It is also spoken by minor Jewish communities in Turkey, Israel, the Netherlands, Greece, the United Kingdom, and the United States. For most of its speakers, today, Ladino is the second language.
A Western Romance language, Ladino is closely related to and mutually intelligible with Spanish. However, there are many loan words from Hebrew, Portuguese, Arabic, and Turkish.
Pronunciation guide
[edit]Ladino spelling, like Spanish, has the pleasant characteristic of being very phonetic, with only a few clearly-defined exceptions. This means that if you know how to pronounce the letters of a word, it's relatively easy to sound out the word itself.
Vowels
[edit]- a
- like 'a' in "father".
- e
- like 'e' in "met", although often taught as 'a' in "spain".
- i
- like 'ee' in "see".
- o
- like 'o' in "score", especially when stressed.
- u
- like 'oo' in "hoop".
- y
- like 'ee' in "see". Very rarely used at the middle or ending of words.
Consonants
[edit]- b
- like 'b' in "bed"
- c
- 'c' is solely used in combination as 'ch'.
- ch
- like 'ch' in "touch": muncho
- d
- like 'd' in "dog"
- dj
- like 'j' in John. Djudezmo
- f
- like 'f' in "fine": faro
- g
- like 'g' in "good": ganyar
- h
- like 'h' in "hit": haham
- j
- like 's' in the "pleasure":judyo
- k
- like 'k' in "kid": kilo
- l
- like 'l' in "love": malo
- m
- like 'm' in "mother": mano
- n
- like 'n' in "nice": noche, ancla
- p
- like 'p' in "pig": Pesah
- r
- is pronounced as 'r' in Spanish: persona
- s
- like 'ss' in "hiss": sopa
- sh
- like 'sh' in "shining": yanashear
- t
- like 't' in "top": Tora
- v
- like 'v' in "valid": bever
- y
- like 'y' in "yes": yuvyar.
- z
- like 'z' in "zoo"
Accents and stress
[edit]Phrase list
[edit]Basics
[edit]- Hello/Hi
- Shalom (Shah-lom)
- How are you? (informal)
- Ke haber? (KEH HA-bear)
- How are you? (formal)
- Komo estash? (KOH-mo ehs-TASH?)
- Very well, thank you
- Muy byen, grasyas. (MOOEY BYEHN, GRAH-syahs)
- What is your name? (informal)
- Komo te yamas? (KOH-moh TEH YAH-mahs?)
- What is your name? (formal)
- Komo vos yamash? (KOH-moh VOS YAH-mash)
- Who are you? (informal)
- Ken [eres/sos]? (KEN EH-rehs?)
- My name is ______
- Me yamo ______ (MEH YAH-moh _____ )
- I am ______
- Yo so ______ (YO SO ______)
- Nice to meet you
- Enkantado/a (ehn-kahn-TAH-doh/ehn-kahn-TAH-dah)
- It's a pleasure to meet you
- Muncho plazer. (MOON-choh plah-zehr)
- Please
- Por favor (POHR fah-vOHR)
- Thank you
- Grasyas (GRAH-syahs)
- You're welcome
- De nada (DEH NAH-dhah)
- Yes
- Si (SEE)
- No
- No (NOH)
- Excuse me! (begging pardon)
- [Pardon/Perdon]! (pahr-DOHN/per-DOHN)
- I'm sorry
- Lo syento (LOH SYEHN-toh)
- Goodbye
- Adyo (ah-DYOH)
- I can't speak Ladino (well)
- No (f)avlo (byen) ladino. (NOH (F)AV-loh (BYEHN) la-dee-noh)
- Do you speak English? (informal)
- (F)Avlas inglez? ((F)AH-vlahs een-GLEHZ?)
- Do you speak English? (formal)
- (F)Avlates inglez? ((F)AH-blah-tes oos-TEHD een-GLEHZ?)
- Is there someone here who speaks English?
- Ay alguno ke (f)avla inglez? (I AHL-goo-noh KEH (F)AH-Vlah een-GLEHZ?)
- Help!
- Ayuda! (ah-YOO-dah!)
- Good morning
- Buenos diyas (BWEH-nohs DEE-ahs)
- Good afternoon / Good evening
- Buenas tardes (BWEH-nahs TAR-dehs)
- Good evening / Good night
- Buenas noches (BWEH-nahss NOH-chehss)
- I don't understand
- No entyendo (NOH ehn-TYEHN-doh)
- Where is the toilet?
- Ande esta el banyo? (AHN-deh ehss-TAH EHL BAH-nyoh?)
Problems
[edit]- Leave me alone.
- Deshame en paz. (DEH-shah-meh ehn PAHS)
- Don't touch me!
- No me tokes! (noh meh TOH-kehs!)
- Police!
- Polis! (poh-lees!)
Numbers
[edit]½ - medio
0 - zero
1 - uno
2 - dos
3 - trez
4 - kuatro
5 - sinko
6 - sesh
7 - syete
8 - ocho
9 - mueve
10 - dyez