Editing Judeo-Arabic

{{short description|Jewish varieties of Arabic language}}
{{Expand French|topic=hist|date=January 2024}}
</noinclude>
{{Infobox language
| name             = Judeo-Arabic
| nativename       = {{lang|jrb|{{Script/Hebrew|ערבית יהודית}}}}
| image            = File:Cairo Genizah Fragment.jpg
| imagecaption     = A page from the [[Cairo Geniza]], part of which is written in the Judeo-Arabic language
| ethnicity        = Jews from [[North Africa]] and the [[Fertile Crescent]]
| speakers         = {{sigfig|241,390|2}}
| date             = 2022
| ref              = <ref name=e25>{{e25|jrb}}</ref>
| familycolor      = Afro-Asiatic
| fam2             = [[Semitic languages|Semitic]]
| fam3             = [[West Semitic languages|West Semitic]]
| fam4             = [[Central Semitic languages|Central Semitic]]
| fam5             = [[Arabic languages|Arabic]]
| ancestor         = [[Old Arabic]]
| ancestor2        = [[Classical Arabic]]
| script           = [[Hebrew alphabet]]
| iso2             = jrb
| iso3             = jrb
| lc1              = yhd
| ld1              = [[Judeo-Egyptian Arabic]]
| lc2              = aju
| ld2              = [[Judeo-Moroccan Arabic]]
| lc3              = yud
| ld3              = {{nowrap|[[Judeo-Tripolitanian Arabic]]}}
| lc4              = jye
| ld4              = [[Judeo-Yemeni Arabic]]
| glotto           = none
}}
{{Contains special characters|Hebrew}}

'''Judeo-Arabic''' ({{langx|jrb|ערביה יהודיה|'Arabiya Yahūdiya}}; {{Langx|ar|عربية يهودية|ʿArabiya Yahūdiya}} {{pronunciation|arabiyyayahudiyya.ogg|(listen)|help=no}}; {{Langx|he|ערבית יהודית|'Aravít Yehudít}} {{pronunciation|Aravityehudit.ogg|(listen)|help=no}}) is [[Arabic]], in its [[Classical Arabic|formal]] and [[Varieties of Arabic|vernacular]] varieties, as it has been used by [[Jews]], and refers to both written forms and spoken dialects.<ref name="Kahn-2017">{{Cite book |last=Khan |first=Geoffrey |title=Handbook of Jewish Languages |date=2017-09-01 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-35954-3 |editor-last=Kahn |edition=Lily |chapter=Judeo-Arabic |doi=10.1163/9789004359543 |editor-last2=Rubin |editor-first2=Aaron}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Stillman |first=Norman A |title=Judeo-Arabic - History and Linguistic Description |url=https://referenceworks.brill.com/display/entries/EJIO/COM-0012320.xml |access-date=2024-10-23 |website=Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World Online |language=en |doi=10.1163/1878-9781_ejiw_com_0012320|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="Shohat-2017" /> Although Jewish use of Arabic, which predates [[Islam]], has been in some ways distinct from its use by other religious communities, it is not a uniform linguistic entity.<ref name="Kahn-2017" /> 

[[Varieties of Arabic]] formerly spoken by Jews throughout the [[Arab world]] have been, in modern times, classified as distinct [[ethnolects]].<ref name="Shohat-2017" /> Under the [[ISO 639]] international standard for language codes, Judeo-Arabic is classified as a [[ISO 639 macrolanguage|macrolanguage]] under the code jrb, encompassing four languages: [[Judeo-Moroccan Arabic]] (aju), [[Judeo-Yemeni Arabic]] (jye), [[Judeo-Egyptian Arabic]] (yhd), and [[Judeo-Tripolitanian Arabic]] (yud).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Judeo-Arabic [jrb] |url=https://iso639-3.sil.org/code/jrb |access-date=2022-11-13 |website=SIL Global}}</ref><ref name="Shohat-2017" />

Judeo-Arabic, particularly in its later forms, contains distinctive features and elements of Hebrew and Aramaic.<ref name="Hary-2012">{{Citation |last=Hary |first=Benjamin |title=Judeo-Arabic as a Mixed Language |date=2012-01-01 |work=Middle Arabic and Mixed Arabic |pages=125–143 |url=https://brill.com/display/book/9789004228047/B9789004228047_008.xml |access-date=2024-11-02 |publisher=Brill |language=en |doi=10.1163/9789004228047_008 |isbn=978-90-04-22804-7|url-access=subscription }}</ref>{{Rp|quote=Summary: This paper examines Judeo-Arabic, the language of Arabic-speaking Jews, as a
mixed language in the context of the Jewish linguistic spectrum. Judeo-Arabic is a mixed
religiolect that contains elements of classical and post-classical Arabic, dialectal compo-
nents, pseudocorrections, pseudocorrections that have become standardized, as well as
elements of Hebrew and Aramaic vocabulary and grammar. The essay investigates the
inclusion of these elements in Judeo-Arabic, using especially the texts of the šarḥ—a liter-
ary genre of translations of Hebrew (and Aramaic) religious sacred texts into Judeo-Arabic
that developed especially from the fifteenth century onwards|page=125}}<ref name="Hary-2018">{{Citation |title=Languages in Jewish Communities, Past and Present |date=2018-11-05 |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781501504631/html |access-date=2024-11-02 |publisher=De Gruyter Mouton |language=en |doi=10.1515/9781501504631 |isbn=978-1-5015-0463-1 |editor-last1=Hary |editor-last2=Benor |editor-first1=Benjamin |editor-first2=Sarah Bunin |url-access=subscription }}</ref>{{Rp|page=35|quote=Judeo-Arabic is a religiolect that has been spoken and written in various forms 
by Jews throughout the Arabic-speaking world. A religiolect is a language variety 
with its own history which is developed within a specific religious community, 
although some of its distinctive features may later spread outside of the com- 
munity (Hary 2009: 12–13). Judeo-Arabic literature deals, for the most part, with 
Jewish topics and is written by Jews for a Jewish readership. Several important 
features distinguish it from other varieties of Arabic. These include a mixture 
of elements of Classical and post-Classical Arabic, dialectal components, pseu- 
docorrections,1 and pseudocorrections that have become standardized. In other 
words, it is a typical mixed variety. Judeo-Arabic also possesses a number of spe- 
cific additional sociolinguistic features that set it apart: the use of Hebrew rather 
than Arabic characters, various traditions of Judeo-Arabic orthography, elements 
of Hebrew and Aramaic vocabulary and grammar, and the style of the šarḥ (a 
genre composed of literary translations of Jewish religious and liturgical texts 
from Hebrew and Aramaic into Judeo-Arabic). Users began to employ the religio- 
lect around the eighth century CE, as a linguistic result of the Arab conquests 
during the seventh century, and have been using it in various forms until today}}

