A Little Yiddish Dictionary

In distinction to Sephardic Jewish communities originating around the Mediterranean, Yiddish belongs to the world of Ashkenazi Jewry of central and eastern Europe. It developed beginning in the 10th century.

Yiddish literally means "Jewish" but is derived largely from German though a Hebrew influence is evident. It is written with the characters of the Hebrew alphabet. Yiddish commonly referred to as mame-loshon or the "mother tongue". In contrast, Hebrew and to some extent Aramaic are collectively termed loshon-kodesh or "holy tongue".

The widespread dispersion of Jewish communities in central and eastern Europe resulting in dialects known designated as "Western Yiddish" to "Eastern Yiddish". The Eastern dialects remain in use today.

Western Yiddish owes its decline in part to the assimilation to German language and culture and the creation of the modern Hebrew movement. The major differentiation between the two "dialects" lies in the inclusion of words of Slavic origin in the Eastern form. In eastern communities, where Jews were largely insulated from the effects of political and social emancipation, Yiddish was a critically cohesive force.

By the early part of the 20th century, growing Jewish communities caused Yiddish to emerged as a major Eastern European language and found increasing expression via Yiddish theater and film. A range of Yiddish literature was produced. The consequences of the Holocaust, the resettlement of large numbers of Jews to both the west as well as the newly formed state of Israel, however, saw a dramatic fall in the number of Yiddish speakers. This is a trend that has continued until today.

The one possible exception to the sharp decline of Yiddish speakers can be found among in Orthodox Haredi communities largely found in the United States and some European cities. In some communities, Yiddish is spoken at home as well as in school. Hasidic communities of Brooklyn's Borough Park, Williamsburg and Crown Heights reflect a few places in the United States where Yiddish remains strong. Interestingly, while Hebrew remains the language of Jewish prayer, Hasidim have also mixed some Yiddish into their liturgy and have also been responsible for maintaining its use.

Talk Now Yiddish

IF you're new to Yiddish, there are some basics you will have to learn, whether you're eight years old or 80, on business abroad or a tourist on holiday. Talk Now! Yiddish offers a simple-to-use method for you to start learning the language, whoever you are.

Will it work for me?

Lots of people have difficulty learning languages. Why? Most have been put off at school, don't have time to learn, or think they are too lazy to do it.

Talk Now! Yiddish answers these problems:

It lifts the language off the page. There are no dull exercises; just encouraging games that award you points for progress.

It fits easily into short ten-minute sessions. But if you want to push yourself you can learn the basics in a weekend.

If you think you're lazy, think again! You'll be amazed how motivated you can be when you enjoy the experience of learning!

What will I learn?

To speak and understand enough to "get by".

You're just starting, so we won't drop you in at the deep end. There are some things you'll want to say in any language: you'll want to say 'hello', order a drink, ask for directions and so on.

This beginners program gets straight to the point. It covers food, colors, shopping, parts of the body, numbers, telling the time, countries, greetings and essential phrases.

How does it work?

Talk Now! Yiddish gives you easy-to-achieve goals. Learning a new language is far too big a task to tackle all at once, so we have broken it down into a series of rewarding challenges.

Play interactive language games. Talk Now! feeds you new words, along with pictures to reinforce your memory. It then tests your knowledge with fun quizzes. As soon as you start playing you start learning.

Earn points for every game you play. High scorers can go on to win bronze, silver and gold awards, which you can print out as a record of achievement.

You will hear Yiddish all of the time and, using the recording games, you can start speaking straight away, then compare your voice to a native speaker.

You can learn on the move. Carry on learning in the airport lounge or the ferry without a computer. Just print out the phrasebook sheets included in the program and take them with you, or upload the program's sound files onto an iPod.

For more information visit Talk Now Yiddish Software.

I hope this expanding free Yiddish dictionary and glossary below will prove helpful and entertaining. It will expand over time.

ABI GEZUNT: (as) long as you're healthy

ALTER COCKER: typically an older and complaining person.

AY-YAY-YAY: A joyous, and at times sarcastic exclamation.

BALABUSTA: The wife of an important person or a domineering woman.

BISSEL: A little bit of something.

BOBBEMYSEH: Old wives' tales.

BOYCHICK: An friendly term for a young boy.

BROCHE: A prayer or blessing.

BUBBA: grandmother.

BUBBALA: A term of endearment, (i.e. dear).

BUPKES: valueless.

CHAYA: An animal.