11-3-03
BOOK BY BEHREND LINGUIST EXPLORES
JUDEO-GREEK LANGUAGE AND CULTURE
Mary C. Connerty, a lifelong student of linguistics and a lecturer in English at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, unveiled her first book recently during a presentation at the Kehila Kodosha Janina Museum in New York City. Titled Judeo-Greek: The Language and the Culture (Jay Street Publishing, 2003), the book combines the history of a people with a study of their unique language. Her presentation was followed by two book signings, one at the museum and one at a book fair sponsored by the Association of Friends of Greek Jewry.
The roots of her book developed more than a decade ago during a visit to a friend in Jerusalem, when Connerty heard two women speaking a language that included some Hebrew, some Greek, and other sounds that were unfamiliar to her. With an ear for language and curious about their speech, she approached them to learn more and discovered that they were Romaniote Jews from the city of Janina in Greece.
"Most people are familiar with Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews," said Connerty, "but few are aware of the third vein of Jewry, the Romaniote, which centered in the Byzantine and Ottoman areas and in the Balkans." During the Spanish Inquisition, many Sephardic Jews fled to eastern Europe and were absorbed into the culture of the Romaniote Jews.
In her research Connerty learned that the Romaniote Jews in Janina were a strong community of about 10,000 until World War II. In 1943 Nazis began transporting Greek Jews to Auschwitz, and the first transport of Jews from Janina was in 1944.
"The Romaniotes from Janina were among the last groups taken to Auschwitz," said Connerty. "The German guards did not understand the language they were speaking, so the group was able to plan a number of resistance efforts. In spite of the fact that it didn't help them escape, they were able to plan and carry out the demolition of a crematorium." Today there are about 130 of Janina's Jews remaining.
Connerty traced the Janina survivors and their families to gather the material for her book, which is the first publication to directly address the language of the Romaniote. In addition to history, the book explores the technical aspects of the language, how it has evolved, and how the Jews of Janina live today. Editors: Mary Connerty can be reached at 814-898-6067 or by e-mail at mcc12@psu.edu. Judeo-Greek: the Language and the Culture is available from Jay Street Publishing, 155 West 72nd Street, New York, NY 10023 Phone: (212) 580-9700.
Contact:
Loretta Brandon
814-898-6063 (O)
E-mail: lzb6@psu.edu