Language and Identity Among the Jewish Community From the Vidin Region
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.60053/GSU.IF.1.108.270-284Keywords:
identity, Judeo-Spanish, Ladino, Jews, Vidin, LomAbstract
The paper explores the relationship between language and identity through the example of Judeo-Spanish and the Jewish community from the Danubian region in the North-Western part of the Bulgarian lands. The main focus of the paper is the region of Vidin as an urban center where Sephardi Jews, carriers of this language, settled as early as the 16th century and where the memory of this community is preserved to this day. Examples of other urban centers in the region, such as Lom, are cited as well, taking into account the migration processes through the Danubian region. The study is based on field research, as well as on data that can be divided in two groups, the first covering examples from the period from the settlement of the Jews to the 19th century and the second corresponding to the 20th – 21st century. The first part of the paper places the analyzed examples in context, by outlining briefly the history of the Sephardi community focusing on Vidin and its region. The second part examines specific examples of the relationship between language and identity in the above-mentioned periods.
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