--- title: How Harry Potter and a writer of strange short stories are helping to keep Yiddish alive description: An endangeredlanguage recently made headlines – twice – for two major literary events. First, acclaimed (and, in this writer’s opinion,... image: https://aiatranslations.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/0b5797_c0baca209e2a46799a340f50359bcb71~mv2-1.jpg --- [Go Back Up ](https://aiatranslations.com/blog/post/how-harry-potter-and-a-writer-of-strange-short-stories-are-helping-to-keep-yiddish-alive#top) [back to blog](https://aiatranslations.com/blog) # How Harry Potter and a writer of strange short stories are helping to keep Yiddish alive [Medical Pharmaceutical Translations](https://aiatranslations.com/blog/topic/medical-pharmaceutical-translations) • Feb 25, 2020 12:00:00 AM ![](https://aiatranslations.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/0b5797_c0baca209e2a46799a340f50359bcb71~mv2-1.jpg) Share article [mailto:?subject=How%20Harry%20Potter%20and%20a%20writer%20of%20strange%20short%20stories%20are%20helping%20to%20keep%20Yiddish%20alive&body=https%3A%2F%2Faiatranslations.com%2Fblog%2Fpost%2Fhow-harry-potter-and-a-writer-of-strange-short-stories-are-helping-to-keep-yiddish-alive](mailto:?subject=How%20Harry%20Potter%20and%20a%20writer%20of%20strange%20short%20stories%20are%20helping%20to%20keep%20Yiddish%20alive&body=https%3A%2F%2Faiatranslations.com%2Fblog%2Fpost%2Fhow-harry-potter-and-a-writer-of-strange-short-stories-are-helping-to-keep-yiddish-alive) An [endangered](http://www.endangeredlanguages.com/lang/3211)language recently made headlines – twice – for two major literary events. First, acclaimed (and, in this writer’s opinion, AMAZING) Israeli author Etgar Keret won a literary award that allowed him to choose a language to have his latest book translated into. He [opted for](https://forward.com/yiddish/439388/why-etgar-keret-wanted-his-prizewinning-book-translated-into-yiddish/) Yiddish, even though he doesn’t speak it. For Keret, whose work has been translated into 47 other languages, the choice of Yiddish was an homage to his ancestors, and a sign of appreciation for a “language of religion, doubt, displacement and comedy”. Yiddish’s cultural and linguistic origins go back to at least the Middle Ages. While it’s generally considered a language in its own right, some classify it as a German dialect. Whatever the case, Yiddish literature has a rich history, and was once widely read. By the early 20thcentury, there were an [estimated](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yiddish)11 to 13 million speakers of Yiddish around the world. But this population was decimated by the Holocaust (85% of victims were Yiddish-speaking Jews), as well as integration into other global cultures. Today, there are about 1 million speakers of Yiddish around the world. Many are students who want to learn a language once spoken fluently by their ancestors. Others, as this fascinating article [reveals](https://momentmag.com/new-faces-of-the-yiddish-revival/), feel different, often unique connections to it. One thing students and native speakers of any language appreciate is a wide variety of literature they can learn from and enjoy. For many decades, Yiddish books were rare, having been destroyed or lost as speakers were killed or their families simply lost interest in keeping the tomes they’d acquired. Aaron Lansky’s [memoir](https://www.amazon.com/Outwitting-History-Amazing-Adventures-Rescued/dp/1565125134/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=outwitting+history+aaron+lansky&qid=1582289594&sr=8-1) *Outwitting History: The Amazing Adventures of a Man Who Rescued a Million Yiddish Books *is an astonishing look at the way many Yiddish books and other reading materials were recovered and saved, starting in the 1980’s. Writers continue to publish in Yiddish today – or, like Keret, to have their works translated into it. In fact, another major Yiddish [translation](https://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-arts-and-culture/culture-news/298268/harry-potter-translated-yiddish) recently made the news: that of *Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone*. Within 48 hours, the book sold out its first edition run. This may seem slightly less impressive when you realize that only 1,000 books were printed. But as The Jerusalem Post’s Aaron Reich points out, few Yiddish books sell that many copies in a single *year*. Popular books like Keret’s works and those in the Harry Potter series are great reading materiall for current Yiddish speakers, and may also motivate more people to learn the language, helping its survival and diversity. [Read on](https://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Yiddish-translation-of-Harry-Potter-sells-out-in-only-48-hours-617238) to learn more about the Yiddish translation of *Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone*. [*Image source*](https://www.israelhayom.com/2020/02/09/harry-potter-to-cast-new-spells-in-yiddish/) *Contact Our Writer – *[*Alysa Salzberg*](http://www.alysasalzberg.com/) ### Ready to Transform your Business with Little Effort Using Vertical? 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