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del.icio.us Digg It!  new Last update - 14:05 11/10/2007 Jerusalem conference seeks to revive the language of Ladino By Benny Ziffer, Haaretz Correspondent The audience at "Sephardic Jews and Ladino," a conference held Wednesday at Jerusalem's Mishkenot Sha'ananim, was no less interesting than the academics and distinguished figures on the dais. There was a descendant of Abraham Senior, who as everyone familiar with the expulsion of the Jews from Spain knows was the rabbi who gave in to pressure from King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella and converted to Christianity. Senior's Jerusalem progeny is, of course, a completely observant Jew, bubbling with good cheer, who called out proverbs in Ladino -a Judeo-Spanish language whose vocabulary is constructed mostly from old Castillian and Hebrew- from his seat in the front row. The great granddaughter of Eliezer Benveniste was there, too, in a back row. Benveniste Sr. was a publisher, one of the first to issue books in Ladino in the late 19th century. There was also a man who worked on a Ladino crossword puzzle, surrounded by rabbis who had a Advertisement ttended so many lectures on the language that they recited, like children, the dates and names and songs and sayings together with the speakers. Researchers and their fans and the few remaining speakers of a language that for centuries served the Jews of Turkey, the Balkans and the Middle East have not given up. They continue to fight to preserve Ladino, also known as Judeo-Spanish, which apparently has achieved "museum" status. The National Authority for Ladino Language and Culture, which is headed by former President Yitzhak Navon, Wednesday gloried in what was billed as the first public conference on Ladino literature. The question is whether there is anything on which to confer. About a year ago I was invited to Yad Ben Zvi in Jerusalem. Dr. Yaron Ben-Naeh, an expert in Jewish history during the Ottoman Empire, ushered me into the holy of holies of the institution's library the rare books wing. Books in Ladino take up less than a wall and a half of shelf space. Apparently that is nearly all there is, according to Ladino literature researcher Dov Hacohen of Bar Ilan University and Yad Ben Zvi. It's not much in comparison to the endless treasures of Yiddish, Ladino's rival since the creation of the state. Still, participants insisted on speaking of "Ladino literature," even when the material was in fact advertising, aimed at getting readers to contribute to some yeshiva. Hacohen, who spoke on Ladino publications in Jerusalem since 1500, was a crowd-pleaser with his presentation of these rare documents. In one, consisting of Ladino mixed with Arabic, the Jewish target audience is warned against sitting in kahwe houses or enjoying the merriments of the Gentiles. But is it literature? Literature was a luxury for Ladino speakers. The novels and poetry written in the language are on such a primitive, basic level as to evoke pity. Conferences of this type attempt to inculcate a non-arrogant stance toward the aging or moribund languages of the Jewish people and to gradually make Ladino an accepted subject for study. It worked with Yiddish. With Ladino, the process is slower, perhaps impossible so much so that when one hears Ladino, the response is nearly always laughter. More Jewish World news and features Bookmark to del.icio.us Public discontent Teachers are replacing port workers in the public's mind as the 'official, serial national strikers.' Bad for academia? A Haifa professor says funding from corporations gives rise to some ethical conundrums.   1.   Ladino 03:57  |  Shmuelshachor 11/10/07   2.   The writer of the Article 04:55  |  Blabass 11/10/07   3.   Sephardim: Please note who is Sephardic 06:05  |  Alberto 11/10/07   4.   Google breakdown on Ladino, Yiddish, Heebrew &English 06:32  |  L A 11/10/07   5.   Hebrew 07:47  |  ארי 11/10/07   6.   Ladino went the way of Al Andalus 07:58  |  Steve the Pals. 11/10/07   7.   to 3.5 million Ladino speakers 08:16  |  Nora 11/10/07   8.   Great news ! (Saludozos y buenos ke esten !) 08:34  |  Fortuna Benmayor 11/10/07   9.   Excellent point, Alberto, and a few comments 08:42  |  Fortuna Benmayor 11/10/07   10.   Beautiful and Poetic. 08:57  |  Colin 11/10/07   11.   Pgonzalez 09:08  |  Pablo Gonzalez 11/10/07   12.   Ladino Music, response to number 5 09:13  |  Evan 11/10/07   13.   News or Editorial 09:15  |  disgusted reader 11/10/07   14.   Ladino and old Castillian 09:38  |  Gracia de Mendez 11/10/07   15.   Disprespectful 10:43  |  Rivka 11/10/07   16.   #1, read about linguistics before you write 11:14  |  MarianoW 11/10/07   17.   Sour grapes, envy or what? 11:35  |  sh 11/10/07   18.   For information, Mr. Ziffer 11:43  |  sh 11/10/07   19.   Ladino and dying languages 12:22  |  Prof Herbert Seliger 11/10/07   20.   Language Shlanguage 12:56  |  Joshua 11/10/07   21.   Ladino 13:02  |  rip cohen 11/10/07   22.   ladino will only survive the was yiddish does 13:19  |  Jewboy 11/10/07   23.   Speaking Yiddish to our children (Post No. 19) 13:58  |  Johnny Weintraub 11/10/07   24.   Semitic or Arabic languages 14:10  |  Doris L 11/10/07   25.   The writer is arrogant. 14:32  |  Fabian 11/10/07   26.   Jerusalem conference seeks to revive the language of Ladino 14:45  |  Paul Cohen 11/10/07   27.   To poor Albert from... USA 15:05  |  The Dumbite Kid 11/10/07   28.   Joshua #20 15:06  |  Rivka 11/10/07   29.   Professor Schlesinger 15:31  |  sh 11/10/07   30.   Silly proffessors and Aramaic 15:34  |  Another Jew 11/10/07   31.   no surprise 15:38  |  SM 11/10/07   32.   doris and ignorance 15:40  |  Joanna 11/10/07   33.   Steve the "Pals", incorrect 15:43  |  Jake 11/10/07   34.   Alberto and the Sfardi dispersion 15:46  |  Jewboy 11/10/07   35.   Ladino conference 15:55  |  Joe 11/10/07   36.   Alberto, wrong on 2 counts 16:00  |  Jake 11/10/07   37.   Jerusalem conference seeks to revive the language of Ladino 20:25  |  m. apelbaum 11/10/07   38.   Ladino 21:46  |  Christian Gondar 11/10/07   39.   Rivka #28 03:20  |  Joshua 12/10/07   40.   Joshua #20 06:26  |  Rivka 12/10/07   41.   Benny Ziffer on Ladino 11:21  |  Geraldo Coen 12/10/07   42.   Conference To Revive Ladino Language 23:21  |  Martha Garibay 14/10/07

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