Yiddish Resources
Books
Take a look at this selection of recommended Yiddish books to read! Here you will find books of all kinds! Literature, culture, dictionaries, fantasy books & more, click here.
Official transliteration guide for Yiddish according to the YIVO, the Official Yiddish Language AcademyBooks
This chart is based on the Yiddish Alef-Beys (Alphabet) of the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, and on Sten Vikner’s Yidisher Alef-Beys, which also includes handwritten letter forms, phonetic charts, and a chart of dialect differences.
Keyboards
Shraybmashinke
Shretl
This facility does not translate English or German into Yiddish. It just interconverts various Yiddish representations. Unless you select other input and output forms, you are expected to type in YIVO transcription form and you get back a spelling check of your text. Once it looks right, you can select instead to receive your text in various other output forms. You might want to use cut-and-paste from other programs to enter your text.
YiddishK (ייִדיש־קײ)- Yiddish/Hebrew Keyboard
For iPhone / iPad. Don’t you wish you could use the standard iOS Hebrew keyboard to type Yiddish letters like אַ and פֿ? YiddishK provides several different ways to input these letters. Check the above pictures to see how. This keyboard supports all the standard YIVO characters.
Yiddish Keyboard for Android
Yiddish Keyboards allows a user to type & write message in yiddish and english. Yiddish Keyboards is the best top free keyboard. Type in english and yiddish with Yiddish Keyboards app. There are beautiful keyboard themes, classic keyboard themes provided in Yiddish Keyboards app. Write in yiddish text. Use from one of the keyboard theme given in app or add your own photo & make it a my photo keyboard. You can also, choose any photo/image from gallery to set as your keyboard theme. Amazing cool new my photo keyboard theme feature is provided in Yiddish Keyboards app.
Online Yiddish Keyboard
Yiddish Keyboard for Chrome
Hebrew/Yiddish Keyboard Layout
Online Courses
Gratz College
Gratz College offers courses in Yiddish language for college credit taught via videoconference, including beginners, advanced beginners, and (in some semesters) intermediate levels. Courses are open to non-matriculated students, and qualified high school juniors and seniors may also enroll for college credit at a discounted rate.
Workers Circle
Workman’s Circle is “New York’s leading center for Yiddish language instruction, and the largest provider of Yiddish language classes in the U.S. outside of academic institutions.” They provide Yiddish classes at all levels.
Semester-Long In-Person Courses
Columbia University (New York City)
Columbia University in Manhattan offers degree programs in Yiddish Studies. Available classes include Elementary Yiddish I and II, Intermediate Yiddish I and II, Yiddish for Academic Purposes, and Reading-Yiddish Literature. Note that all classes may not be available during all semesters. Non-matriculated students may take one class per semester.
Rutgers University (New Brunswick, New Jersey)
Rutgers offers in-person courses on Yiddish language, culture, and literature at its campus in New Brunswick, New Jersey. There are currently no Yiddish classes planned for the Spring 2018 semester, but keep your eyes open for a class or two in Fall 2018. Courses are open to non-matriculated students, and those over the age of 62 may audit courses.
Universität Salzburg (Salzburg, Austria)
Salzburg University’s Jewish Cultural History program is unique among Jewish studies programs in Europe because it allows students to focus on secular Jewish cultural history as opposed to having only a religious focus. Three semesters of Yiddish instruction are part of the master’s track program, and students have the chance to work with experts in Yiddish literature. While one may enter the master’s degree program, courses are open to non-matriculated students.
Workers Circle (New York City)
Workman’s Circle is “New York’s leading center for Yiddish language instruction, and the largest provider of Yiddish language classes in the U.S. outside of academic institutions.” They provide Yiddish classes at all levels.
YIVO (New York City)
YIVO offers an array of in-person courses, from beginner to advanced, at its Manhattan headquarters. Courses generally meet once a week for 10 weeks, 15 West 16th Street in Manhattan. YIVO members $250, non-members $325. Membership $54/year. Yivo.org
Immersion Programs
The Naomi Prawer Kadar International Yiddish Summer Program
Tel Aviv, Israel
A four-week immersion program held at Israel’s Tel Aviv University. Students attend Yiddish courses and participate in workshops and excursions. Instruction is geared towards both native English and Hebrew speakers, and students of all nationalities are welcome to apply. Program dates for 2018 are June 28-July 25. Students earn four college credits upon completion of program. Full-time students enrolled in degree programs are eligible for a scholarship. Tuition is $1,450, plus a $60 registration fee. Housing is an additional $800.
Uriel Weinreich Program in Yiddish Language, Literature & Culture
New York City
This Manhattan-based six-week summer immersion program is sponsored by the YIVO Institute and Bard College. Courses range from absolute beginner to advanced and include instruction not only in reading, writing and speaking, but also in the history and culture of Yiddish. Sign up for YIVO’s newsletter to keep up to date on upcoming registration dates and deadlines. Tuition is $6,000. Scholarships are available and students needing housing can stay at the International House, where prices range from $900-$1,300 for the six weeks.
