The idea that the Jews of Eastern Europe are somehow derived >from the
Jews of Spain does not bear up under close examination. The Spanish
Jews, when they were expelled in 1492, chose to emigrate to North
Africa, Italy or the Ottoman Empire, all of which border the
Mediterranean. This is the region in which Ladino (Judeo-Spanish)
became prevalent.

The Jews of Central and Eastern Europe, on the other hand, spoke Yiddish
(Judeo-German), which shows that they derived >from German-speaking
countries. The Romance lexical elements in Yiddish come, not >from
Spanish, but >from Old French and Old Italian, which makes sense in that
the Jews of Germany came originally >from France and Italy.

Paul Silbert
Perth, Western Australia