical Information: 1" H x 6.3" W x 9.3" (1.20 lbs) 264 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: The most widely spoken Jewish language on the eve of the Holocaust, Yiddish continues to play a significant role in Jewish life today, from Hasidim for whom it is a language of daily life to avant-garde performers, political activists, and LGBTQ writers turning to Yiddish for inspiration. Yiddish: Biography of a Language presents the story of this centuries-old language, the defining vernacular of Ashkenazi Jews, from its origins to the present. Jeffrey Shandler tells the multifaceted history of Yiddish in the form of a biographical profile, revealing surprising insights through a series of thematic chapters. He addresses key aspects of Yiddish as the language of a diasporic population, whose speakers have always used more than one language. As the vernacular of a marginalized minority, Yiddish has often been held in low regard compared to other languages, and its legitimacy as a language has been questioned. But some devoted Yiddish speakers have championed the language as embodying the essence of Jewish culture and a defining feature of a Jewish national identity. Despite predictions of the demise of Yiddish-dating back well before half of its speakers were murdered during the Holocaust-the language leads a vibrant, evolving life to this day. |