Brooklyn, NY – The former mama-loshen, or mother tongue, of Jewish New York is alive and well in Brooklyn – because of the efforts of people who love the language.
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People such as Amanda Miryam-Khaye Seigel, who relocated from Wisconsin to Brooklyn three years ago – and received $1,000 from Yugntruf, a young adult organization that awards funds to people who move near other Yiddish speakers. “It seemed like a good fit,” said Seigel, 30, who started out in Midwood and now lives in downtown Brooklyn. “Brooklyn seemed to be a good place to live because there are a lot of Yiddish speakers.”
Despite declining census numbers – in 1990 there were 68,474 Yiddish speakers in Brooklyn; by 2000, the number was down to 46,074 – Yiddishists say the language is on the rise in Kings County.
“One reason it’s thriving here is that there’s half a million Jews living in Brooklyn,” said Robert Shapiro, assistant professor of Judaic studies at Brooklyn College.
In Orthodox communities such as Crown Heights, Borough Park and Williamsburg, Yiddish is spoken on the streets and taught in schools.
Yiddish is alive and well among most Chassidish circles and in some Litvishe ones as well. It should be taught in all frum schools. The Yiddishists substitute Yiddish for religion. It is better to be religious even if one doesn’t speak Yiddish.
mama-loshen is the eidel loshen that yidden learned from their mothers & passed on to their own children. mama-loshen is NOT the language of yiddishists spoken in yiddish theatres or other venues of so-called yiddish “culture”
“mama-loshen” is mother language not “mother tongue”
vus er meynt iz yiddish iz gurnisht. l’havdil es iz azoy vee lushen hakoydesh iz mit l’havdil elef alfay havdulas mit ivrit.