Knaanic (also called
Canaanic,
Leshon Knaan or
Judeo-Slavic) was a
West Slavic Jewish language, formerly spoken in the
Czech lands, now the
Czech Republic. It became extinct in the
Late Middle Ages. The name
Knaanic applied mainly to Judeo-Czech, but also to other Judeo-Slavic languages.
The name comes from the ancient Canaan (Hebrew כנען "kəna'an"). The use of a name derived from Canaan for a slavic language spoken by a Jewish peoples living in a slavic region is an indication to the Canaanite origin of Hebrew language (and people) as perceived by the speakers themselves and/or surrounding slavic people, probably as relayed to them by Bibilical mythology.
See also
Literature
- Ruth Bondyová: Mezi námi řečeno. Jak mluvili Židé v Čechách a na Moravě (Between us: language of Jews in Bohemia and Moravia), Society of Franz Kafka 2003, ISBN 80-85844-88-5. The book documents languages used by Jews in the Czech lands during 12-20th century. Review in Czech, pages 28-33.
References
- Knaanic. Retrieved June 13, 2006, from Ethnologue: Languages of the World, fifteenth edition. SIL International. Online version
- History of the Yiddish Language, Max Weinreich, 1980, ISBN 0-226-88604-2
