Skip to main content
Sephardim, Ashkenazim and Non-Jewish Peoples:  Encounters Across EuropeThe 9th issue of Colloquia Humanistica focuses in its entirety on Jewish/non-Jewish contacts. The papers, presentations of materials, discussions and reviews all share... more
Sephardim, Ashkenazim and Non-Jewish Peoples:  Encounters Across EuropeThe 9th issue of Colloquia Humanistica focuses in its entirety on Jewish/non-Jewish contacts. The papers, presentations of materials, discussions and reviews all share the theme of the entangled history of cohabitation. Still, deconstructed on multiple layers of geography, ethnicity, research domain and methodology, the title’s “encounters” make for varied reading. Aszkenazyjczycy, Sefardyjczycy i narody nieżydowskie. Spotkania w EuropieDziewiąty numer Colloquia Humanistica jest w całości poświęcony  żydowsko-nieżydowskim kontaktom. Artykuły, prezentacje materiałów, dyskusje i recenzje ilustrują tę uwikłaną historię koegzystencji. Numer jest zróżnicowany, a tytułowe spotkania mają odzwierciedlenie na kilku poziomach: wspomnianych kontaktów żydowsko-nieżydowskich, aszkenazyjsko-sefardyjskich, obszarów badawczych i na poziomie metodologicznym.
Yiddish and Judeo-Spanish as Determinants of Identity: As Illustrated in the Jewish Press of the First Half of the Twentieth CenturyThe paper shows an image and functions of Yiddish and Judeo-Spanish languages among Jewish Diaspora groups... more
Yiddish and Judeo-Spanish as Determinants of Identity: As Illustrated in the Jewish Press of the First Half of the Twentieth CenturyThe paper shows an image and functions of Yiddish and Judeo-Spanish languages among Jewish Diaspora groups – the Balkan Sephardim and the Ashkenazim (the Ostjuden group) – in the period from the beginning of the twentieth century until the outbreak of World War II. The study is based on the articles from Jewish weeklies, magazines and newspapers from pre-war Bosnia and Hercegovina and from Germany/Poland. It demonstrates a double-sided attitude towards the languages. On the one hand – an image of the languages as determinants of Jewish identity. Touching on this theme, the authors of the paper also try to highlight the images of Yiddish and Judeo-Spanish and as determinants in a narrower sense – of the Sephardi/Ashkenazi identity in that period. On the other hand, the paper shows a tendency to treat the languages as “corrupted” and “dying” languages, an...
The article presents discourse in the Jewish press on the question of the Yiddish and Judeo-Spanish languages and accordingly, their important roles in Ashkenazi (here precisely of so called Westjuden) and Sephardi environments. The... more
The article presents discourse in the Jewish press on the question of the Yiddish and Judeo-Spanish languages and accordingly, their important roles in Ashkenazi (here precisely of so called Westjuden) and Sephardi environments. The positive image of the languages is illustrated in the press texts from Germany and Bosnia. Taking account of different social, political, cultural and linguistic conditions of both Jewish groups, the overview aims to find similar patterns in the presence of Yiddish and Judeo-Spanish in studied Jewish magazines. Keywords: Yiddish, Judeo-Spanish, Westjuden, Sephardi Jews, Germany, Bosnia, Jewish Press, Discourse in the Press
Kobiece narracje, związane z transferem wiedzy, mogą stanowić interesujący klucz w interpretacji dziedzictwa judaizmu w wielopoziomowym kontekście kultur bałkańskich. Zapoczątkowany w tradycyjnych bałkańskich społecznościach żydowskich... more
Kobiece narracje, związane z transferem wiedzy, mogą stanowić interesujący klucz w interpretacji dziedzictwa judaizmu w wielopoziomowym kontekście kultur bałkańskich. Zapoczątkowany w tradycyjnych bałkańskich społecznościach żydowskich transfer wiedzy (tradycji) odbywał się w różnych ośrodkach i w różnych czasach, przede wszystkim za pośrednictwem żydowskich kobiet różnego pochodzenia (sefardyjskich lub aszkenazyjskich). W XX w. problem ten można rozpatrywać przynajmniej na dwóch poziomach, z których oba stanowią fascynujące połączenie idei emancypacyjnych i tradycyjnych wzorców zachowań. Pierwszą grupę mediatorek wiedzy można odnaleźć w mniejszości sefardyjskiej przed II wojną światową. Drugą grupę stanowią kobiety żydowskie, którym udało się przetrwać Holokaust i które — pomimo trudnej sytuacji społeczno-politycznej — postanowiły zająć się badaniem historii bałkańskich Żydów lub udokumentować ich kulturę, chociaż większość z nich nie miała (formalnie) profesjonalnego przygotowania do takich działań. W tekście
przedstawiamy krótkie biografie i działania kobiet z drugiej grupy. Wśród nich możemy znaleźć badaczki i popularyzatorki kultury, które używały różnych języków i swoje działania kierowały do różnych grup odbiorców. Nasz tekst koncentruje się na kobietach, które pracowały za granicą. Interesują nas nie tylko wspólne wzorce i kody, ale także różnice w modelach przekazywania wiedzy (i tradycji) przez bałkańskie Żydówki pochodzenia sefardyjskiego lub aszkenazyjskiego.
