I can understand quite well.
The spelling in the three texts is slightly different.
Regards to all.
I am fluent in Spanish and can speak Ladino pretty well, I can also read it in the Hebrew script. It is very similar. If you are fluent in Spanish, you can understand fairly well, but won't be able to understand every word.
I am a speaker of Judaeo Spanish (Ladino, but we usually call Judaeo- Espanyol) I can read it in Hebrew script, in fact I usually refuse to write in an other way. I am also fluent in Spanish. Judaeo Spanish is fairly easy to understand by speakers of Spanish. On a scale of 1 to 10 I'd say about 6.
Judaeo Spanish is 1492 Spanish mixed with 4% Hebrew, about 20% Turkish and Arabic, 60% Old Spanish and Portuguese and 7% other. It's really neat.
What I've seen, reading the text is that I understood it all without any trouble... I just had the need to get used to the different spelling, and that's it. No problems of comprehension. Not a word... I wouldn't consider it as a whole different language, maybe a dialect, but I think it shouldn't even be called a dialect... I'll really go over it again to see if I find some grammar or lexicon variations.
There ARE differences. This language is mixed with Hebrew, Arabic, and Turkish. Did you know that up to 31% of ALL Ladino words is not from Spanish?
Here's a sample:
Shalom (or
Bonjur) Komo
estash vozotros? Yo esto muy bien, gracias. Esto es lo ke me paso oy: Primeiro, yo me levanto i entonses desayuno. Me visto i pongo mi
chapeo i salgo de la kaza. Yo
vo al
trabasho i kuando regreso,
dayaneo. Despues ke yo me levanto miro de la bentana i veo ke mis amigos van a
Bet Knesset. Esto tarde, tyengo
menester de darme prisa porke tyengo la
avtaha de avlar kon el rabi. Despues ya es ora de acostarme. Shalom!
¡
Hola! ¿Como
estais (estan)?
Estoy muy bien gracias. Esto es lo que me paso
hoy:
Primero, me levanto y entonces desayuno.
Pongo la ropa (Me visto , only in Spain) y pongo mi
sombrero y salgo de la
casa. Voy al trabajo y cuando regreso,
descanso. Despues que me levanto. miro de la ventana y veo que mis amigos van a la
sinagoga. Estoy tarde,
necesito de darme prisa proque tengo la
esperanza de hablar con el rabi. Despues, ya es hora de acostarme.
Hello! How are you (all)? I am very well thanks. This is what happened to me today: First, I get up and then I eat breakfast. I get dressed and I put on my hat and I leave the house. I go to work and when I return, I rest. After I get up I look out of the window and I see that my friends are going to the synagogue. I am late, I need to hurry because I have the hope to speak with the rabbi. Afterward, it is already time to go to bed.
List of languages from which each Ladino word is:
Shalom- Hebrew (hello)
Bonjur- French (duh!) (hello)
estash- Old Castillian Sp. (you pl. are)
chapeo- Old Portuguese
vo- old form of voy in Old Sp.(meaning I go)
trabasho- Sp (modern= trabajo)
dayaneo- Turkish- it means "I rest" it is conjugated
like all Spanish verbs. It is slightly adapted from
Turkish so you can conjugate it like Sp.
Bet Knesset- Hebrew- synagogue
menester- Old Sp and Portuguese (to need)
avtaha- Turkish ( meaning hope)