Many significant Jewish works, including a number of religious writings by [[Saadia Gaon]], [[Maimonides]] and [[Judah Halevi]], were originally written in Judeo-Arabic, as this was the primary [[vernacular language]] of their authors.

== History ==
{{further|History of the Jews under Muslim rule}}
Jewish use of Arabic in [[Arabian Peninsula|Arabia]] predates [[Islam]].<ref name="Kahn-2017" /> There is evidence of a Jewish Arabic dialect, similar to general Arabic but including some Hebrew and Aramaic lexemes, called ''al-Yahūdiyya'', predating Islam. Some of these Hebrew and Aramaic words may have passed into general usage, particularly in religion and culture, though this pre-Islamic Judeo-Arabic was not the basis of a literature.<ref name="Hary-2018" />{{rp|41-42|quote=There is some evidence that the Jews on the Arabian Peninsula during the pre-Is- 
lamic period used a type of Jewish Arabic dialect called al-Yahūdiyya (Gil 1984: 
206; Newby 1971, 1988: 21–23). This dialect was similar to the Arabic dialect used 
by the general public but included some Hebrew and Aramaic lexemes, especially 
in the domains of religion and culture. Some of these Hebrew and Aramaic words 
passed into the speech and writing of the Arabs. This may explain the appear- 
ance of words of Hebrew and Aramaic origin in the Quran. There is no evidence, 
however, that Pre-Islamic Judeo-Arabic ever served as the vehicle of a distinct liter- 
ature (see below in 4.2, as-Samaw'al bnu 'Ādiyā''s case). Yet al-Yahūdiyya writings 
in Hebrew characters may also have existed (Newby 1971: 220).}}

There were Jewish [[Pre-Islamic Arabic poetry|Pre-Islamic Arabic poets]], such as [[Samaw'al ibn 'Adiya|al-Samawʾal ibn ʿĀdiyā]], though surviving written records of such Jewish poets do not indicate anything that distinguishes their use of Arabic from non-Jewish use of it, and their work according to Geoffrey Khan is generally not referred to as Judeo-Arabic.<ref name="Kahn-2017" /> This work is similar to and tends to follow Classical Arabic, and Benjamin Hary, who calls it Classical Judeo-Arabic, notes it still includes some dialectal features, such as in [[Saadia Gaon]]'s translation of the Pentateuch. This period includes a wide array of literary works.<ref name="Hary-2018" />{{rp|42|quote=The second phase of Judeo-Arabic began in the eighth century in Egypt and 
the ninth century elsewhere. This was the period in which the Judeo-Arabic Pho- 
netic orthography was used, though alongside the Arabicized orthography (see 
below). The appearance of Saadia ibn Yosef al-Fayyūmī's (882–942 CE) transla- 
tion of the Pentateuch into Judeo-Arabic at the turn of the tenth century marks 
the beginning of the third phase, Classical Judeo-Arabic. Although the written 
form of this language contained dialectal features as well as pseudocorrections, 
according to Blau (1999), it tended to follow the model of Classical Arabic to a 
large extent. The works written in this period covered the entire spectrum of lit- 
erary composition: theology, philosophy, biblical exegesis, philology, grammar, 
lexicography, law, ritual, and literature, in addition to commercial and private 
correspondence. Much of the material from this period has survived in several 
genizot, most notably the Cairo Geniza. The number of works in this period 
exceeded the number of Judeo-Arabic works of any other single period.}} Scholars assume that Jewish communities in Arabia spoke Arabic as their vernacular language, and some write that there is evidence of the presence of [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] and [[Aramaic]] words in their speech, as such words appear in the [[Quran]] and might have come from contact with these Arabic-speaking Jewish communities.<ref name="Kahn-2017" />

Before the spread of Islam, Jewish communities in [[Mesopotamia]] and [[Syria (region)|Syria]] spoke Aramaic, while those to the West spoke [[Romance languages|Romance]] and [[Berber languages|Berber]].<ref name="Kahn-2017" /> With the [[Early Muslim conquests]], areas including Mesopotamia and the eastern and southern Mediterranean underwent [[Arabization]], most rapidly in urban centers.<ref name="Kahn-2017" /> Some isolated Jewish communities continued to speak Aramaic until the 10th century, and some communities never adopted Arabic as a vernacular language at all.<ref name="Kahn-2017" /> Although urban Jewish communities were using Arabic as their spoken language, Jews kept Hebrew and Aramaic, traditional rabbinic languages, as their languages of writing during the first three centuries of Muslim rule, perhaps due to the presence of the [[Sura Academy|Sura]] and [[Pumbedita Academy|Pumbedita]] yeshivas in rural areas where people spoke Aramaic.<ref name="Kahn-2017" />

Jews in Arabic, Muslim majority countries wrote—sometimes in their dialects, sometimes in a more classical style—in a mildly adapted [[Hebrew alphabet]] rather than using the [[Arabic script]], often including [[consonant]] dots from the Arabic alphabet to accommodate phonemes that did not exist in the Hebrew alphabet.

