What question did this study set out to answer?

The aim is to explore the linguistic choices of Jewish communities in the Mamluk period and their cultural implications.

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June 4, 2026Open Access

Judeo-Arabic and Hebrew as Competing Languages in the Mamluk Period

Key Points

The aim is to explore the linguistic choices of Jewish communities in the Mamluk period and their cultural implications.
Analyzed letters and legal documents produced by Jewish writers in Egypt, Palestine, and Syria.
Examined the tension between Arabic fluency and Hebrew cultural obligations.
Jewish writers expressed fluency in Arabic while striving to preserve Hebrew for cultural identity.
The study highlights various strategies used by writers to navigate language choice and cultural representation.

Abstract

This article examines the linguistic choices of Jewish communities in Egypt, Palestine, and Syria during the Mamluk period, focusing on two types of texts: letters and legal documents. Jewish writers navigated a tension between their fluency in Arabic and their obligation to preserve Hebrew as the language representing their distinct religion and culture. The article analyzes the various ways Jewish writers grappled with this tension.

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