Yevanic language

Yevanic, otherwise known as Romaniote and Judeo-Greek, was the dialect of the Romaniotes, the group of Greek Jews whose existence in Greece is documented since the Hellenistic period. Its linguistic lineage stems from the Hellenistic Koine (Ελληνική Κοινή) and includes Hebrew elements as well. It was mutually intelligible with Greek of the Christian population. The Romaniotes used their version of the Hebrew alphabet to write Greek and Yevanic texts.

Yevanic is now an extinct dialect, for the following reasons:

• The assimilation of the -relatively small- Romaniote communities by the Christian Greek and Sephardic Jews;
• the emigration of many of the Romaniotes to Palestine and the United States;
• the progress of Zionism, which favored Hebrew as the one language for all Jews;
• and finally, due to the tragic losses of many of the Romaniotes in the Holocaust.

See also

• Jewish languages

External link

• Jewish Language Research Website: Judeo-Greek