Judaeo-Spanish Studies

Judaeo-Spanish (JS) is the language used by Jews originating from Spain. It flourished in the Ottoman Empire immediately after the expulsion from Spain and continued its existence there. Some of the expelled Jews settled in North Africa and used the JS variety known as Hakitía. In the beginning of the twenty first century, JS is in the process of becoming an endangered language for lack of new native speakers. In spite of the decreasing number of speakers, interest increases in the JS language and literature from an academic and folkloristic perspective. This article discusses several of the controversial issues: the names of the language; the history of JS; orthography and spelling; literary genres; JS dialects; JS learning and activities today; and perspectives for further research.