Yiddish and German

Yiddish 

Over many years, I have heard German Jews and some American Jews claim that Yiddish is a corrupt form of German spoken by semi-literate uneducated people. This is patently a prejudice which contradicts the facts.

Before the Holocaust, an opprobrium in the Jewish community, ten million European Jews spoke Yiddish. Some of the greatest scholars, poets, and authors used this language. Indeed, Yiddish is a Germanic language, but is in no sense corrupt German but a language as valid as all languages spoken and written by any group of people who use it.

I f Yiddish is “corrupt German,” then English must be corrupt Latin, since one half of English words are of Latin origin. Take a look at the following  Latin version of the pledge of allegiance.

Fidem meam obligo vuxillo , federalis, civitatis Americae, et Res Publica quo stat. Uni Nationi, sub Deo, non dividende, cum libertati et justitia, omnibus.

You can see that numerous English words are evidently of Latin origin. Therefore it is as ridiculous to call English corrupt Latin as it is bigotry to call Yiddish corrupt  German. All languages are of equal value to those who use them. Yiddish, however, is outstanding  in that the great scholars of eastern Europe wrote the greatest literature in Yiddish. May Yiddish last forever among those still able to speak it and  may the bigots learn Yiddish, a language which has been instrumental in preserving the works of the greatest scholars throughout the centuries.

Shalom u'vracha.

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