In the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Sephardic Jews were one of a few ethnic and religious minorities. They were the descendants of the Jews expelled from the Iberian Peninsula who came to the... more
In the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and in the Kingdom of
Yugoslavia, Sephardic Jews were one of a few ethnic and religious minorities. They were the descendants of the Jews expelled from the Iberian Peninsula who came to the Balkans with their vernacular language based on pre-classic IberianRoman dialects. They had preserved Judeo-Spanish for several ages and enriched it with infl uences of Balkan and other languages. Nevertheless, after its Golden
Age in the 16th and 17th centuries, Judeo-Spanish could not avoid a slow decline caused by political, social and cultural changes that took place on the entire Balkan Peninsula and which accelerated in the second half of the 19th century.
The chapter deals with the status, role and condition of Judeo-Spanish among Sephardic Jews in three Sephardic centres in Yugoslavia: 
belgrade, Sarajevo and Bitola, in the period between 1918 and 1941. In Belgrade the representation of Judeo-Spanish was indeed poor: the level of westernization and acculturation of the Jews was so high that since the 19th century they had called themselves “Serbs of the Jewish faith”. In multicultural Sarajevo, Judeo-Spanish remained the only vernacular language of the Sephardim until the 1880s, which resulted from the
isolation they lived in under Ottoman rule. Even after they joined the stream of state education introduced under Austro-Hungarian rule, Serbo-Croatian did not supersede Judeo-Spanish and most Sephardic Jews were bilingual at that time. In the Jewish communities of Macedonia, mainly because of their low economic position and low level of acculturation, the usage of Judeo-Spanish remained prevalent even longer — until the outbreak of World War II.
Keywords: Yugoslavia, Judeo-Spanish language, Sephardim, Diaspora language, co-territorial languages, sociolinguistics.
The 9th issue of Colloquia Humanistica focuses in its entirety on Jewish/non-Jewish contacts. The papers, presentations of materials, discussions and reviews all share the theme of the entangled history of cohabitation. Still,... more
The 9th issue of Colloquia Humanistica focuses in its entirety on Jewish/non-Jewish contacts. The papers, presentations of materials, discussions and reviews all share the theme of the entangled history of cohabitation. Still, deconstructed on multiple layers of geography, ethnicity, research domain and methodology, the title's "encounters" make for varied reading.
