Suggested Readings for the name Haas Genealogy of the Goldman, Levy, Wertheim, Kaufman, Fleishman, Haas, Koshland, Stern, Strauss, Meyer, and Newmark Families by Douglas Edward Goldman, Haas Family History by Arthur Milton Haas.
The term Ashkenazic refers to Yiddish speaking Jews and their descendants. There are numerous other Jewish groups, such as the Sefardim, who were the Jews of the Iberian Peninsula and their descendants.
The Hebrew language belongs to the Semitic family and is generally divided into three historic and linguistic periods: Old Testament Hebrew, Postbiblical and Modern Hebrew. Modern Hebrew was developed in the 19th century and is now the official language of Israel. It has a special script, based on the Phoenician alphabet.
The Yiddish language dates back to about the 9th century. It was developed mainly from Middle High German and spoken by Jews in Germany. Yiddish was also infused with Hebrew words and it is written using the Hebrew alphabet. It also shows a strong Slavic influence.