By around 800 CE, most Jews within the Islamic Empire (90% of the world's Jews at the time) were native speakers of Arabic like the populations around them. This led to the development of early Judeo-Arabic.<ref name="Jewish Languages">{{Cite web |title=Judeo-Arabic |url=https://www.jewishlanguages.org/judeo-arabic |access-date=2024-01-25 |website=Jewish Languages |language=en}}</ref> The language quickly became the central language of Jewish scholarship and communication, enabling Jews to participate in the greater epicenter of learning at the time, which meant that they could be active participants in secular scholarship and civilization. The widespread usage of Arabic not only unified the Jewish community located throughout the Islamic Empire but also facilitated greater communication with other ethnic and religious groups, which led to manuscripts like the [[Toledot Yeshu]], being written or published in Arabic or Judeo-Arabic.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Goldstein |first=Miriam |date=2021 |title=Jesus in Arabic, Jesus in Judeo-Arabic: The Origins of the Helene Version of the Jewish "Life of Jesus" (Toledot Yeshu) |journal=Jewish Quarterly Review |volume=111 |issue=1 |pages=83–104 |doi=10.1353/jqr.2021.0004 |issn=1553-0604 |s2cid=234166481}}</ref> By the 10th century Judeo-Arabic would transition from Early to Classical Judeo-Arabic.
[[File:Letter_(T-S_8J18.5).jpg|thumb|A letter in [[Andalusi Arabic]] handwritten by [[Judah Halevi|Judah ha-Levi]] (1075–1141) found in the [[Cairo Geniza]]. While Muslims did not write in vernacular registers of Arabic, Jews would sometimes write in vernacular registers of Arabic using [[Hebrew alphabet|Hebrew script]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=López-Morillas |first=Consuelo |title=The literature of Al-Andalus |date=2000 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |others=Maria Rosa Menocal, Raymond P. Scheindlin, Michael Anthony Sells |isbn=978-1-139-17787-0 |location=New York |chapter=Chapter 2: Language |oclc=794678936}}</ref>]]In [[al-Andalus]], Jewish poets associated with the [[golden age of Jewish culture in Spain]], such as [[Judah Halevi]], composed poetry with Arabic. The ''[[Muwashshah|muwaššaḥ]]'', an Andalusi genre of strophic poetry, typically included ''[[Kharja|kharjas]]'', or closing lines often in a different language. About half of the corpus of the more than 250 known ''[[Muwashshah|muwaššaḥāt]]'' in [[Biblical Hebrew|Hebrew]] have ''[[Kharja|kharjas]]'' in Arabic, compared to roughly 50 with Hebrew ''kharjas'', and about 25 with Romance.<ref name="Menocal-2012">{{Cite book |last1=Menocal |first1=María Rosa |title=The literature of al-Andalus |last2=Scheindlin |first2=Raymond P. |last3=Sells |first3=Micheal |date=2012 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-17787-0 |oclc=819159086}}</ref>{{Rp|page=185}} There are also a few ''kharjas'' with a combination of Hebrew and Arabic.<ref name="Menocal-2012" />{{Rp|page=185}}

During the 15th century, as Jews, especially in North Africa, gradually began to identify less with Arabs, Judeo-Arabic would undergo significant changes and become Later Judeo-Arabic.<ref name="Jewish Languages" /> This coincided with increased isolation of Jewish communities and involved greater influence of Hebrew and Aramaic features.<ref name="Hary-2018" />{{rp|42|quote=The fourth phase, Later Judeo-Arabic, lasted from the 15th to the 19th cen- 
turies. The shift from Classical to Later Judeo-Arabic was accompanied by "the 
increased social isolation of the Jews of the Arab world at the end of the Middle 
Ages within restrictive quarters, such as the məllāḥ and ḥart il-yahūd" (Stillman 
1988: 5). During this period, many more dialectal elements penetrated into the 
written language, and the tradition of the šarḥ – the literal translation of Hebrew 
and Aramaic religious sacred texts into Judeo-Arabic – developed. Historical, 
halakhic, liturgical, and other texts were written in this period, many of them 
aimed at the general public rather than the erudite elite. Toward the end of this 
period, and even more so in the following period, an extensive folk literature also 
came into being. This period witnessed the development of the Hebraized orthog- 
raphy (Hary 1996), i.e., Judeo-Arabic written with spelling conventions that were 
heavily influenced by Hebrew and Aramaic.}}

Some of the most important books of medieval Jewish thought were originally written in medieval Judeo-Arabic, as were certain [[halakha|halakhic]] works and biblical commentaries.  Later they were translated into [[medieval Hebrew]] so that they could be read by contemporaries elsewhere in the Jewish world, and by others who were literate in Hebrew.  These include:

