Language:
English
Year of publication:
2020
Titel der Quelle:
Journal of Jewish Languages
Angaben zur Quelle:
8,1-2 (2020) 108-157
Keywords:
English language Foreign words and phrases
;
Hebrew
;
Hebrew language Influence on English
;
Jews Languages
;
History
;
Jews History 21st century
Abstract:
Jewish English writing uses multiple combinations of the Hebrew and English alphabets. This paper demonstrates those uses, giving examples from rabbinic literature, Yiddish and Ladino newspapers, handwritten notes, pedagogical materials, organizations’ and restaurants’ logos, and regalia advertising sports teams, universities, and political candidates. The analysis demonstrates that hybrid combinations of Hebrew and English writing serve four functions: 1) Translanguaging: Enabling people who have access to (elements of) English and a traditionally Hebrew-script language (Yiddish, Ladino, Modern Hebrew, Textual Hebrew, Textual Jewish Aramaic) to represent both languages in the same text; 2) Symbolism: Highlighting English-speaking Jews’ Jewish and other identities simultaneously; 3) Code: Communicating coded messages to other Jews; and 4) Pedagogy: Teaching Hebrew decoding to English speakers or teaching English to readers of Yiddish or Ladino. Digraphic texts are bivalent, seen as part of multiple languages simultaneously.
DOI:
10.1163/22134638-BJA10009
URL:
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