Jewish Studies

Yiddish is a Germanic language usually written in Hebrew characters. Eastern dialects of Yiddish exhibit varying degrees of Slavic influence, and all dialects of Yiddish contain loanwords of Hebrew and Aramaic origin.  Yiddish shares a "common ancestor" with modern-day Standard German and descends from a medieval dialect of High German. It has historically been spoken by and among Ashkenazi Jews in central and eastern Europe, as well as Jewish communities in the Americas, and in Israel.