Papers by ora schwarzwald
Tracking a Morphological Pattern: miCCaC in Hebrew
Literacy studies, 2022
The unmarked nominal pattern miCCaC is very productive in Hebrew and takes various sub-patterns d... more The unmarked nominal pattern miCCaC is very productive in Hebrew and takes various sub-patterns depending on phonological and morphological factors. The phonological factors are determined by the rst guttural consonant of the root, while the morphological factors are determined by weak roots in which only two consonantal roots occur. Several nouns belong to miCCaC pattern but need special consideration because they cannot be categorized by the above features. The semantic analysis of the nouns in this pattern shows that the majority of the nouns (61%) express rather general concepts, abstract as well as concrete, and a number of these can be considered as action nouns (gerundives). Only about 23% of the words indicate location and 16% denote tools or instruments.
Laws of Sheḥiṭah (Slaughtering) in Ladino, Constantinople 1510 printing
Ginzei Qedem
The article by Dov Cohen and Ora (Rodrigue) Schwarzwald, “Laws of Sheḥiṭah (Slaughtering) in Ladi... more The article by Dov Cohen and Ora (Rodrigue) Schwarzwald, “Laws of Sheḥiṭah (Slaughtering) in Ladino, Constantinople (Kushta) 1510 printing,” which opens this volume, is dedicated to the remnants of a printed halachic work in Ladino found among the folios of the Genizah. This is most likely the first work in Ladino printed by exiles from Spain who settled in the Ottoman Empire. This composition, entitled Conpendio de las sheḥiṭot (“Compendium on slaughtering”), whose author is unknown, had been considered lost until now. The remnants discovered by the authors of the article were printed at the beginning of the sixteenth century at the Ben-Nahmias brothers’ press in Constantinople. The authors of the article discuss the structure of the essay and its characteristics and present the reader with a facsimile of the original alongside its Hebrew translation.
Las palabras hebreas en la prensa judeo-española en Grecia
Rumbos del hispanismo en el umbral del Cincuentenario de la AIH, Vol. 8, 2012 (VIII. Lengua / coord. por Patrizia Botta; Sara Pastor (ed. lit.)), ISBN 978-88-7806-203-0, págs. 65-73, 2012
שורש, משקל ומבני הברות: שמות איברי הגוף בהיבטים מורפולוגיים. Root, Pattern, and Syllabic Structure: Morphological Aspects of Body Organs' Names
leshonenu, 2021
Chapter 7. Inflection
Studies in Language Companion Series, 2020
Inflection in Modern Hebrew is described as involving the following categories: Tense (Past, Futu... more Inflection in Modern Hebrew is described as involving the following categories: Tense (Past, Future), Mood (Imperative), Person, Number, and Gender in verbs; Number, Gender, and Construct-State in nouns; Number and Gender in adjectives. Most inflection is manifested by suffixes, except for Person inflection on Future tense verbs. Inflection is obligatory for Tense in verbs, except for nominalized forms and Prepositions, Adjectives, and Participles. Noun inflection varies, depending on the features of Count for Number and Animacy for Gender. Accusative-case marking on verbs and Genitive-case marking on nouns are increasingly replaced by analytic alternatives in Modern Hebrew. The chapter first details the pronominal system, and then proceeds to description of the major lexical classes of Verbs, Nouns, and Adjectives, concluding with a brief discussion of conservative features as against variability and changes in MH inflection.
The Factors Regulating the Use of the Hebrew-Aramaic Component in Judeo-Spanish
This article focuses on the quantitative and qualitative weight of the Hebrew-Aramaic (HA) compon... more This article focuses on the quantitative and qualitative weight of the Hebrew-Aramaic (HA) component in Judeo-Spanish (JS) by examining three characteristics of language usage: 1. linguistic features of HA words: morphological—nouns vs. other categories (e.g., mazál ‘luck.N’ vs. maxamá ‘because of.PREP’); semantic—HA words and phrases related to Jewish religious concepts as opposed to other HA words and phrases (e.g., rošaná ‘New Year’ vs. xavér ‘friend, partner’), and syntactic. 2. The HA inventory in JS: which sources and texts produced HA words and expressions used in JS (e.g., the Passover Haggadah)? 3. The actual distribution of the HA component as it appears in various sociolinguistic circumstances and literary texts (e.g., male vs. female, spoken vs. written, Halakhic vs. non-Halakhic). These characteristics suggest a hierarchy of factors that influence the quantity and quality of the HA component in JS.
