Abstract:

Today, people who still have some knowledge of Judaeo-Spanish are scattered around the world with virtually no social ties amongst them, and Judaeo-Spanish itself lacks any official status. The speaking population of all countries barely exceeds one hundred thousand, most of them being speakers with limited competence. Prior to World War I, however, Judaeo-Spanish played a major role in defining Sephardic identity. Developed in different cities of the Ottoman Empire and North Africa during the two centuries following the settlement of the expellees from the Iberian Peninsula in the late 15th century, Judaeo-Spanish arose as a pluricentric language, due to the different mix of contributing dialects in each community. Behind its apparent polymorphism, a dialect continuum – one that integrates three major regional dialects – and a range of social variation can be discerned. This chapter describes the geographic distribution and variation of Judaeo-Spanish.