* [[Saadia Gaon]]'s translations of the Pentateuch,<ref>{{Citation |last=Schlossberg |first=Eliezer |title=Chapter Four: R. Saadia's Translation of the Pentateuch |date=2023-10-31 |pages=98–116 |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9798887192659-005/html |access-date=2024-11-03 |publisher=Academic Studies Press |language=en |doi=10.1515/9798887192659-005 |isbn=979-8-88719-265-9|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Vollandt |first=Ronny |title='The Arabic Pentateuch of the Paris Polyglot: Saadiah Gaon's advent to the republic of letters' |url=https://www.academia.edu/1215875|journal=Linguistic and Cultural Aspects of Arabic Bible Translations|pages=19–35}}</ref> ''[[Emunoth ve-Deoth]]'' (originally {{lang|ar|كتاب الأمانات والاعتقادات}}), his [[tafsir]] (biblical commentary and translation) and ''[[siddur]]'' (explanatory content, not the prayers themselves)
* [[David ibn Merwan al-Mukkamas]]
* [[Solomon ibn Gabirol]]'s ''Tikkun Middot ha-Nefesh''
* [[Bahya ibn Paquda]]'s ''Kitab al-Hidāya ilā Fara'id al-Qulūb'', translated by [[Judah ben Saul ibn Tibbon]] as ''[[Chovot HaLevavot]]''
* [[Judah Halevi]]'s ''[[Kuzari]]'' 
* [[Maimonides]]' ''Commentary on the Mishnah'', ''[[Sefer Hamitzvot]]'', ''[[The Guide for the Perplexed]]'', and many of his letters and shorter essays.

[[File:0001 FL168254346 (cropped).jpg|right|thumb|A manuscript of [[Saadia Gaon|Saadiah Gaon's]] translation of the [[Pentateuch]].<ref>{{cite thesis|journal=National Library of Israel|url=https://www.nli.org.il/en/dissertations/NNL_ALEPH990026502740205171/NLI|title=The transmission of the Judaeo-Arabic Pentateuch translation of Rav Saadiah Gaon in Arabic letters|last1=Vollandt|first1=Ronny}}</ref>]]
''Sharch'' (''šarḥ'', pl. ''šurūḥ'', ''šarḥanim'') is a literary genre consisting of the translation of sacred texts, such as [[Bible translations into Arabic]], the [[Talmud]] or [[Siddur|siddurim]], which were composed in Hebrew and Aramaic, into Judeo-Arabic, prevalent starting in the 15th century, and exhibiting a number of mixed elements.<ref name="Hary-2012" /> The term ''sharḥ'' sometimes came to mean "Judeo-Arabic" in the same way that [[Targum (Aramaic dialects)|"Targum" was sometimes used]] to mean the [[Aramaic language]].{{cn|date=November 2024}} The texts of the ''sharh'' are based on and dependent on Hebrew.<ref name="Hary-2012" />

=== Present day ===
The significant [[Jewish exodus from the Muslim world|emigration]] of Judeo-Arabic speakers in the 1940s and 1950s to Israel, France, and North America has led to endangerment or near-extinction of the ethnolects.<ref name="Hary-2003" />{{Rp|page=63|quote=The large emigration of Arab Jews, or Jews of Arab lands in the late 1940s and 1950s ofthe last century is the main reason for this situation. Most of the Jews cameto Israel (although some immigrated to France, North America, and otherplaces), where the Zionist Israeli pressure to drop Judeo-Arabic and adopt Hebrew was immense. Today there is  still a sizeable Jewish community in Morocco but most of the Jewish speech community there uses French rather than Moroccan Judeo-Arabic.}} Judeo-Arabic was viewed negatively in Israel as all Arabic was viewed as an "enemy language".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Yudelson |first=Larry |date=2016-10-22 |title=Recovering Judeo-Arabic |url=https://jewishstandard.timesofisrael.com/recovering-judeo-arabic/ |access-date=2024-01-28 |website=jewishstandard.timesofisrael.com}}</ref> Their distinct Arabic dialects in turn did not thrive, and most of their descendants now speak [[French language|French]] or [[Modern Hebrew]] almost exclusively; thus resulting in the entire group of Judeo-Arabic dialects being considered [[endangered language]]s.<ref name="Hary-2018" />{{Rp|page=44|quote=the religiolect again experienced a dramatic change in the 20th 
century, with the rise of Arab and Jewish national movements, the outbreak of 
the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the consequent emigration of Jews from (mostly) 
Arabic-speaking areas. The religiolect lost ground due to migration, struggle, 
and nationalism (and the resulting pressure from other languages). This change 
brought about the near loss of the religiolect}}<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Benor |first1=Sarah Bunin |last2=Tirosh-Becker |first2=Ofra |date=2024-09-12 |title=Practices and Challenges in Documenting Endangered Jewish Languages: A Researchers' Forum |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/jjl/12/2/article-p201_4.xml |journal=Journal of Jewish Languages |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=201–211 |doi=10.1163/22134638-bja10047 |issn=2213-4638|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="Hary-2003">{{Cite journal |date=2003-09-24 |title=Judeo-Arabic: a diachronic reexamination |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/ijsl.2003.047/html |language=en |issue=163 |pages=61–75 |doi=10.1515/ijsl.2003.047 |issn=1613-3668 |last1=Hary |first1=Benjamin |journal=International Journal of the Sociology of Language |url-access=subscription }}</ref> There remain small populations of speakers in Morocco,<ref name="Hary-2003" /> Algeria, Tunisia, Lebanon, Yemen, the United States,{{cn|date=November 2024}} and Israel.<ref name="Hary-2003" />

