Four Languages Coexisting in Jewish Mexican Life

Ilan Stavans, academic and writer, recalls the the linguistic divisions of his childhood: Spanish spoken here, Yiddish there, and never the twain shall meet. Then Hebrew and English began to creep into the mix as well.
To learn more about the Yiddish Book Center's Wexler Oral History Project, visit:
www.yiddishbook...

[@jilleven67]

I'm so impressed, that he had an opportunity to this education, being multi-, lingual is so advantageous!

[@sonofjudahperez2311]

LAdino is Hebrew and Spanish mixed language

[@gibiscus]

It's not the same as just mixing modern Spanish and Hebrew tho; it preserves old pre-1492 Spanish...

[@vatolocosforever803]

@@gibiscus my grandma spoke like that.. people that grew up in the early 1900s in northern Mexico spoke like that ,,it's basically the same thing.. for some reason I can understand Italian

[@SuperChino213]

Como no. Jews say, "Oi vey!" and Mexicans say, "Ay guey!" Coincidence? I think not.

[@akivameir4734]

It is actually a coincidence. Guey comes from buey, which is a castrated bull, but in Mexico is also used to call an idiot. It gradually came to be used as an endearing term, so guey is like dude.

[@grecozz8122]

@@akivameir4734 wrong ""wey"" don't come from the word bull. Actually comes from the Nahuatl lenguage it means supreme or some one with a lot of respect.

[@eduardoj3314]

😂

[@jameshudson169]

2:53 how do you MEAN in a "foreign" way?

[@WESTENO24]

jewishstudies.washington.edu/sephardic-studies/ladino-identity-and-restitution/ I think some of you proud Mexicans should read this. It should tell what language were actually speaking and where were learned it from?