The lowest common denominator as a factor in the formation of Modern Hebrew phonology
IVITRA Research in Linguistics and Literature, 2019
Spoken Hebrew was revived in speech some 140 years ago. Basic classical Hebrew vocabulary and gra... more Spoken Hebrew was revived in speech some 140 years ago. Basic classical Hebrew vocabulary and grammatical structures were retained in their language because Jews had always used Hebrew for liturgical purposes and as a means of communicating between disparate communities. However, the mother tongues used by Jews from different communities and their societal status affected their pronunciation. The phonological structure of Modern Hebrew reflects the lowest common denominator of the language traditions of these early speakers. Some biblical phonemes disappeared from use, allophones turned into phonemes, consonant clusters deviated from the classical language, and loan consonants and unexpected stress patterns entered the phonological system.
Ladino Translations from Italy
The Jews in Italy, 2019
Coṃpendio delas šeḥiṭót (Constantinople ca. 1510): The First Judeo-Spanish Printed Publication
Journal of Jewish Languages, 2019
It is commonly accepted that Hilkhot Sheḥiṭa u-Vdika (literally, ‘The Laws of Ritual Slaughter an... more It is commonly accepted that Hilkhot Sheḥiṭa u-Vdika (literally, ‘The Laws of Ritual Slaughter and Examination’—Constantinople ca. 1510) was the first publication ever printed in Judeo-Spanish. Yet scholars possessed no evidence that the work actually existed, and no information was available regarding its contents or language. Recently, however, the first four pages of the publication were discovered among the remnants of the Cairo Genizah. The current study is a preliminary description of this publication’s historical bibliography, halakhic sources, structure and contents, orthography and spelling (which reflect untrained writing and inconsistent pronunciation), and its special vocabulary, including the Hebrew component, which specifically relates to religion.
Spanish, Astur-Leonese, Navarro-Aragonese, Judaeo-Spanish
The Oxford Guide to the Romance Languages, 2016
Judaeo-Spanish Studies
The Oxford Handbook of Jewish Studies, 2004
Judaeo-Spanish (JS) is the language used by Jews originating from Spain. It flourished in the Ott... more Judaeo-Spanish (JS) is the language used by Jews originating from Spain. It flourished in the Ottoman Empire immediately after the expulsion from Spain and continued its existence there. Some of the expelled Jews settled in North Africa and used the JS variety known as Hakitía. In the beginning of the twenty first century, JS is in the process of becoming an endangered language for lack of new native speakers. In spite of the decreasing number of speakers, interest increases in the JS language and literature from an academic and folkloristic perspective. This article discusses several of the controversial issues: the names of the language; the history of JS; orthography and spelling; literary genres; JS dialects; JS learning and activities today; and perspectives for further research.
Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary e-Journal, 2017
The introductions of two Ladino books from the sixteenth century, Seder Nashim – a prayer book fo... more The introductions of two Ladino books from the sixteenth century, Seder Nashim – a prayer book for women, and Shul ḥ an Hapanim – an edited Ladino translation of Shul ḥ an Arukh , show that Sephardic Jewish women were mostly illiterate and had very little knowledge of Hebrew or of Jewish law. They were also under the patronages of their fathers or husbands and stayed mainly at home. This situation mirrors their previous status in Spain and was common to other Jewish communities.
Meldar: Revista internacional de estudios sefardíes
Pirke Avot known as the “Ethics of the Fathers”, a Mishnaic compendium of rabbinic sayings, is co... more Pirke Avot known as the “Ethics of the Fathers”, a Mishnaic compendium of rabbinic sayings, is comprised of six chapters, which Sephardic Jews read one chapter a week with the Ladino translation on the Sabbaths between Pesaḥ (Passover) and Shavu'ot (Pentecost). The end of chapter five and chapter six were appended to this Mishna after 200 CE. The final paragraphs of chapter five list either three or four sages by their names, while one is referred to by hu haya omer (‘he used to say’), translated as él era dizién. Because the order of the paragraphs varies in different Ladino editions, the identity of the Rabbi is unclear. The translation of Vienna 1857 adds to the confusion because the Hebrew text represents one order and the translation another. The article presents the paragraphs and the orders in which they occur in the various Ladino editions and concludes with the possible identity of the unnamed rabbi.
Hebrew Annual Review, 1990
Developing Language and Literacy, 2022
The unmarked nominal pattern miCCaC is very productive in Hebrew and takes various sub-patterns d... more The unmarked nominal pattern miCCaC is very productive in Hebrew and takes various sub-patterns depending on phonological and morphological factors. The phonological factors are determined by the rst guttural consonant of the root, while the morphological factors are determined by weak roots in which only two consonantal roots occur. Several nouns belong to miCCaC pattern but need special consideration because they cannot be categorized by the above features. The semantic analysis of the nouns in this pattern shows that the majority of the nouns (61%) express rather general concepts, abstract as well as concrete, and a number of these can be considered as action nouns (gerundives). Only about 23% of the words indicate location and 16% denote tools or instruments.