== Historiography ==
Cultural critic [[Ella Shohat]] notes that Jewish speakers of Arabic did not refer to their language as 'Judeo-Arabic' but simply as 'Arabic'.<ref name="Shohat-2017">{{Cite journal |last=Shohat |first=Ella |date=2017-02-17 |title=The Invention of Judeo-Arabic |journal=Interventions |volume=19 |issue=2 |pages=153–200 |doi=10.1080/1369801X.2016.1218785 |issn=1369-801X |s2cid=151728939}}</ref> In the period of '[[Jewish exodus from the Muslim world|massive dislocation]]' from the late 1940s through the 1960s, Jewish speakers of Arabic in diaspora and their descendants gradually adopted the term 'Judeo-Arabic' and its equivalents in French and Hebrew.<ref name="Shohat-2017" />

The 19th century rediscovery of the [[Cairo Geniza]] gave the study of Judeo-Arabic prominence within [[Judaic Studies]], leading to publications such as [[Shelomo Dov Goitein|Shelomo Dov Goitein's]] series ''A Mediterranean Society: The Jewish Communities of the Arab World as Portrayed in the Documents of the Cairo Geniza''.<ref name="Shohat-2017" />

Shohat identifies linguist [[Yehoshua Blau]] as a key figure in the development of the notion of Judeo-Arabic, within what she describes as a [[Zionism|Zionist]] linguistic project invested in prioritizing the uniqueness and separateness of isolatable '[[Jewish languages]]'.<ref name="Shohat-2017" /> Shohat cites the first issue of the Israeli journal ''[[Pe'amim]]'', which featured a "Scholars' Forum" ({{Lang|he|בימת חוקרים}}) on "The Jewish Languages – the Common, the Unique and the Problematic" ({{Lang|he|הלשונות היהודיות – המשותף, המיוחד והבעייתי}})<ref>{{Cite web |title=חוברת 1, אביב תשל"ט, 1979 of Pe'amim: Studies in Oriental Jewry / פעמים: רבעון לחקר קהילות ישראל במזרח on JSTOR |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/i23421633 |access-date=2024-10-27 |website=www.jstor.org |language=en}}</ref> with articles from [[Chaim Menachem Rabin]] "{{Lang|he|מה מייחד את הלשונות היהודיות}}" ('What Distinguishes the Jewish Languages')<ref>{{Cite journal |last=רבין |first=חיים |date=1979 |title=מה מייחד את הלשונות היהודיות |journal=Pe'amim: Studies in Oriental Jewry / פעמים: רבעון לחקר קהילות ישראל במזרח |issue=1 |pages=40–45 |jstor=23421968 |issn=0334-4088}}</ref> and [[Yehoshua Blau]] "{{Lang|he|הערבית-היהודית הקלאסית}}" ('Classical Judeo-Arabic').<ref>{{Cite journal |last=בלאו |first=יהושע |date=1979 |title=הערבית-היהודית הקלאסית |journal=Pe'amim: Studies in Oriental Jewry / פעמים: רבעון לחקר קהילות ישראל במזרח |issue=1 |pages=45–49 |jstor=23421969 |issn=0334-4088}}</ref> This project explicitly sought to describe the Arabic of Jews as a distinct, Jewish language, equating it with [[Yiddish]].<ref name="Shohat-2017" /> According to Esther-Miriam Wagner, the case of Judeo-Arabic reified a Zionist 'Arab vs. Jew' dichotomy.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wagner |first=Esther-Miriam |title=Jewish Languages in Historical Perspective |date=2018 |publisher=[[Brill Publishers|Brill]] |editor-last=Kahn |editor-first=Lily |chapter=How Ideology Shapes the Concept of 'Judeo-Arabic': The Ashkenazi–Mizrahi Conflict and Jewish Languages}}</ref>

== Characteristics ==
[[File:Pennsylvania_University_of_Pennsylvania_Libraries_Halper_317_f_1r.jpg|right|thumb|A folio from a [[philology|philological]] essay on definitions of [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] words found in the Cairo Geniza, 10th-12th c.<ref>{{Cite web |title=OPenn: Halper 317 Philological essay |url=https://openn.library.upenn.edu/Data/0002/html/h317.html |access-date=2024-11-03 |website=openn.library.upenn.edu}}</ref>]]
The Arabic spoken by Jewish communities in the Arab world differed from the Arabic of their non-Jewish neighbors. Particularly in its later forms, Judeo-Arabic contains distinctive features and elements of Hebrew and Aramaic, such as grammar, vocabulary, orthography, and style.<ref name="Hary-2012"/><ref name="Hary-2018"/>

For example, most Jews in Egypt lived in Cairo and Alexandria and they shared a common dialect.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rosenbaum |first=Gabriel |date=2003 |title=THE ARABIC DIALECT OF JEWS IN MODERN EGYPT |url=https://www.academy.ac.il/SystemFiles2015/Bulletin%2025_06_Rosenbaum.pdf|journal=The Israeli Academic Center in Cairo}}</ref> [[Baghdad Jewish Arabic]] is reminiscent of the [[North Mesopotamian Arabic|dialect of Mosul]]. For example, "I said" is ''{{Lang|ayp|qeltu}}'' in the speech of Baghdadi Jews and Christians, as well as in Mosul and Syria, as against Muslim Baghdadi ''{{lang|acm|gilit}}''.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Blanc |first1=Haim |title=Communal dialects in Baghdad |last2=Blanc |first2=David |last3=Borg |first3=Alexander |date=2024 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-68979-4 |series=Studies in Semitic languages and linguistics |location=Leiden ; Boston}}</ref>

