UCLA – LAdino Muestra komunitá, a student organizations at a university in the United States

UCLAdino was founded by three graduate students at the University of California, Los Angeles. Below are their brief biographies.

Our goal is to spread knowledge of the Judeo-Spanish language to undergraduate and graduate students here at UCLA.

LAdino is one of (if not) the only student organizations at a university in the United States dedicated to the learning of/ knowledge about the Judeo-Spanish language. With such a rich linguistic history, LAdino is surely to be of interest to students from a wide variety of departments throughout the UCLA campus. Ladino(commonly referred to as Judeo-Spanish) is a language that evolved upon the expulsion of the Sephardim, dating back over five centuries, into various parts of the Ottoman Empire and North Africa.

Ladino has influence from not only Spanish, but Hebrew, Arabic, French, Italian, Turkish and other languages as well. The location for this organization is a perfect setting, as the Judeo-Spanish (as well as Sephardic) community of Los Angeles is the second largest (behind New York City) in the entire country.

Therefore, there are great opportunities for programming and networking right here in our own ´komunitika´. Thelearning/ studying of this language will prove to be a satisfying and enriching experience for all those who take part and contribute.

	Bryan Kirschen is a Graduate Student in the Spanish & Portuguese Department at UCLA focusing on Hispanic Linguistics. He is interested in learning the various Judeo Spanish vernaculars and is always looking to practice with others. He is particularly interested in languages in contact and his current research deals with language ideologies of the Judeo Spanish speaking Sephardim and language shift due to English, Spanish and Yiddish contact in the United States as well as comparative studies between Haquetía (Moroccan dialect) and the Djudezmo of Turkey and Greece
	Anamaria Buzatu is a Graduate Student in the Spanish & Portuguese Department at UCLA specializing in Hispanic Linguistics. She is interested in researching linguistic aspects of literary texts and language contact of the Romance languages, diachronic and synchronically –with special emphasis on Spanish and Romanian. She is also researching topics in autobiographies and (re)constructing the memory and identity of Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jewish in the literary works.
	Cheri Robinson is a first year Graduate Student in the Spanish & Portuguese Department at UCLA,  specializing in Hispanic Literature. She is interested in the role of the French language on Judeo Spanish, particularly due to l’Alliance.

Meetings now starting 5 PM on Wednesdays!, Room: Rolfe 4330

Any undergraduate or graduate student of ANY department is encouraged to stop by our workshops/ meetings  this Fall Quarter ( Fall Schedule) in order to take advantage of what this truly unique organization has to offer!

Questions? Please visit our ContactUs page or email us at ucLAdino@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!