Ladinar, 2021
Passover, one of the most meaningful holidays in the Jewish calendar, celebrates a key episode in... more Passover, one of the most meaningful holidays in the Jewish calendar, celebrates a key episode in the history of the Jewish people, the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. The Exodus from Egypt is of course most notably commemorated in the Haggadah shel Pesaḥ 'the Jewish text read on Passover first night(s).' This article concentrates on Sephardic Haggadot, written in Ladino, review various alterations made to Haggadot published in the 20th century, and discuss a Haggadah from Sofia which includes a unique, special prayer.
Massorot, 2022
Several identical editions of a Ladino Haggadah were published in 1928, 1935 and 2012 in Sofia, B... more Several identical editions of a Ladino Haggadah were published in 1928, 1935 and 2012 in Sofia, Bulgaria. The Hebrew text is missing in this Haggadah and it is entirely written in Cyrillic letters. The short Hebrew blessings are transliterated in Cyrillic letters and the entire text is translated into Ladino. Comparison to other Ladino Haggadot shows that the Ladino translation is quite free, some paragraphs of Magid (the story of the Exodus from Egypt) and Hallel (Praising God) are skipped, but the ten plagues are described in detail based on the biblical story and the Midrash. Birkat Hamazon (The grace after the meal) is placed at the end of the Haggadah in a shortened version after the two Ladino songs Quien supiense (who knows one) and Un kavretiko (one kid), rather than immediately after the meal. Of special interest is an original prayer in Ladino, placed after Betset Israel mimitsrayim (When Israel went out of Egypt) which does not exist in any other Hebrew source. The unique features of this Haggadah are described in detail with special emphasis on the special prayer. It seems that the secularization of the Bulgarian Jewry let to this publication. They kept he Masoretic text but conveyed it according the Jewish Bulgarian tradition.
Ginzei Quedem, 2022
It is commonly accepted that Hilkhot Sheḥiṭa u-Vdika (literally, ʻThe Laws of Ritual Slaughter an... more It is commonly accepted that Hilkhot Sheḥiṭa u-Vdika (literally, ʻThe Laws of Ritual Slaughter and Examinationʼ - Constantinople ca. 1510) was the first publication ever printed in Judeo-Spanish. Yet scholars possessed no evidence that the work actually existed, and no information was available regarding its contents or language. Recently, however, the first four pages of the publication were discovered among the remnants of the Cairo Genizah. The current study is a description of this publication’s historical bibliography, halakhic sources, structure and contents, orthography and spelling, and a copy of the text.
Ladino Translations from Italy: The Bible, Pirke Avot, the Passover Haggadah, and the Siddur
The Jews in Italy, 2019
Many liturgical Ladino translations were published in Italy from the middle of the sixteenth cent... more Many liturgical Ladino translations were published in Italy from the middle of the sixteenth century in Ferrara, Venice, Livorno, Pisa, and Florence. These translations include the following types of texts: the Bible, prayer books, the Passover Haggadah, Pirke Avot, parts of the Bible, some poetic texts. The Ferrara translations were published only in Latin letters whereas the other texts were published either in Hebrew or in Latin letters. The Ladino of most translations from Italy shows prominent connections to the Iberian Spanish in the lexicon and the grammatical forms, and to some extent in phonology. These connections are clear in all the translations, and especially in those written in Latin letters. However, old translations from Venice in Hebrew letters show clear affinity to the Judeo-Spanish of the Ottoman Empire. Moreover, there are differences among the texts: the Haggadot in Hebrew letters retain features of Judeo-Spanish more than other texts. The Siddur for women from Italy is exceptional: it is a manuscript which contain Portuguese, Italian and Judeo-Spanish components. According to my investigation it was probably written in Venice. The relationship between the traditions and the differences between the various Ladino translations is described in the article and explanations are given concerning the variations among them.
pulib.sk
Derivational recursiveness in Hebrew can either occur in double or multiple stems or in single st... more Derivational recursiveness in Hebrew can either occur in double or multiple stems or in single stems. It can be expressed either by reduplication of the same words or consonantal roots, by the same phrasal constructions, or by repeated morphological processes. Double or multiple stems can be formed recursively in three ways: repetition of the same word; repetition of the same word with the addition of a particle; repetition in the construct state. One stem recursive word formation includes two basic categories: accumulative morphological devices (diminutive formation; adjectival formations; particle and adverbial formation; abstract word formations); consonantal root formations (secondary formation; reduplication). Except for particles and adverbial recursive formations, all the devices show a right edge preference. The various accumulative morphological devices follow a certain specific order: base or discontinuous root and pattern combination always precedes suffixation, and suffixes are ordered, too. Reduplication of the same words or consonantal roots often carries intensifying or diminutive connotations.
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Papers by ora schwarzwald