Introducing: Heritage Words
Conversations about the words we inherit and the meaning they bring to our lives.
Introducing: Heritage Words
Jewish heritage words come from minority languages once spoken by Jews’ ancestors, passed down the generations in families and communities and incorporated into English and other dominant languages. As examples, some descendants of Yiddish speakers use such expressions as, “Put your keppie (little head) down and go shluffy (sleep).” Syrian Jews call a joke by the Judeo-Arabic word “dahak.” Many Sephardic Jews in Seattle refer to underwear with the Ladino word “bragas.” Persian Jews praise a child by saying “moosh bokhoratet” (cutey, literally “may a mouse eat you”). The Jewish Language Project’s dictionaries document these words, and the podcast explores their significance by interviewing people who use them, including writer Sarah Sassoon and actor Mayim Bialik.
The song used in this trailer is “Sheikhat Al-Hara / شيخة الحارة” from Fragments by Yoni Avi Battat, used with permission.
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