Peck, Julia. “Ladino En Kaza: The Promise of At-Home Language Nesting as a Revitalization Method for Ladino.” Letras Hispanas, 2025.
https://www.ladinoenkaza.com/kitchen/lavarse-las-manos
This educational card is part of the "Ladino en Kaza" language nesting initiative
 |
| https://www.ladinoenkaza.com |
designed by language activists to help families reintegrate Ladino vocabulary into daily routines at home.
URL goes to a PDF document titled "Türkçe Mutfak Kartları" (Turkish Kitchen Cards). This digital file contains the audio recordings and supplemental materials for this Ladino/Turkish handwashing guide, as well as other vocabulary learning cards. [1, 2]
[1] [https://u1.padletusercontent.com](https://u1.padletusercontent.com/uploads/padlet-uploads-usc1/550365053/b3588efb39cc5e1645757b7be89f4488/Tu_rkc_e_Mutfak_Kartlar__compressed.pdf?token=6KCim1evZIeu_RQGEpkYr4fqRPfOM-q2mKkO0-gz1oHfQcski0R4kHgIKqm-Z6PATE_xxigo4GtEeRxmGV0nnelkcATYg_1qIGcSxt8bVT77f1yD1dNwy4qMkiaA-7WCOoOTrylJsfd05Jj3BeKySckFkg8Vir8UAr0DvJ4ipyZp_eL1IND8OQCj9ItgMRca-c34HvlU6EnlZ9piDgsVfaebREj8ibqmiZLXTgF3Gd--wnalcMV-RGw9owSBA10xmvj6-IejhX9pFCJT8l7zDA==)
[2] [https://www.youtube.com](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lhy0ubN-LXc&t=29)
[3] [https://www.adobe.com](https://www.adobe.com/express/discover/how-to/qr-code/scan)
[4] [https://www.youtube.com](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9oL6fzHmT0)
[5] [https://www.youtube.com](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwsDVQFrH2o&t=31)
The selected region shows a QR code designed to provide an audio recording of the text on the poster. [1, 2]
Above the QR code, the text reads "Eskuchalo aki!" in Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) and "Buradan dinle!" in Turkish, both translating to "Listen to it here!" [1, 2]
## Poster Language Breakdown
The poster provides a step-by-step handwashing guide written in two distinct languages: [1, 2]
* Ladino (Judeo-Spanish): The primary text lines (e.g., "Vo lavarme las manos"). It is a Romance language derived from Old Spanish, historically spoken by Sephardic Jews, which explains its unique blend of Spanish roots combined with Hebrew, Turkish, and Arabic vocabulary (like shavon for soap).
* Turkish: The translation provided underneath each step in green text (e.g., "Ellerimi yıkayacağım"). [1, 2]
[1] [https://u1.padletusercontent.com](https://u1.padletusercontent.com/uploads/padlet-uploads-usc1/550365053/b3588efb39cc5e1645757b7be89f4488/Tu_rkc_e_Mutfak_Kartlar__compressed.pdf?token=6KCim1evZIeu_RQGEpkYr4fqRPfOM-q2mKkO0-gz1oHfQcski0R4kHgIKqm-Z6PATE_xxigo4GtEeRxmGV0nnelkcATYg_1qIGcSxt8bVT77f1yD1dNwy4qMkiaA-7WCOoOTrylJsfd05Jj3BeKySckFkg8Vir8UAr0DvJ4ipyZp_eL1IND8OQCj9ItgMRca-c34HvlU6EnlZ9piDgsVfaebREj8ibqmiZLXTgF3Gd--wnalcMV-RGw9owSBA10xmvj6-IejhX9pFCJT8l7zDA==)
[2] [https://u1.padletusercontent.com](https://u1.padletusercontent.com/uploads/padlet-uploads-usc1/550365053/b3588efb39cc5e1645757b7be89f4488/Tu_rkc_e_Mutfak_Kartlar__compressed.pdf?token=6KCim1evZIeu_RQGEpkYr4fqRPfOM-q2mKkO0-gz1oHfQcski0R4kHgIKqm-Z6PATE_xxigo4GtEeRxmGV0nnelkcATYg_1qIGcSxt8bVT77f1yD1dNwy4qMkiaA-7WCOoOTrylJsfd05Jj3BeKySckFkg8Vir8UAr0DvJ4ipyZp_eL1IND8OQCj9ItgMRca-c34HvlU6EnlZ9piDgsVfaebREj8ibqmiZLXTgF3Gd--wnalcMV-RGw9owSBA10xmvj6-IejhX9pFCJT8l7zDA==)
10-step handwashing guide from the poster
## Lavarse las manos (Washing hands)
1. Vo lavarme las manos.
I am going to wash my hands.
2. Vo al lavabo / a la pila.
I go to the sink. (Note: "lavabo" is commonly used in Istanbul, while "pila" is used in Izmir for a kitchen sink).
3. Tomo shavon.
I take (some) soap.
4. Avro la fuente / huente.
I turn on the faucet.
5. Me shavono / enshavono las manos.
I soap up my hands.
6. Me enshaguo las manos.
I rinse my hands.