Artykuł przedstawia charakterystykę sefardyjskich imion żeńskich odnotowanych w Sarajewie przed II wojną światową w kilku rodzajach źródeł: w Księdze Urodzeń gminy sefardyjskiej, Indeksie Ksiąg Ewidencyjnych gminy, Księdze Zmarłych, a... more
Artykuł przedstawia charakterystykę sefardyjskich imion żeńskich odnotowanych w Sarajewie przed II wojną światową w kilku rodzajach źródeł: w Księdze Urodzeń gminy sefardyjskiej, Indeksie Ksiąg Ewidencyjnych gminy, Księdze Zmarłych, a także imiona występujące na nagrobkach cmentarza żydowskiego w Sarajewie oraz w dwóch bośniackich tygodnikach żydowskich. Zebrane imiona podzielono pod względem sposobu zapisu w źródłach: na imiona pojedyncze i podwójne oraz, odwołując się do klasyfikacji imion żydowskich zaproponowanej przez Alexandra Beidera, podjęto próbę scharakteryzowania ich pochodzenia, form oraz funkcji jakie pełniły w antroponimii żydowskiej w ogóle lub w omawianym okresie i społeczności. Podano również przykłady relacji i zasad łączeń w imionach podwójnych zaobserwowane w zapisach źródłowych.
The article elaborates on the attempts of the editors of the Jewish weekly Jevrejski glas (published in Sarajevo in 1928–1941) to support fostering of the Sephardi tradition and Judeo-Spanish language during the period in which an... more
The article elaborates on the attempts of the editors of the Jewish weekly Jevrejski glas (published in Sarajevo in 1928–1941) to support fostering of the Sephardi tradition and Judeo-Spanish language during the period in which an inevitable process of language shift took place among the Sephardi citizens of Bosnia. The column Para noče de šabat, created with the help of the weekly's readers, was one of the means serving that purpose. In the majority of the texts the main characters were Sephardi women, especially of the older generation, the women called tijas (aunts). For that reason, the paper presents how the authors showed female characters in the context of memory of " the true Sephardi spirit and tradition. " Additionally, we provide basic information on the gathered texts: linguistics and sociolinguistics of the language of the prose (its condition, lexis and local features), as well as the characteristics of narration.
Opisu języka żydowsko-hiszpańskiego w krajach byłej Jugosławii dokonywano wielokrotnie, począwszy od pionierskich prac Kalmiego Baruha sprzed II wojny światowej, poprzez powojenne artykuły Edwarda Stankiewicza lub Isaka Papo. Rozważania... more
Opisu języka żydowsko-hiszpańskiego w krajach byłej Jugosławii dokonywano wielokrotnie, począwszy od pionierskich prac Kalmiego Baruha sprzed II wojny światowej, poprzez powojenne artykuły Edwarda Stankiewicza lub Isaka Papo. Rozważania na temat języka mówionego bałkań-skich Sefardyjczyków pojawiły również się w imponującej monografi i Muhameda Nezirovicia po-święconej sefardyjskiej literaturze (1995). Językowi żydowsko-hiszpańskiemu w Bośni poświęco-no cały tom zbiorowy wydany w 2015 roku, w Sarajewie, w którym, obok klasycznych już prac, znalazły się artykuły współczesnych badaczy, m.in.: Eliezera Papo, Katji Šmid i Dimitrije Pešicia. Jednak wydana w zeszłym roku propozycja Ivany Vučiny Simović, po którą sięgnęłam z wielkim zainteresowaniem, jest jednym z rzadkich przykładów w krajach byłej Jugosławii monograficznych opisów języka żydowsko-hiszpańskiego z naciskiem na aspekty socjolingwistyczne.
Research Interests:
The paper shows an image and functions of Yiddish and Judeo-Spanish languages among Jewish Diaspora groups – the Balkan Sephardim and the Ashkenazim (the Ostjuden group) – in the period from the beginning of the twentieth century until... more
The paper shows an image and functions of Yiddish and Judeo-Spanish languages among Jewish Diaspora groups – the Balkan Sephardim and the Ashkenazim (the Ostjuden group) – in the period from the beginning of the twentieth century until the outbreak of World War II. The study is based on the articles from Jewish weeklies, magazines and newspapers from prewar Bosnia and Hercegovina and from Germany/Poland. It demonstrates a double-sided attitude towards the languages. On the one hand – an image of the languages as determinants of Jewish identity. Touching on this theme, the authors of the paper also try to highlight the images of Yiddish and Judeo-Spanish and as determinants in a narrower sense – of the Sephardi/Ashkenazi identity in that period. On the other hand, the paper shows a tendency to treat the languages as " corrupted " and " dying " languages, and as factors slowing down the assimilation of Jewish groups and also as an obstacle for Zionist ideologies.
