About this Event
This study explores Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) in the United States, from the arrival of Ladino-speaking Sephardim in the late nineteenth century to the present day. Classified by Ethnologue (2026) as an endangered language, this presentation considers the linguistic factors that have shaped the vitality and transmission of Ladino in the country. The talk draws on sociolinguistic approaches to language contact (Mufwene and Escobar 2022) and accommodation (Giles, Coupland, and Coupland 1991), as well as frameworks of postvernacularity (Shandler 2006), metalinguistic communities (Avineri 2012), and ethnolinguistic infusion (Benor 2026) to examine Ladino, not only documenting how present-day communities of practice (Eckert 2006) use their L1 or L2, but also exploring recent initiatives to document, teach, and revitalize the language. This research is grounded in the author’s ethnographic fieldwork in the country’s largest Sephardic communities across New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, and South Florida, as well as in digital spaces where speakers and learners come together to navigate and negotiate language practices.
Bryan Kirschen is Associate Professor of Spanish and Linguistics at Binghamton University where he serves as Chair of the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures. His research focuses on Spanish and Judeo-Spanish sociolinguistics, with particular emphasis on language contact in the United States. A recipient of Binghamton University’s Provost’s Award for Faculty Excellence in Community-Engaged Scholarship, he is actively involved in Sephardic and Ladino initiatives focused on documentation, preservation, and revitalization around the United States and internationally. He serves as co-director of the American Ladino League and as director of the National Authority of Ladino’s international delegation of representatives, Los Shadarim.
This talk is a part of the Gale Collaborative on Jewish Life in the Americas Lecture Series.
Lunch provided for those who RSVP by Sunday, Feb 21.
Sponsored by: the Schusterman Center for Jewish Studies
Event venue & nearby stays
Glickman Conference Center, Patton Hall (RLP) 1.302E, Patton Hall (RLP) 1.302E, Austin, United States
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