Exploring the Yiddish language of my father, grandmother, her grandmother, and beyond, this autobiographical article frames language as an ever-changing space where identities are negotiated, formed, and contested. Placing the history of Yiddish alongside my own familial relationship to the language, I explore how the stories of individual lives and the histories of people are created through their relationship with and negotiation of language. Through my own personal experience, this article posits language as a both a space of alienation and belonging.