Jews in Europe created Yiddish to communicate

Like people, languages have a history. Languages can change because people move around from place to place. For example, when people move to a foreign country, they introduce new words from their native land and the new words become part of the language in their adopted country. So deja vu (a feeling that something has happened before) comes from French, though we use it in everyday English.

Yiddish is one language that has a long history and has been spoken in many countries. Yiddish began in Germany more than 700 years ago. The Jewish people who lived there developed it so that they could communicate with Jewish communities around Europe. It originally combined German and Hebrew. Later, Jewish people from France, northern Italy and Poland added words from their own cultural backgrounds to Yiddish. Yiddish speakers traveled to other lands, taking their language with them. You may have learned some Yiddish words right here in Los Angeles. Have you have ever schlepped ("shlepped" means carried) too many books home from school or kvetched ("kvetchen" means to complain) when you got too much homework? These are Yiddish words.

You can learn more about Yiddish, hear what it sounds like and try it yourself at a performance and reading of Dr. Seuss' "The Cat in the Hat" in Yiddish at the Skirball on March 28, or visit the Americana galleries to learn about Jews who moved to the United States from Europe and began introducing Yiddish in their communities. For more information, call (310) 440-4636 or visit www.skirball.org.

This California Classroom was submitted by the Education Department of the Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles.