Ladino is based on the language spoken by the Sephardim in Spain more than 500 years ago. After the expulsion and the inquisition, these Sephardim left for different countries. The Ottoman Empire was the country that received the expelled Sephardim with open arms, even by sending boats to bring them to Turkey. In Turkey, Sephardim kept this language and enriched it by adding new words from Turkish, Greek, Italian, French and other languages, and this is the way it has come to our day. We, the descendants of the Jewish exiles from Iberia, still speak this language and hope to keep it alive forever.
Statistics
Israel (100,000) - Turkey (8,000) - Bulgaria (?) - Greece (?) - Serbia and Montenegro (?) - United States (?) - Total (160,000)
