French vs. Judeo-Spanish: an overview of the Alliance Israélite Universelle’s language policy in the Ottoman Empire at the turn of the twentieth century

Abstract

This article aims to reveal how the Alliance influenced the utilization of the Judeo-Spanish language through its educational curriculum. I argue that this organization had an enormous impact on the demise of the language by actively promoting other languages. The latter was embodied in the public display of the Alliance’s members’ opinions and the introduction of French and other languages in the Alliance’s schools, none of them being Judeo-Spanish. What is more, the officials of this international association spared no words in arguing against Judeo-Spanish, believing it was not a language but a jargon, incompatible with a modern, civilized, and educated Jewish community that strived to forge in the Orient. Examples of the three major Sephardic centers in the Ottoman Empire - Salonika (Thessaloniki), Smyrna (Izmir), and Adrianople (Edirne) - mirrors the dynamics of linguistic acculturation of the community. The principal sources for my analysis are reports from the Alliance’s schools published in the Bulletin d’Alliance Israélite Universelle, the main organ of this organization in the period between 1860 and 1913.

Ovaj članak ima za cilj da otkrije kako je "Alijansa" uticala na korišćenje judeo-španskog jezika kroz svoj obrazovni program. Tvrdim da je ova organizacija imala ogroman uticaj na odumiranje jezika aktivno promovišući druge jezike. Ovo poslednje je oličeno u javnom izlaganju mišljenja članova Alijanse i uvođenju francuskog i drugih jezika u škole Alijanse, od kojih nijedan nije judeo-španski. Štaviše, zvaničnici ovog međunarodnog udruženja nisu štedeli reči u argumentaciji protiv judeo-španskog jezika, smatrajući da to nije jezik već žargon, nekompatibilan sa modernom, civilizovanom i obrazovanom jevrejskom zajednicom koja je težila da deluje na Orijentu. Primeri tri glavna sefardska centra u Osmanskom carstvu - Solun, Izmir i Jedrene - odražavaju dinamiku jezičke akulturacije zajednice. Glavni izvori moje analize su izveštaji škola Alijanse objavljeni u "Bulletin d’Alliance Israelite Universelle", glavnom organu ove organizacije u periodu između 1860. i 1913. godine.