Exploring Spanish Citizenship for Sephardic Jews: Language and Culture Requirements

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The Law 12/2015 grants Spanish citizenship to descendants of Sephardic Jews, emphasizing language and culture proficiency through exams such as DELE A2 and CCSE. The presentation delves into the impact of Law 1/10/2015, the dissonance between Judeo-Spanish and modern Spanish proficiency requirements, and research data from non-Spanish-speaking countries with Sephardic populations. It also highlights candidate statistics from Cervantes Institutes in different cities. The historical ties, linguistic heritage, and implications of this legislation are explored in-depth.

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Passport to Heaven? Sephardic Jews as Heritage Language Speakers

OUTLINE OF THE PRESENTATION Law 12/2015: linguistic and cultural aspects Its impact in different contexts Its impact in Israel The DELE and CCSE Exams in Israel The Tel Aviv Cervantes Institute s Itinerario Pasaporte Who are the students of the Itinerario Heritage Language Students Conclusion

31 March1492 A ti, Espania bienquerida, nosotros madre te llamamos . ( ) Aunque tu nos desterraste como madrastra de tu seno, no estancamos de amarte como sant simo terreno, en que dejaron nuestros padres a sus parientes enterrados . Beloved Spain, whom we call mother. ( ) Even though you exiled us from your bosom like a stepmother, we do not stop loving you, most hallowed land, where our fathers left their buried ancestors behind. (Abraham Cappon (Bulgaria, 1853-1931)

The Law 1/10/2015: Law 12/2105 Grants Spanish citizenship to descendants of Sephardic Jews Regulates the situation of foreigners in Spain 2 requirements: language and culture Pass the DELE A2 Exam Pass the CCSE Exam

Dissonance Text of the Law Emphasis on Diaspora / 5 centuries Appreciation of maintenance of Judeo- Spanish BUT requires proficiency in modern Spanish at CEFR A2 level Usage of Ladino: proof of belonging to a Sephardic community Ladino-speaker = student of Spanish as a foreign language > same exam

(ABC, 2/10/15) Diario ABC, 2/10/15

Research Data Non-Spanish-speaking countries With Sephardic population With Cervantes Institute (8 in total) From 6 countries: Bulgaria, U.S.A., Greece, Israel, Morocco and Turkey

Candidates DELE A2 Cervantes Institute in T touan Month / Year 2014 2015 2016 April 0 2 49 May July October November 42 - - - 8 0 0 5 5 0 0 8 (Data, CI in T touan)

Candidates DELE A2 Cervantes Institute in Marrakesh Month / Year 2014 2015 2016 April 0 0 0 May 6 7 49 0 0 July - October 0 0 - November 16 14 - (Data, CI in Marrakesh)

Candidates DELE A2 Cervantes Institute in Athens Month / Year 2014 2015 2016 0 0 April 0 May July October November 77 - - - 122 0 0 29 48 41 0 57 (Data, CI in Athens)

Candidates CCSE (6 Exam Sessions) CI Center Casablanca Fez Marrakesh Rabat T touan Athens New York Sofia Istanbul Tel Aviv 2015-2016 26 16 12 11 52 3 77 5 51 182

CCSE Exam 10 annual sessions Last Thursday of every month Maximum: 50 candidates in the CI in Tel Aviv 25 Multiple choice questions: Spanish Constitution (60%) Socio-cultural reality of Spain (40%) Passed15 (60%) 45 minutes

Impact 1- Israel: 1 Cervantes Institute Center Population (Total): 8,000,000 2- Morocco: 5 Cervantes Institute Centers Population (Total): 33,000,000

Impact in Israel - Huge (I) Reasons: Demographic mosaic Immigrant country (40% Jews = immigrants) Part of individual and collective identity Importance of culture of origin Geopolitical instability Permanent tension, constant risk of war Locked-in sensation: closed borders with Lebanon and Syria cold peace with Egypt and Jordan

Impact in Israel - Huge (II) Obsessive desire for foreign passport: In order to emigrate In order to flee the country at once Until now, Ashkenazis Now, the turn of the Sephardis has arrived: Consular Section of the Spanish Embassy and the CI inundated with requests for a Spanish passport Unique profile of Spanish learner

Israel and International Language Exams Uncommon Lack of knowledge Informal nature of society Preference for face-to-face encounters Foreign documentation > DELE Exam, very rare

Candidates DELE A2 Cervantes Institute in Tel Aviv Month 2014 2015 2016 April 0 0 103 May 0 0 36 July 0 8 - October 0 31 - November 0 52 - From Nov. 2015 to April 2016 > 98%

Candidates CCSE (2015-16) Cervantes Institute in Tel Aviv SESSION CANDIDATES October November January February March TOTAL 11 50 50 28 43 182

