In this episode, the guest is Danny Jassen, who discusses Ladino in American English.

Danny Jassen is a Seward Park, Seattle native who grew up in the Sephardic community. His maternal great-grandparents were Ladino-speaking Jewish emigrants from Turkey and the island of Rhodes. He currently serves as a board member for Sephardic Adventure Camp, North America’s only overnight Jewish camp that is a unique Sephardic experience. Having lived in Seattle, New York and Israel, you might hear him incorporate English, Hebrew and Ladino words or phrases all in the same sentence.

Heritage Words is produced by the HUC-JIR Jewish Language Project and HUC Connect: conversations about the words we inherit and the meaning they bring to our lives.

Host and executive producer: Sarah Bunin Benor

Producer and editor: Avishay Artsy

Video editor: Annabel Noar

Editorial consultants: Kyle Fingerhut, Annabel Noar, Hannah Pressman

Theme music: Maurice El Medioni’s French and Algerian Judeo-Arabic album “Cafe Oran,” featuring the Klezmatics’ David Krakauer and Frank London, courtesy of Piranha Records.