Some Judeo-Arabic writers, such as Maimonides, were able to switch between varieties of Judeo-Arabic and the Standard Arabic dialect.<ref name="Hary-2003" />{{Rp|pages=64-65|quote=Judeo-Arabic authors at timesattempted to write in the more prestigious variety of Standard Arabic withvarying  degrees  of  success  resulting  in  pseudo-corrections  (Hary  1992:62–69). In other words, several Judeo-Arabic authors mastered StandardArabic and wrote in it. When they did, their writings in Standard Arabiccannot be considered Judeo-Arabic. Therefore, these writings are outsidethe  scope  of  Judeo-Arabic.  Maimonides  (1135–1204)  serves  as  a  goodexample in the period of classical Judeo-Arabic. He was certainly capableFigure 2.Continuum in Judeo-Arabic
Judeo-Arabic: a diachronic reexamination65of writing in variety A and indeed did so, but he was able to switch betweenthe different varieties of the language, thus adapting to his readership. As aresult, some of his works, such as his medical writings, which were aimedat non-Jewish readers, are in variety A and cannot be considered part ofclassical Judeo-Arabic. In other works, such as his letters to his coreligion-ists,  that  is,  Jewish  readership,  he  used  the  varieties  of  Bn,  and  thereforethey are in literary written classical Judeo-Arabic.Judeo-Arabic  writers  and  speakers'  attitude  is  important  for  under-standing the ethnolect.}}

Like other Jewish languages and dialects, Judeo-Arabic languages contain borrowings from Hebrew and [[Aramaic]]. This feature is less marked in [[Bible translations into Arabic#Jewish|translations of the Bible]], as the authors clearly took the view that the business of a translator is to translate.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Avishur |first=Yitsḥaḳ |title=Targume ha-Tanakh be-ʻArvit Yehudit ba-Mizraḥ: seḳirot ṿe-ʻiyunim |date=2001 |publisher=Pirsume Merkaz arkheʼologi |isbn=978-965-7162-05-7 |location=Tel-Aviv-Yafo |language=he, en}}</ref>

== Dialects ==
* [[Judeo-Algerian Arabic|Judeo-Algerian]]
* [[Judeo-Egyptian Arabic|Judeo-Egyptian]]
* [[Judeo-Moroccan Arabic|Judeo-Moroccan]]
* [[Judeo-Tripolitanian Arabic|Judeo-Tripolitanian]]
* [[Judeo-Tunisian Arabic|Judeo-Tunisian]]
* [[Judeo-Yemeni Arabic|Judeo-Yemeni]]
* [[Judeo-Syrian Arabic|Judeo-Syrian]]
* [[Judeo-Lebanese Arabic|Judeo-Lebanese]]
* [[Modern Palestinian Judeo-Arabic]]
* [[Judeo-Iraqi Arabic|Judeo-Iraqi]]
**[[Baghdad Jewish Arabic|Judeo-Baghdadi]]

== Media ==
[[File:Agada pour la Paque- avec traductions Judéo-Arabe et Française 515294 0003.tif|right|thumb|A printed [[haggadah]] with translations in French and Judeo-Arabic, [[Tunis]], 1920.<ref>{{Cite web |title=שער הגדה לפסח, תוניסיה, 1920 בערך |url=https://web.nli.org.il/sites/nli/hebrew/digitallibrary/pages/viewer.aspx?docid=NNL03_EDU700276069&presentorid=NLI_EDU |access-date=2024-11-06 |website=web.nli.org.il}}</ref>]]
Most literature in Judeo-Arabic is of a Jewish nature and is intended for readership by Jewish audiences. There was also widespread translation of Jewish texts from languages like [[Yiddish]] and [[Ladino (language)|Ladino]] into Judeo-Arabic, and translation of liturgical texts from Aramaic and Hebrew into Judeo-Arabic.<ref name="Jewish Languages" /> There is also Judeo-Arabic videos on [[YouTube]].<ref name="Jewish Languages" />

A collection of over 400,000 of Judeo-Arabic documents from the 6th-19th centuries was found in the [[Cairo Geniza]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rustow |first=Marina |title=The Lost Archive Traces of a Caliphate in a Cairo Synagogue |publisher=Princeton: Princeton University Press |year=2020 |isbn=978-0-691-18952-9 |page=451}}</ref>

The movie ''[[Farewell Baghdad (2013 film)|Farewell Baghdad]]'' would be released in 2013 entirely in [[Judeo-Iraqi Arabic]]<ref>{{Cite news |title=ראיון: כשבמאי ישראלי עושה סרט עיראקי |url=https://www.haaretz.co.il/gallery/cinema/2014-04-10/ty-article/0000017f-f863-d887-a7ff-f8e7f47f0000 |access-date=2024-01-25 |work=הארץ |language=he}}</ref>

