Yevanic - Definition and Overview

Yevanic, otherwise known as Yevanika, Romaniote and Judeo-Greek, was the language of the Romaniotes, the group of Greek Jews whose existence in Greece is documented since the 4th century BCE. Its linguistic lineage stems from Attic Greek and the Hellenistic Koine (Κοινή Ελληνική) and includes Hebrew elements as well. It was mutually intelligible with Greek. The Romaniotes used their version of the Hebrew alphabet to write Greek and Yevanic texts.

Yevanic is now an extinct language, for the following reasons:

• The assimilation of the -relatively small- Romaniote communities by the Christian Greek and Sephardic ones;
• the emigration of many of the Romaniotes to Palestine and the United States;
• the progress of Zionism, which favored Hebrew as the one language for all Jews;
• and finally, due to the tragic losses of many of the Romaniotes in the Holocaust.

See also

• Jewish languages

External link

• Jewish Language Research Website: Judeo-Greek (http://www.jewish-languages.org/judeo-greek.html)