Research Interests:
The linguistic material of the paper is based on the document entitled “Borders of Macedonia”; that is a six page manuscript in Latin alphabet (with an exception), written in Judeo-Spanish language, kept in the Institute of History of the... more
The linguistic material of the paper is based on the document entitled “Borders of Macedonia”; that is a six page manuscript in Latin alphabet (with an exception), written in Judeo-Spanish language, kept in the Institute of History of the Macedonian Republic in Skopje. The document is a translation of conversation between Theodor Herzl and Gʼorče Petrov, one of the leaders of Macedonian autonomist movement. It was probably written between 1871 and 1879.
The article presents some linguistic features of Kamhiʼs Judeo-Spanish document, such as: phonology and phonetics, e.g.: distinction between /b/ and /v/, lack of interdental spirant /θ/ or seseo, preservation of a consonant /š/, pronunciation of atonic /o/ as [u] and /e/ as [i], change of initial /n/ into /m/; morphology, e.g.: use of morphemes distinct from those in contemporary Castillian standard, also in word formations, use of personal pronoun vos for 2nd person plural; lexis: use of Judeo-Spanish vocabulary of various origins that does not exist in contemporary Castillan standard; syntax: use of subjunctive; script and spelling features, e.g.: inconsistent spelling, use of Cyrillic alphabet for a Judeo-Spanish word.
The paper offers a general outline of the situation of Sephardi Jews who lived in Sarajevo between World War I and World Word II with a special focus on social and cultural issues. The period between the world wars is described from the... more
The paper offers a general outline of the situation of Sephardi Jews who lived in Sarajevo between World War I and World Word II with a special focus on social and cultural issues. The period between the world wars is described from the perspective of the quality of local Sephardic life: its intensive cultural, social and political activities. On the one hand, it meant closer contacts with the Gentile community and, in many cases, even assimilation; on the other hand, an interest in general Jewish matters (i.e. the Zionist movement, the cooperation and contacts with Ashkenazi Jews), as well as in Sephardi matters as such (i.e. the struggle for the maintenance of Judeo-Spanish language and Sephardic culture). The article illustrates the situation of the Sephardic group at that time by the examples of robust Jewish institutions and organisations like La Benevolencija, La Lira, Matatja as well as some Zionist groups. Much attention is also given to the local Jewish journals Jevrejski život and Jevrejski glas and their role in the so-called Sarajevan conflict, along with Sephardic and Zionist movements. The description is supplemented with observations on the local Sephardic intelligent-sia and the presentation of the profiles and activities of the writers Laura Papo Bohoreta and Isak Samokovlija, as well as the linguist and essayist Kalmi Baruh.
Research Interests:
in: Jews of Macedonia. History, Tradition, Culture, Language and Religion, eds. B.R. Nikolikj [et al.], Jewish Community in the Republic of Macedonia, Skopje 2015
Research Interests:
A draft of a dictionnary of Male Personal Sephardic Names from Sarajevo before 1941. A part of doctoral thesis on Sephardic Anthroponymy in Sarajevo 1905-1941
Research Interests:
https://ispan.waw.pl/journals/index.php/ch/issue/view/118 We present the 9th issue of Colloquia Humanistica, whose content is entirely coherent and focused on a single theme: cross-cultural encounters which, whether they occurred as... more
https://ispan.waw.pl/journals/index.php/ch/issue/view/118

We present the 9th issue of Colloquia Humanistica, whose content is entirely coherent and focused on a single theme: cross-cultural encounters which, whether they occurred as clashes or exchanges, affected everyone involved. Our goal was for all the texts – from the main articles to materials, sources, archival research, and even reviews and discussions – to be in line with the issue’s title. Initially, the title’s “encounters” were supposed to apply to Jewish/non-Jewish relations in a specific area, but the present volume, which is a compilation of the perspectives and interests of many different authors, reveals a more multidimensional meaning of the word.
