Arabic, Judeo-Yemeni

A language of Yemen

ISO 639: jye
Alternate Names: Judeo-Yemeni, Yemenite Judeo-Arabic, Yeminite
Population: 300 in Yemen (2010 J. Berer). Total users in all countries: 37,570.
Location:: ‘Adan, Al Bayda’, Sanaa and Shabwah governorates: mainly urban communities; Shabwah governorate (Habban dialect).
Language Status: 8a (Moribund).
Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, South, Arabic
Dialects: San’a, ’Aden, Be:da, Habban. Jewish varieties markedly different from their coterritorial Muslim counterparts. A member of macrolanguage Judeo-Arabic [jrb].
Language Use: Shifted to Sanaani Spoken Arabic [ayn].
Language Development: Dictionary. Grammar.
Language Resources: OLAC resources in and about Arabic, Judeo-Yemeni
Writing: Hebrew script [Hebr].
Other Comments: Prior to the 1950s, Yemen had more than 50,000 Jews spread throughout the country, but with the creation of the State of Israel, the vast majority left. Several thousand remained until the early 1990s, until they, too, left for Israel. Now, only a few hundred remain (2010 J. Berer). Jewish.