Map: Jewish Languages Past and Present
This map represents the diversity of Jewish languages around the world and throughout history. If you hold your mouse over a shaded area, you will see what language was spoken there at some point in the past or present. Click on it for more information. The areas shaded for each language are only approximate.
Some areas have been home to several Jewish languages (e.g., Judeo-Berber, Hakitía, Judeo-Arabic, and Jewish French in Morocco; Judeo-Slavic, Yiddish, and Jewish Russian in some Slavic lands). In order to represent all periods of history in one map, each area includes only one language and does not present information on variation, chronology, bilingualism, etc.
The map combines information from several sources, including Lowenstein's The Jewish Cultural Tapestry and articles in the Jewish Language Review (published in Haifa 1981-1987). This map was conceived by Sarah Bunin Benor, designed by Leah Helfgott, and edited based on the suggestions of several Jewish language experts.
