osewalrus ([info]osewalrus) wrote,
2012-01-31 07:52:00
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"Latino? I meant LaDIno!"

Newt Gingrich, as part of his explanation for his 2007 "Learn the language of prosperity, not the language of the ghetto" tag on the virtues of immersion programs v. bilingual education, begins by explaining the origin of "ghetto." Colbert pounces.

I have no idea why the 13th Century Italian Jews speak like Shtetl refugees in this clip. But whatever. It's still funny.

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  • 10 comments

[info]mnemex

January 31 2012, 15:57:33 UTC 3 months ago

*giggle*

Actually, they seemed to be speaking a cross between an Italian accent and a Fiddler on the Roof accent, with a bit of Spanish mixed in, but yeah -- funny.

[info]jonbaker

January 31 2012, 17:22:54 UTC 3 months ago

Italian Jews spoke, well, Italian. Evidence for this: I've seen a set of haggadot, 17th century, the same haggadah, but 3 editions with Ladino, Judeo-German, and Judeo-Italian translations in Hebrew characters. Further, when R Ovadia miBertinoro translates a word into "laaz" (vernacular), he uses Italian, not Rashi's Norman French.

Starting in the 15th century, there would have been Ladino-speaking populations spreading around the Med, after the forced conversions of 1390 and the exiles of 1492 and 1496 (Portugal). And Yiddish clearly spread Eastward from Germany as Jews settled further and further Eastward.

[info]osewalrus

February 1 2012, 02:11:34 UTC 3 months ago

ummm....you might want to ratchet back the literalness rheostat just a tad.

I swear you'll be the death of me.*

*Intended as figure of speech. Actual death highly unlikely.

[info]jonbaker

February 1 2012, 04:49:44 UTC 3 months ago

Sorry, I just thought you'd enjoy the factoid. Point taken.

[info]agrumer

January 31 2012, 19:12:32 UTC 3 months ago

It's a shame Juan Epstein didn't live to see this.

[info]osewalrus

February 1 2012, 02:10:11 UTC 3 months ago

I had not heard. Bummer.

[info]batyatoon

February 1 2012, 04:34:41 UTC 3 months ago

I think I might keep "Vaya con shalom!" :D

[info]jonbaker

February 1 2012, 04:49:02 UTC 3 months ago

For some reason, whenever I see the pseudo-Spanish in Darkover books, I always hear it in my head in a John Wayne bad-Spanish accent. S'dia shaya, vai Leronyn. Z'par servu.

[info]osewalrus

February 1 2012, 11:15:58 UTC 3 months ago

Heh.

[info]goldsquare

February 1 2012, 12:35:28 UTC 3 months ago

Your headline moves the joke from "funny" to "side-splitting". :-)
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