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| Judeo-Provençal | |
|---|---|
| Judæo-Occitan | |
| Native to | France (Provence) |
| Region | South-East of France |
| Latin Hebrew | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | sdt |
| Glottolog | (insufficiently attested or not a distinct language)shua1252 |
| IETF | sdt |
| This article containsIPA phonetic symbols. Without properrendering support, you may seequestion marks, boxes, or other symbols instead ofUnicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, seeHelp:IPA. | |
Judeo-Provençal,Judæo-Occitan orJudæo-Comtadin, are the names given to the varieties ofOccitan orProvençal languages historically spoken and/or written byJews in theSouth of France, and more specifically in theComtat Venaissin area byPapal Jews.
In many recent secondary sources, Judeo-Provençal has been mistakenly referred to under the nameShuadit, a word invented in 1948 by a Polish scholar,Zosa Szajkowski, notwithstanding the fact that the language had never been known under that name by its speakers.[1]
Judeo-Provençal is known from documents dating to as early as the 11th century in France, and remained in use up to the 19th century. Then, most of its speakers assimilated to French and it is now regarded as extinct. Though often written inHebrew script, thedialect wasmutually intelligible with the Occitan spoken by non-Jews.[2]
Judeo-Provençal writings came in two distinct categories, religious texts and popular prose. They were predominantly written by adapting the Hebrew script.[citation needed]
Religious texts contained a significantly higher incidence ofloanwords fromHebrew and reflected an overall more "educated" style, with many words also fromOld French,Provençal,Greek,Aramaic andLatin. The texts include a fragment of a 14th-century poem lauding QueenEsther, and a woman'sprayer book containing an uncommon blessing, found in few other locations (including medievalLithuania), thankingGod, in themorning blessings, not for making her "according to His will" (שעשני כרצונוshe'asani kirṣono) but for making her as a woman.
The extant texts comprising the collections of popularprose used far fewer borrowings and were essentiallyOccitan written with the Hebrew script. This may have simply reflected Jews' then-prevalent avoidance of theLatin alphabet, which was widely associated with oppressive Christian régimes. The texts demonstrate the extent to which the Jewish community ofProvence was familiar with Hebrew as well as the extent to which the community was integrated into the larger surroundingChristian culture of the region.
Judeo-Provençal had a number ofphonological characteristics that are not found in otherOccitan dialects.
One of the most salient features is that, in words derived from Latin, Provençal/ʒ/ and/dʒ/ were realized/ʃ/ and/tʃ/.[3] Other phonetic features have been recorded.[4]
Words borrowed from Hebrew were pronounced according to the distinctive Provençal phonetic norm of Hebrew.[5] Among other features, the letterssamekh,sin,tsade andtaw raphe were all pronounced/f/.[6] Hebrew words were largely adapted to Provençal phonology.[7]
A fundamental source for inferring information about thephonology of Judeo-Provençal is the comedyHarcanot et Barcanot. (SeeNahon in theReferences section.)
There are also a number ofbilingual Hebrew-Provençal religiouspoems, known asObros.[where?]
In 1498, theFrench Jews were formallyexpelled from France. Although the community was not finally compelled to depart until 1501, much of the community had by then become dispersed into other regions, notably Northern Italy, Germany and the Ottoman Empire. However, theComtat Venaissin was then under the direct control of thePope until 1790, and a small Jewish community continued to live there in relative isolation. From the time of theFrench Revolution, when French Jews were permitted to live legally anywhere in France as full citizens, the status of Judeo-Provençal began to decline rapidly. It has been claimed that the last known native speaker,Armand Lunel, died in 1977, though it appears Lunel, a native French speaker, only remembered a few words of the language.[8] However, it still retains some influence onSouthern Jewish French dialect of French spoken by 50-100 Jews in Southern France.[9]
| Judeo-Provençal[1] | English[1] |
|---|---|
| Eftaḥ śefatai be-rina cantaren deman a dina | Let me open my lips in joy tomorrow we will sing during dinner |
| Irʾat Adonai le-maʿana | The fear of God is our share |
| Qu’aco es lou bon mestre | As he is the good lord |
| Ve-odeh na le-el elom [sic forelyon] dessu tanbourin e i vioulon | And let me praise God the most high on tambourines and violins |
| Es vengu lou Cadoch barourhou Qu'avé chorhéta lou malarhama | Then came the holy one blessed be he who slaughtered the angel of death |