The collection of articles chosen by the editors presents a broad variety of issues connected with Jewish languages (Judeo-Spanish, Yiddish) and co-territorial languages used by Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews in different places and... more
The collection of articles chosen by the editors presents a broad variety of issues connected with Jewish languages (Judeo-Spanish, Yiddish) and co-territorial languages used by Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews in different places and periods. Thus, the book contains both strictly linguistic and sociolinguistic descriptions (including the aspects of evaluating language, language in contact or linguistic identity), the presentation of languages in literary works (and their translations) from different periods, as well as lexicographical and cultural observations. This thematic variety shows opportunities for the research into the languages of both Jewish groups and inspires other scientific projects in this field.
This volume is devoted to selected aspects of the culture and language of the two largest Jewish Diaspora groups, Sephardim and Ashkenazim. The authors analyze the latest European research tendencies related to both Jewish factions.... more
This volume is devoted to selected aspects of the culture and language of the two largest Jewish Diaspora groups, Sephardim and Ashkenazim. The authors analyze the latest European research tendencies related to both Jewish factions. Questions concern the historical, social and cultural contact with non-Jewish environment, the problems of Jewish identity, the condition of languages in both groups (Yiddish, Judeo-Spanish, Hakitía), and Jewish anthroponymy. The reflections concern various areas of contemporary Germany, Poland, Russia, the Balkan countries, Italy, the countries of North Africa inhabited by both Sephardi and Ashkenazi Jews. For the analyses, not only documents, manuscripts, press articles, and literary texts serve as a basis but also the artifacts of material culture.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Presentation for the Conference "Jews and Bosnia and Hercegovina, 1565‐2015" Sarajevo, 12-13 October 2015
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
International Conference. Sapienza Università di Roma, Palazzo del Rettorato, Aula Organi Collegiali, 3-6 September / settembre 2018
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Many scholars have turned their attention to a certain boom in memory studies, which in Western Europe became evident during the 80s of the last century, by identifying as causes of this phenomenon above all postmodernism and loosening,... more
Many scholars have turned their attention to a certain boom in memory studies, which in Western Europe became evident during the 80s of the last century, by identifying as causes of this phenomenon above all postmodernism and loosening, if not the general fall, of existing up-to-date paradigms, theories and research concepts. A similar process did take and is taking place also in many countries of Central, Eastern and SouthEastern Europe after the fall of the communist regimes, i.e. after 1989/1991. Nowadays, almost in every renowned scientific journal from the fields of sociology, anthropology or history one can easily find an article or a publication, which is dealing with at least one dimension of memory: social, collective, cultural, historical etc. Other scholars in a more moderated way have pointed out another area, which became the impulse for the booming of research on memory, namely the growing presence and role of commemorative practices in the social and political life. Numerous studies have shown that both accentuated presence of memory in social and political life, as well as reflection on this process are nothing new in the human history, and, hence, postmodernism should not be seen as the only accountable for the memory boom. Yet, the scale of the process is entirely new. From here it's easy to pinpoint a number of reasons for such a strong presence of memory in social life: the general democratization of social life, a multiplicity of actors and social dimensions of their activities, the impact of the audiovisual media of mass communication, and – from already few years now – the dynamic development of social media. When discussing about post-communist Europe another crucial reason has to be taken into account. Namely, one of the main postulates and slogans guiding the post-communist transformation processes was to clean the historical memory from the falsifications imbued in it by the former communist regimes. Aiming to reveal the historical truth was and still remains one of the basic components in the process of building and materializing of transitional justice. For that reason studying the memory of/on communism goes far beyond the frames of " normal " social research, touching upon a larger spectrum of important political, social and cultural problems that the post-communist societies are dealing with.
Research Interests:
The upcoming volume of "Colloquia Humianistica"' shall present a wide spectrum of Jewish and non-Jewish cultural contacts: encounters, clashes and exchanges in various contexts (literature, art, education, social life, languages etc.).... more
The upcoming volume of "Colloquia Humianistica"' shall present a wide spectrum of Jewish and non-Jewish cultural contacts: encounters, clashes and exchanges in various contexts (literature, art, education, social life, languages etc.). The topic has already been covered within Jewish-related studies, however, there is still a need for a compilation which would help reveal patterns or/and diversity of those contacts across the entire Europe
Research Interests: