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Judeo-Roman (Italian: Giudaico-Romanesco) or Italkit is the only still living dialect of the Judeo-Italian languages, historically used by the Jews living in Rome. ^[1] It is spoken by 250 people, most of whom live in Italy. The language is on the decline and most of its remaining speakers are elderly. ^[1] There are efforts to preserve the language and keep it from extinction. ^[2]

History

Judeo-Roman, like other Jewish languages, emerged due to the Jews of Rome being isolated in the Rome Ghetto, on order of the Pope. ^[3] The language declined as Jews were emancipated and Roman Jews switched to the Roman dialect of Italian.

Younger Italian Jews are attempting to preserve the language. ^[2]

Vocabulary

Judeo-Roman has at least 360 Hebrew words and phrases in it. Many of these were used to conceal what the users were saying from Christians. ^[2] examples include:

Grammar

Judeo-Italian has several letter shifts that differentiate it from standard Italian these include: ^[1]

E to I (ex. Detto to Ditto)

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. The specific problem is: "I to E (ex. Quelli to Quella)": It's E but Quella. Please help improve this article if you can. (April 2024) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)

I to E (ex. Quelli to Quella)

L to R (ex. Quarcuno to Qualcuno)

It also contains several vowel shifts and other changes:

Loss of initial volwels (opure to pure)

Loss of final consonant (con to co')

Contractions (ditte to dir ti)

Archaisms (di te to d'oo ti)

In media

Plays

A theater group called Chaimme 'a sore 'o sediaro e 'a moje (Chaim, the sister, the chairmaker and the wife) makes plays in Judeo-Roman. ^[4]

Writing

There is a collection of poems written by Crescenzo del Monte from 1908 and republished in 2007 ^[1] in Judeo Roman. ^[5] These works include The sonnets of Crescenzo del Monte.

Internet

Several Youtube videos have been posted in Judeo-Roman. ^[1]

Sample text

References