Brooklyn, NY - Yiddish Mama-Loshen Alive And Well

Brooklyn, NY - The former mama-loshen, or mother tongue, of Jewish New York is alive and well in Brooklyn - because of the efforts of people who love the language.

People such as Amanda Miryam-Khaye Seigel, who relocated from Wisconsin to Brooklyn three years ago - and received $1,000 from Yugntruf, a young adult organization that awards funds to people who move near other Yiddish speakers. "It seemed like a good fit," said Seigel, 30, who started out in Midwood and now lives in downtown Brooklyn. "Brooklyn seemed to be a good place to live because there are a lot of Yiddish speakers."

Despite declining census numbers - in 1990 there were 68,474 Yiddish speakers in Brooklyn; by 2000, the number was down to 46,074 - Yiddishists say the language is on the rise in Kings County.
"One reason it's thriving here is that there's half a million Jews living in Brooklyn," said Robert Shapiro, assistant professor of Judaic studies at Brooklyn College.
In Orthodox communities such as Crown Heights, Borough Park and Williamsburg, Yiddish is spoken on the streets and taught in schools.