== Orthography ==
Judeo-Arabic orthography uses a modified version of the [[Hebrew alphabet]] called the Judeo-Arabic script. It is written from [[Right-to-left script|right to left]] horizontally like the Hebrew script and also like the Hebrew script some letters contain final versions, used only when that letter is at the end of a word.<ref name="www.omniglot.com">{{Cite web |title=Judeo-Arabic script |url=https://www.omniglot.com/writing/judeo-arabic.htm |access-date=2024-01-28 |website=www.omniglot.com}}</ref> It also uses the letters ''alef'' and ''waw'' or ''yodh'' to mark long or short vowels respectively.<ref name="www.omniglot.com" /> The order of the letters varies between alphabets.
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="vertical-align: bottom;"
! scope="col" | Judeo-<br/>Arabic
! scope="col" | Arabic
! scope="col" ! scope="row" | [[Abjad|Semitic name]]<!-- These are deliberately the generic Semitic names, rather than Arabic or Hebrew -->
! scope="col" | Transliteration
|-
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Hebrew|א}}</span>
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Arabic|ا}}</span>
! scope="row" | [[Aleph|Alef]]
| {{IPAslink|ʔ}} ''ā'' and sometimes ''{{serif|ʾI}}''
|-
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Hebrew|ב}}</span>
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Arabic|ب}}</span>
! scope="row" | [[Bet (letter)|Beth]]
| ''{{IPA link|b}}''
|-
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Hebrew|ג}}</span>
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Arabic|ج}}</span>
! scope="row" | [[Gimel]]
| ''g'' or ''ǧ'': hard ''G'', or ''J'', as in ''get'', or ''Jack'': {{IPAc-en|g}}, or {{IPAc-en|dʒ}} or ''si'' in ''vision'' {{IPAc-en|ʒ}} depending on the dialect
|-
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Hebrew|גׄ}}</span>, <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Hebrew|עׄ}}</span> or <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Hebrew|רׄ}}</span>
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Arabic|غ}}</span>
! scope="row" | [[Ghayn]]
| ''ġ'' {{IPAslink|ɣ}}, a guttural ''gh'' sound
|-
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Hebrew|ד}}</span>
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Arabic|د}}</span>
! scope="row" | [[Dalet]]h
| ''{{IPA link|d}}''
|-
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Hebrew|דׄ}}</span>
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Arabic|ذ}}</span>
! scope="row" | [[Ḏāl|Dhaleth]]
| ''ḏ'', an English ''th'' as in "that" {{IPAc-en|ð}}
|-
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Hebrew|ה}}</span>
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Arabic|ه}}</span>
! scope="row" | [[He (letter)|He]]
| ''{{IPA link|h}}''
|-
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Hebrew|ו}}</span> or <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Hebrew|וו}}</span>
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Arabic|و}}</span>
! scope="row" | [[Waw (letter)|Waw]]
| ''{{IPA link|w}}'' and sometimes ''{{IPA link|uː|ū}}''
|-
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Hebrew|ז}}</span>
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Arabic|ز}}</span>
! scope="row" | [[Zayin|Zayn]]
| ''{{IPA link|z}}''
|-
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Hebrew|ח}}</span>
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Arabic|ح}}</span>
! scope="row" | [[Heth]]
| ''ḥ'' {{IPAslink|ħ}}
|-
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Hebrew|ט}}</span>
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Arabic|ط}}</span>
! scope="row" | [[Teth]]
| ''ṭ'' {{IPAslink|tˤ}}
|-
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Hebrew|טׄ}}</span> or <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Hebrew|זׄ}}</span>
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Arabic|ظ}}</span>
! scope="row" | [[Ẓāʾ|Theth]]
| ''ẓ'' {{IPAslink|ðˤ}}, a retracted form of the th sound as in "that"
|-
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Hebrew|י}}</span> or <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Hebrew|יי}}</span>
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Arabic|ي}}</span>
! scope="row" | [[Yodh]]
| ''{{IPA link|j|y}}'' or ''{{IPA link|iː|ī}}''
|-
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Hebrew|כ}}</span>, <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Hebrew|ך}}</span>
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Arabic|ك}}</span>
! scope="row" | [[Kaph]]
| ''{{IPA link|k}}''
|-
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Hebrew|כׄ}}</span>, <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Hebrew|ךׄ}}</span> or <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Hebrew|חׄ}}</span>
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Arabic|خ}}</span>
! scope="row" | [[Ḫāʾ|Kheth]]
| ''ḫ'', a ''kh'' sound like "Bach" {{IPAslink|x}}
|-
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Hebrew|ל}}</span>
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Arabic|ل}}</span>
! scope="row" | [[Lamedh]]
| ''{{IPA link|l}}''
|-
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Hebrew|מ}}</span>
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Arabic|م}}</span>
! scope="row" | [[Mem]]
| ''{{IPA link|m}}''
|-
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Hebrew|נ}}</span>
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Arabic|ن}}</span>
! scope="row" | [[Nun (letter)|Nun]]
| ''{{IPA link|n}}''
|-
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Hebrew|ס}}</span>
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Arabic|س}}</span>
! scope="row" | [[Samekh]]
| ''{{IPA link|s}}''
|-
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Hebrew|ע}}</span>
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Arabic|ع}}</span>
! scope="row" | [[Ayin|Ayn]]
| {{IPAslink|ʕ}} ''ʿa'' , ''ʿ'' and sometimes ''ʿi''
|-
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Hebrew|פ}}</span>, <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Hebrew|ף}}</span> or <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Hebrew|פׄ}}</span>, <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Hebrew|ףׄ}}</span>
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Arabic|ف}}</span>
! scope="row" | [[Pe (Semitic letter)|Fe]]
| ''{{IPA link|f}}''
|-
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Hebrew|צ}}</span>, <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Hebrew|ץ}}</span>
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Arabic| ص }}</span>
! scope="row" | [[Tsade|Sadhe]]
| ''ṣ'' {{IPAslink|sˤ}}, a hard ''s'' sound
|-
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Hebrew|צׄ}}</span>, <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Hebrew|ץׄ}}</span>
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Arabic|ض}}</span>
! scope="row" | [[Ḍād|Dhadhe]]
| ''ḍ'' {{IPAslink|dˤ}}, a retracted ''d'' sound
|-
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Hebrew|ק}}</span>
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Arabic|ق}}</span>
! scope="row" | [[Qoph|Qof]]
| ''{{IPA link|q}}'' 
|-
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Hebrew|ר}}</span>
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Arabic|ر}}</span>
! scope="row" | [[Resh]]
| ''{{IPA link|r}}''
|-
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Hebrew|ש}}</span> or <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Hebrew|ש֒}}</span>
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Arabic|ش}}</span>
! scope="row" | [[Shin (letter)|Shin]]
| ''š'', an English ''sh'' sound {{IPAc-en|ʃ}}
|-
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Hebrew|ת}}</span>
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Arabic|ت}}</span>
! scope="row" | [[Taw]]
| ''{{IPA link|t}}''
|-
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Hebrew|תׄ}}</span> or <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Hebrew|ת֒}}</span>
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Arabic|ث}}</span>
! scope="row" | [[Ṯāʾ|Thaw]]
| ''ṯ'', an English ''th'' as in "thank" {{IPAc-en|θ}}
|-
!colspan="4"|Additional letters
|-
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Hebrew|ﭏ}}</span>
| style="text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size:150%;">{{Script/Arabic|الـ}}</span>
! scope="row" | -
| [[Arabic definite article|Definite Article "al-"]].<br />[[Ligature (writing)|Ligature]] of the letters {{Script/Hebrew|א}} and {{Script/Hebrew|ל}} 
|}

