Judaeo-Portuguese

Judaeo-Portuguese, Jewish-Portuguese or Judaeo-Lusitanic, is an extinct Jewish language or a dialect of Galician-Portuguese written in the Hebrew alphabet that was used by the Jews of Portugal.

Description

It was the vernacular of Sephardi Jews in Portugal before the 16th century and also in many places of the Portuguese Jewish diaspora. Its texts were written in the Hebrew script or the Latin alphabet.
As Portuguese Jews intermarried with other expelled Sephardim, the language influenced the nearby Judeo-Spanish. Close similarity to Standard Portuguese made Judeo-Portuguese go extinct in Portugal,

History

The earliest known text containing Judeo-Portuguese text is a manuscript from 1262 about illuminating manuscripts called O livro de como se fazem as cores. After the Jewish exodus from Portugal in 1497 many Portuguese Jews would flee to the Dutch Republic and Judeo-Portuguese would intake much Dutch influence. This same exodus would cause the language to spread to the Turkish Jewish community. It would go extinct in the early 19th century, though since then has only been used liturgically.

Literature

The oldest text containing Judeo-Portuguese is a manuscript from 1262 about illuminating manuscripts called O livro de como se fazem as cores. During the 15th century several texts including one about medical astrology and a prayer book. Even until today is it still used liturgically but only by very few people.

Decline

The decline of Judeo-Portuguese would begin with the introduction of public schooling. Eventually declining to home use before finally only being used liturgically.

Characteristics

There existed several dialects of Judeo-Portuguese divided into 2 categories referred to as Peninsular Judeo-Portuguese and Emigre Judeo-Portuguese, though the differences between them are unclear.

Influence on other languages

Judeo-Portuguese has influenced several languages. These include Balkan dialects of Ladino, and Portuguese.