studying in French at the Alliance Israelite Universelle throughout the Mediterranean and the Middle East. French had a direct influence on Ladino pronunciation.
Ladino was spoken by The Donmeh (Turkish for converts). It was also spoken by the Crypto-Jews who converted to Islam in 1666, following in the footsteps of Shabbatai Zvi, the false Messiah, who under pressure from the Muslims, converted to Islam.
From the 17th to 19th centuries, Ladino was the major Jewish language spoken by the small community of Sephardic Jewry living in the Holy Land. There are still Sephardic families in Jerusalem who have spoken Ladino since the 17th century.
Ladino-speaking Jews, who survived the Holocaust, and those who were driven out of Arab lands, and migrated to the State of Israel, adopted Hebrew as their daily language.
Some older Sephardic Jews in Latin America and in North America, mainly in Seattle, Los Angeles, and Atlanta still speak Ladino. However, it was rarely passed onto their children who needed to adapt and succeed in their new lands of residence.
Kol Yisrael (Israel’s national and international radio service) and Radio Nacional de Espana (Spain’s national public radio service) broadcast regularly in Ladino.
In Belgrade, Jews still sing some Sabbath prayers in Ladino and in Seattle, Washington, the Sephardic Synagogue, Ezra Bessaroth, uses Ladino and Ladino melodies in some Sabbath services.
There is a small Ladino revival in the area of music. A band called, Elysian Fields, released a CD called La Mar Enfortunata (2001). Elysian Field was founded by Jennifer Charles and Oren Bloedow is a New York-based band. The CD features modernized versions of traditional Sephardic songs and Jennifer sings many of the songs in Ladino.
In Turkey, some bands sing in Ladino including, Janet – Jak Esim Ensemble, Sefarad, Los Pasharos Sefaradis, and the children’s chorus Las Estreyikas d’Estambol. Fortuna, a Brazilian singer with Sephardic roots, plays Ladino music.
There is one small Ladino newspaper in Turkey. Little new literature is published in Ladino. There is one high school in Jerusalem that offers a Ladino program. There is also a Ladino magazine in Israel called Aki Yerushalayim.
Ladino is a separate language from Spanish, but most Spanish speakers, with patience, could communicate with Ladino speakers and vice versa. Today between 100,000 to 200,000 people speak Ladino, mainly in Israel. Ladino, unlike its Askenazic counterpart Yiddish, is in danger of becoming extinct