Yinglish - Definition and Overview

Yinglish is a humorous means of describing the distinctive way certain Haredi Jews in America speak English among themselves. Their spoken (but not written) language is a pidgin containing varying amounts of Hebrew language and Yiddish and uses English words as literal translations of their Yiddish original and not necessarily in the sense that other English speakers would. Famous features of Yinglish include expressions such as "eating by ..." instead of "eating at ..." and the frequent use of Hebrew verbs conjugated with the English to be (for example, "to be misyaesh" for "to give up"). In some instances, the language is spoken in a lilting Eastern European accent, reflecting the singsong melody of Talmud-study in a yeshiva, even though the speakers might be second and even third generation Americans.

Little serious research has been conducted on Yinglish, but it seems to be one means for an insular community to maintain its sense of identity within itself, while adopting external cultural norms such as language.

See also

• The Joy of Yiddish by Leo Rosten
• Yiddish words and phrases used by English speakers
• Engrish
• Yeshivish

External links

• Jewish Language Research Website: Yiddish (http://www.jewish-languages.org/yiddish.html)
• On-line Yiddish dictionary (http://www.yiddishdictionaryonline.com/)
• National Yiddish Book Center (http://yiddishbookcenter.org/)
• Shtetl (http://www.ibiblio.org/yiddish/)
• The Yiddish Voice (http://www.yv.org/)
• A nice list of choice Yiddish/Ameridish words. (http://hebrew4christians.com/)
• The Jewish Book Center of The Workmen's Circle (http://www.jewishbookcenter.com/)
• Spoken Yiddish Language Project (Columbia University) (http://www.columbia.edu/cu/cria/Current-projects/Yiddish/yiddish.html/The)
• Yiddish Wikipedia (http://yi.wikipedia.org/)
• Yiddish in Ethnologue (http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=YDD)
• Forverts -- The Yiddish Forward (http://yiddish.forward.com/)
• The Workmen's Circle/Arbeter Ring (http://www.circle.org/)