Yiddish

Indo-European (Germanic)1.5 million speakersHebrew

RegionDiaspora (Israel/USA)

FamilyIndo-European (Germanic)

Speakers1.5 million speakers

ScriptHebrew

TypeAbjad

About Yiddish

The historic tongue of Ashkenazi Jews, fusing medieval German with Hebrew and Slavic. Written in Hebrew letters. Once spoken by 11 million before the Holocaust. Isaac Bashevis Singer won the Nobel Prize writing in it. Gave English schlep, schmooze, and chutzpah.

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