7. Serro la fuente / huente.
I turn off the faucet.
8. Tomo la tovaja.
I take the towel.
9. Me enshugo / seko las manos en la tovaja.
I dry my hands on the towel.
10. Ya eskapi de lavarme las manos!
I finished washing my hands!
------------------------------
AI
If you are interested in this language, I can provide more information on how Ladino vocabulary differs from standard modern Spanish, or share more about its Turkish cultural connections. What would you like to explore next?
## Line-by-Line Ladino Text Transliteration
The text conversions below utilize the letter transformations of the [LadinoType Solitreo Converter](https://solitreo.com/) alongside the official [Library of Congress Ladino Romanization Table](https://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/romanization/ladino-2005.pdf). Modern punctuation marks are intentionally embedded inside the Right-to-Left formatting constraints to ensure that terminal periods and exclamation points display correctly at the leftmost end of each Hebrew and Ladino script line.
## Title / Header Lines
* Lavarse las manos
לאבארסי לאס מאנוס
Lavarse las manos
Washing the hands
* Eskuchalo aki!
אסקוג׳אלו אקי!
¡Escúchalo aquí!
Listen to it here!
## Numbered Instructions
1. Vo lavarme las manos.
בו לאבארמי לאס מאנוס.
Voy a lavarme las manos. / Me voy a lavar las manos.
אני הולך לשטוף את הידיים שלי.
I am going to wash my hands.
2. Vo al lavabo/a la pila.
בו אל לאבאבו/א לא פילא.
Voy al lavabo / a la pila (fregadero).
אני הולך לכיור / לאגן הרחצה.
I am going to the sink / basin.
3. Tomo shavon.
טומו שאבון.
Tomo jabón.
אני לוקח סבון.
I take soap.
4. Avro la fuente/huente.
אברו לא פואינטי/חואינטי.
Abro el grifo / la fuente.
אני פותח את הברז.
I turn on the tap / faucet.
5. Me shavono/enshavono las manos.
מי שאבונו/אנשאבונו לאס מאנוס.
Me enjabono las manos.
אני מסבן את הידיים שלי.
I soap my hands.
6. Me enshaguo las manos.
מי אנשאגואו לאס מאנוס.
Me enjuago las manos.
אני שוטף את הידיים שלי במים.
I rinse my hands.
7. Serro la fuente/huente.
סירו לא פואינטי/חואינטי.
Cierro el grifo / la fuente.
אני סוגר את הברז.
I turn off the tap / faucet.
8. Tomo la tovaja.
טומו לא טובאג׳א.
Tomo la toalla.
אני לוקח את המגבת.
I take the towel.
9. Me enshugo/seko las manos en la tovaja.
מי אנשוגו/סיקו לאס מאנוס אין לא טובאג׳א.
Me enjugo/seco las manos en la toalla.
אני מייבש את הידיים שלי במגבת.
I dry my hands on the towel.
¡Ya terminé de lavarme las manos!
!כבר סיימתי לשטוף את הידיים שלי
I have finished washing my hands!
------------------------------
## Reference List
Source Document: Ladino Romanization Table, Cataloging Policy and Support Office, U.S. Library of Congress.
Digital Tool Infrastructure: Intelligent script mapper, [LadinoType Engine](https://solitreo.com/about).
------------------------------
## What is Solitreo Script and Its Relevance to Ladino?
Solitreo (or Soletreo) is the traditional, handwritten cursive form of the Hebrew alphabet used specifically by Sephardic Jews. While printed books and newspapers in Ladino historically used Rashi script (a semi-cursive printed typeface), Solitreo was utilized exclusively for everyday handwriting, including personal correspondence, financial records, and community documentation throughout the Ottoman Empire and the Balkans.
## Relevance to Ladino
* Distinctly Sephardic: Unlike modern cursive Hebrew—which developed primarily from Ashkenazi script variants—Solitreo is structurally unique. It utilizes multiple ligatures (fluid connections between adjacent letters) that make historical cursive documents unreadable to standard modern Hebrew speakers.
* Phonetic Adaptability: It incorporates custom modifications, such as adding a specialized tick mark (called a rafé) over standard Semitic letters to accurately represent unique medieval Spanish sounds like ch, dj, and sh.
* Historical Preservation: Most primary historical texts, business letters, and private archives written by Ladino speakers prior to World War II exist solely in Solitreo handwriting.
## Interactive Resource & Examples
An excellent interactive resource for exploring and visualizing this language is the LadinoType Solitreo Tool, which provides a platform for instantly translating Latin text into digital Solitreo script styles.
For scholarly archives and physical manuscript examples, check out the [University of Washington Sephardic Studies Digital Collection](https://jewishstudies.washington.edu/sephardic-studies/sephardic-studies-digital-library-museum/) or the Stanford University Thessaloniki Merchant Memoirs Project, which features digitized records of original 19th-century Ladino cursive manuscripts.
If you want to delve further into linguistic nuances, let me know if you would like an analysis of how vowel representations (using letters like Vav and Yod) differ between standard modern Hebrew spelling and Ladino spelling!
