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| Yiddish | |
|---|---|
| ייִדיש, יידיש or אידיש yidish/idish/yidish | |
| Pronunciation | [ˈjɪdɪʃ] or [ˈɪdɪʃ] |
| Native to | Central, Eastern, and Western Europe |
| Region | Israel, North America, other regions with Jewish populations |
| Native speakers | (1.5 million cited 1986–1991 + half undated)e18 |
| Language family | |
| Writing system | Hebrew alphabet (Yiddish orthography) |
| Official status | |
| Recognised minority language in | |
| Regulated by | no formal bodies; YIVO de facto |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-1 | yi |
| ISO 639-2 | yid |
| ISO 639-3 | yid – inclusive code Individual codes: ydd – Eastern Yiddish yih – Western Yiddish |
| Linguasphere | 52-ACB-g = 52-ACB-ga (West) + 52-ACB-gb (East); totalling 11 varieties |
Yiddish is a language used by some Jews. At first, it was a dialect of German that Jews began to use in Europe about 1000 years ago. It was and still is used in the United States, especially in New York City, and other countries that now have Jews.
Most Yiddish words come from German, but many words are also from Hebrew and Slavic languages, especially Polish, and some from French, Hungarian and Latin. Yiddish is written usually by the Hebrew alphabet.
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