{"product_id":"yiddish-biography-of-a-language-9780190651961","title":"Yiddish: Biography of a Language","description":"The most widely spoken Jewish language on the eve of the Holocaust, Yiddish continues to play a significant role in Jewish life today, from Hasidim for whom it is a language of daily life to avant-garde performers, political activists, and LGBTQ writers turning to Yiddish for inspiration. \u003cem\u003eYiddish: Biography of a Language\u003c\/em\u003e presents the story of this centuries-old language, the defining vernacular of Ashkenazi Jews, from its origins to the present. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eJeffrey Shandler tells the multifaceted history of Yiddish in the form of a biographical profile, revealing surprising insights through a series of thematic chapters. He addresses key aspects of Yiddish as the language of a diasporic population, whose speakers have always used more than one language. As the vernacular of a marginalized minority, Yiddish has often been held in low regard compared to other languages, and its legitimacy as a language has been questioned. But some devoted Yiddish speakers have championed the language as embodying the essence of Jewish culture and a defining feature of a Jewish national identity. Despite predictions of the demise of Yiddish-dating back well before half of its speakers were murdered during the Holocaust-the language leads a vibrant, evolving life to this day.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJeffrey Shandler\u003c\/strong\u003e is Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies at Rutgers University. A scholar of modern and contemporary Jewish culture, he has written, edited, or translated sixteen books. Shandler has served as president of the Association for Jewish Studies and is a fellow of the American Academy for Jewish Research.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Oxford University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50525491724562,"sku":"9780190651961","price":38.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_278fef42-5a79-4797-8daa-bdfca542e252.jpg?v=1731222480","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/yiddish-biography-of-a-language-9780190651961","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}