Itinerario Pasaporte: 155 hours (8 months) Pasaporte 1 Pasaporte 2 Pasaporte 3 Preparation for DELE A2 45 hours 45 hours 45 hours 20 hours

Challenges of the Itinerario Tension regarding stipulated deadline Language learning (or reinforcement) Accessible prices Placement test

Origins of the Itinerario Students 33% 42% 23% nacidos en Israel nacidos en Marruecos Nacidos en pa ses balc nicos

Sociolinguistic Profile of Itinerario Students Very diverse: Ladino-speakers: immigrant, 1st. or 2nd. generation born in Israel Moroccans with or without schooling there Language attrition Autodidacts Others, not familiar with Latin alphabet Spanish as a Foreign Language Some, ex CI Other, no Oral register Lack of experience in formal study of Spanish

Heritage Language Speaker Some Definitions (Said-Mohand, A., 2013) Heritage Language Speaker: A person who grew up in a home in which the L1 of the country is not spoken. Heritage Language Speaker: A person who can speak the language and who, to a certain extent, is bilingual.

Ladino-speakers in the Spanish as a Foreign Language Course Received reduced input Receptive Bilingualism: Hebrew or other dominant language (French, Italian, Greek Turkish) Understand and speak Spanish Do not write Spanish Use Ladino in familial and informal settings Written language: strong influence of oral discourse

Heritage Language Students (adapted from Polinsky, 2013) Acquire Ladino in a natural setting, but not as monolinguals Later, schooling acquire the language of their surroundings In class Facilitating transference Intrusive transference

Heritage Language Students (II) Groups of varied ages and origins First, instrumental motivation Later, re-encounter with the language of their childhood Affective component Closing a historical-family circle high motivation for students and teacher

Students Born in Israel 2 Types: Studied formally Studied informally Trips Telenovelas Needs Grammatical components A1 and A2 Spelling, accents and punctuation Awareness: language register

Students born in Morocco Heterogenous group Total or partial schooling in Spanish Near-native proficiency Are not aware of grammar rules Main need: written expression

Students Born in Balkan Countries Characteristics They know Judeo-Spanish Great fluency Highly proficient in listening comprehension of modern Spanish Unfamiliar with the Latin alphabet Difficulties in: Reading comprehension Written expression Advantage: their knowledge of Ladino

Students Born in Balkan Countries Needs for the DELE A2 Exam Lexicon: archaisms (a nda) Phonology: abandoning the /z/ sound Morphology: tenses Learn the simple past tense (pret rito indefinido) endings (cant vs. cant ) Learn the present perfect tense (pret rito perfecto) Pronouns: nos and nosotros instead of mozotros and mos Writing: spelling, accents and punctuation

Students Born in the Balkans Hard to determine their mother tongue Judeo-Spanish in the home Schooling in the language of the surroundings But, with hardly any written tradition in Judeo-Spanish Speakers in Israel: majority > 55 years of age Plurilingual: Hebrew(dominant), Ladino, a Balkan language (?), English, French (?) Ladino: contact with childhood, family history and community of origin

Summary Population with special characteristics Particular needs Does not adjust to the definition of student of Spanish as a foreign language Conforms more to a native speaker and/or a heritage language student Hard to determine their mother tongue

Challenges for the Students They must reflect about the language take advantage of their knowledge of ladino learn modern Spanish alongside Ladino make a transition from a colloquial to a more formal register deduce grammar rules (e.g., era/fue)

Challenges for the Teachers Improve/instil grammatical competence Augment lexical competence Develop written expression Spelling Punctuation Writing (composition and style) Oral and written discourse: a continuum, not a dichotomy

Difficulties Lack of: specific teacher training clear mechanisms for determining the level of the students tailor-made didactic materials Heterogeneous groups Diverse linguistic abilities Common goal: a Spanish Passport to Heaven

Achievements Only Spanish used in the classroom Focused learning Improvement in oral expression from the first to the last class

Unique case of Heritage Language Students Modern Heritage Language Children, adolescents and/or young people Judeo-Spanish as a Heritage Language Adults and/or elderly Modern language(s) Rooted in a territory Belongs to one or more countries Archaic language Not rooted in a territory Belongs to a people

19 February 2018 Nace la academia nasionala del ladino en Israel (El Pa s, 20 February 2018) Birth of a new member of the Spanish language family: The National Academy of Ladino A special newcomer The language spoken by the descendants of the Jews who were expelled from Spain in 1492 Headquarters will be in Israel (300,000 speakers) Announcement made on Monday, 19 February 2018 Spanish and Israeli academics present It is a very moving occasion because it rights a historical wrong and establishes a new Alliance with Spain

Challenges for the New Academy How to revive a language in danger of extinction Need to teach it to young people Question of status: Not an oficial language of the country although recognised by law Keeping the culture alive as a distinct feature of Sephardi identity