Judaeo-Spanish

Istanbul Jews fight to save their ancestral tongue

If there's one thing Dora Beraha regrets in her twilight years, it is not passing on the 500-year-old language of Istanbul's Jews, Ladino, now on the point of extinction.
"After us, will there still be people who speak this language?" says 90-year-old Beraha.
"Surely, very few. It is possible that it will disappear."

Fading food, lost language

"Liparidas!"… Remembering the word, her face instantly lights up with joy. She travels back to her childhood in Ortaköy, a neighborhood once densely populated by Jews in Istanbul. One could apparently see that she feels the taste, too. This is one of the highlights of the delightful documentary by Deniz Alphan shown at the special screening section of the 36th Istanbul Film Festival this year.