== Sample text ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Judeo-Iraqi Arabic<ref name="www.omniglot.com" />
!Transliteration<ref name="www.omniglot.com" />
!English<ref name="www.omniglot.com" />
|-
|{{rtl-para|He|יא אבאנא אלדי פי אלסמואת, יתׄקדס אסמך, תׄאתׄי מלכותׄך, תׄכון משיתך כמא פי אלסמא ועלי אלארץ, חבזנא אלדי ללעד אעטנא אליום, ואעפר לנא מא עלינו כמא נעפר נחן למן לנא עליה, ולא תׄדחלנא אלתׄגארב, לכן נגנא מן אלשריר, לאן לך למלך ואלקות ואלמגד אלי אלאבד}}
|Yā abānā illedī fī al-samwāti, yaṯaqaddasu asmuka, ṯāṯī malakūṯuka, ṯakūnu mašyatuka kamā fī al-samā waʕalay al-ārṣi, ḥubzanāʔ al-ladī liluʕadi aʕṭinā al-yawma. Wāǧfir lanā mā ʕalaynū kamā naǧfiru naḥnu liman lanā ʕalayhi, walā ṯudḥilnāʔ al-ṯṯagāriba, lakin nagginā mina al-šširīri, lanna laka lamluka wālquqata wālmagida alay al-abdi.
|Our father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory for ever and ever.
|}

==See also==
{{commonscat|Judeo-Arabic languages}}
* [[Arabic language in Israel]]
* [[Judeo-Berber language]]
* [[Judeo-Iraqi Arabic]]
* [[Baghdad Jewish Arabic]]
* [[Judeo-Moroccan Arabic]]
* [[Judeo-Tunisian Arabic]]
* [[Judeo-Yemeni Arabic]]
* [[Syrian Jews#Judaeo-Arabic dialect|Judeo-Syrian Arabic]]
* [[Judeo-Algerian Arabic]]
* [[Letter of the Karaite elders of Ascalon]]
* [[Arab Jews]]
* [[Haketia]]
* [[Garshuni]]

==Endnotes==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin|2}}
* Blanc, Haim, ''Communal Dialects in Baghdad'': Harvard 1964
*[[Joshua Blau|Blau, Joshua]], ''The Emergence and Linguistic Background of Judaeo-Arabic'': OUP, last edition 1999
* Blau, Joshua, ''A Grammar of Mediaeval Judaeo-Arabic'': Jerusalem 1980 (in Hebrew)
* Blau, Joshua, ''Studies in Middle Arabic and its Judaeo-Arabic variety'': Jerusalem 1988 (in English)
* Blau, Joshua, ''Dictionary of Mediaeval Judaeo-Arabic Texts'': Jerusalem 2006
* Mansour, Jacob, ''The Jewish Baghdadi Dialect: Studies and Texts in the Judaeo-Arabic Dialect of Baghdad'': Or Yehuda 1991
* Heath, Jeffrey, ''Jewish and Muslim dialects of Moroccan Arabic'' (Routledge Curzon Arabic linguistics series): London, New York, 2002.
{{refend}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160303180236/https://pantherfile.uwm.edu/corre/www/judeo-arabic2.html Alan Corré's Judeo-Arabic Literature site, via the Internet Archive]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070927225931/http://shekel.jct.ac.il/~green/judeo-arabic.html Judeo-Arabic Literature]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070323082115/http://reka.iba.org.il/ Reka] [[Kol Yisrael]], a radio station broadcasting a daily program in [[Judeo-Moroccan Arabic]]
* [http://www.jewish-languages.org/judeo-arabic.html Jewish Language Research Website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170724035400/http://www.jewish-languages.org/judeo-arabic.html |date=2017-07-24 }} (description and bibliography)
* [https://www.sefaria.org/Tafsir_Rasag%2C_Introduction?lang=bi Tafsir Rasag], a translation of the [[Torah]] into literary Judeo-Arabic, at [[Sefaria]]

{{Jewish languages}}
{{Arabic language}}
{{Varieties of Arabic}}
{{Languages of Sicily}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Judeo-Arabic languages| ]]
[[Category:Languages of Sicily]]
[[Category:Arabic languages]]
[[Category:Languages of Israel]]
[[Category:Jewish languages]]