This book explores instances of language contact between two major Ibero-Romance languages (Spanish and Portuguese) and the two major Jewish languages (Hebrew and Yiddish).
It examines the emergence of dialects of Judeo-Ibero-Romance in the Sephardic diaspora, as well as the creation of a variety of Hebrew-influenced Spanish in Argentina (Spanbrew) and the acquisition, loss, and re-acquisition of Spanish, Portuguese, and Hebrew in Israel and the United States. It also considers Yiddish language and culture education in Argentina, as well as language policies affecting Spanish-speaking Latin American immigrants in Israel.
More specifically, this book reveals the theoretical linguistic and extralinguistic underpinnings that help explain the emergence of Judeo-Ibero-Romance dialects in Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Rumania and Turkey in the aftermath of the Jewish expulsions from Spain and Portugal at the end of the 15th century to the present time. It also sheds light on the formation of a new Hebrew-influenced dialect of Spanish in a Jewish youth movement in Argentina and in kibbutzim (intentional communities) established by Spanish-speaking Latin Americans in Israel; the acquisition, loss, and reacquisition of Spanish, Portuguese, and Hebrew by a trilingual child (along with the acquisition and learning of English as a second language) from infancy to adulthood in Israel and the United States]; the historical and political context and language attitudes toward Yiddish as the language of instruction and daily use that led to the foundation of an Yiddishe folks shule's (Jewish popular school) in Argentina; and language policies and attitudes affecting the vitality of the Spanish language in Israel, including educational policies affecting the teaching of Spanish to heritage language students and others in Israeli schools.