Yiddish Book Center
Amherst, Massachusetts
The Yiddish Book Center offers both a one-week winter immersion program and a seven-week summer immersion program in Amherst, Massachusetts. The one-week program, YiddishSchool, is geared towards beginner, advanced beginner and intermediate learners, and is open to all age groups. The 2018 YiddishSchool program runs April 22-27. Tuition plus a room shared with one other person is $1,100 ($375 extra for private room.) Tuition for commuters is $750. Registration limited to Yiddish Book Center members.
The seven-week program also takes place in Amherst. Students may stay in dormitory suites at Hampshire College, which is within walking distance of the Yiddish Book Center. Students can earn up to six college credits. The program is available to undergraduate and graduate students between ages 18 and 26. Tuition is free; however, housing is $1,400, and students are also expected to cover the cost of meals. Stipends that cover costs such as food as well as free housing available to participants in the Yiddish Book Center’s internship program.
Yiddish Farm
Goshen, New York
About 65 miles outside of New York City, the Yiddish Farm in Goshen, New York, offers a two-week summer program, but also offers shorter-term volunteering and learning opportunities. For the summer immersion program, which runs April 23-June 13 in 2018, participants are expected to reside on the farm and perform work there. Students of all ages, ethnicities, and religions are welcome to participate, although the farm is shomer shabbes (Shabbat-observant). English is allowed to be spoken the first week of the course, but after that, only Yiddish is allowed, regardless of proficiency level. College credits are available for $200 per credit. The summer program costs $1,999 ($2,999 for those requiring a private room). Volunteering is free, but participants must pay for housing if required.
Apps
The apps below are not the only ones on the App Store and Google Play, but we selected them because they were recommended by individual educators. Most cost under $10, and some are free. (Note that prices are subject to change.) If you’ve had a good or bad experience using these apps or recommend other ones, let us know!
Pocket Polyglot Yiddish
This iOS app uses digital flashcards, audio recordings of native speakers and multiple-choice quizzes. Words and phrases are grouped by topic, and learning is self-paced. Available for iOS and Android. ($2.99)
Radio Yiddish Pour Tous
This free app enables you to listen to Yiddish music, including klezmer. Available for iOS and Android.
uTalk Classic Learn Yiddish. uTalk teaches essential everyday Yiddish words and phrases. Vocabulary is reinforced through quizzes, images and other tools. This app even enables you to record yourself and compare your pronunciation to that of native speakers! Available for iOS. ($7.99)
Yiddish Slang Dictionary and Quiz
This free app teaches Yiddish slang, as well as Yiddish words that you could use as slang. Available for both iOS and Android.
Tools for Enrichment
The League for Yiddish ייִעגיל־שיד יד
The League for Yiddish is dedicated to ensuring that Yiddish thrives as a living, contemporary
language. It produces a variety of first-rate publications, all in Yiddish, including its culturalliterary magazine Afn Shvel, the Comprehensive English-Yiddish Dictionary, graded readers in
Yiddish (“easy reading” books that support the reading approach to teaching foreign languages)
and more.
Go to https://leagueforyiddish.org to learn more
Yiddish Music on iTunes
Many Yiddish songs and albums are available for purchase on iTunes. A few notable works include selections by contemporary Montreal-based klezmer band Shtreiml as well as traditional songs such as “Oyfn Pripetshok.”
Teglicher Forverts
A free Yiddish-language e-mail newsletter published by the Yiddish Daily Forward. Content is about Jewish news and current global events. The website is navigable in both Yiddish and English, and a print version is also available.
Yiddish Book Center
On the Yiddish Book Center’s website, you can browse and read a variety of Yiddish works in the original. The digitized collection includes classics of Yiddish literature, such as S. Ansky’s drama Der Dybbuk, as well as Yiddish translations of English-language literature, such as Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book (Dos Bukh Fun Dzshongl). You also can download and print out PDFs free of charge.
Yiddish Pop
This website, from makers of Brainpop, offers short videos with recurring characters who have adventures, all in Yiddish. Each video is accompanied by a vocabulary list, grammar information, and exercises. The website also includes animated flashcards, grammar games, and lesson plans for teachers.
YIVO
In addition to its Yiddish-language courses, YIVO offers online and in-person courses in English that teach about Yiddish culture, literature and history, including Introduction to Old Yiddish (in-person), Folksong, Demons, and the Evil Eye: Folklore of Ashkenaz (online), and Discovering Ashkenaz: Jewish Life in Eastern Europe (online). More are in development. Sign up for its newsletter to receive updates on classes. Prices for in-person classes are $250 for members and $325 for non-members. Prices for online classes are $45-$80 for YIVO members and $60-$110 for non-members.