Mendele: Yiddish literature and language
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Contents of Vol. 2 no. 124
December 16, 1992
 
1) A farshpetikter vits (Elyet Gertel)
2) Names (Mikhl Herzog)
3) Spouses (Jascha Kessler)
4) -m versus -n (Malkah Winters)

1)----------------------------------------------------
Date: 14 Dec 1992 21:51:11 -0800 (PST)
From: EGERTEL@FULLERTON.EDU
Subject: A farshpetikter vits

Kh'hob sof-kol-sof ibergeleynt di ale alte numern velkhe
kh'hob nisht geleynt fun zumerleb on biz in mitn november.
Yenem khoydesh hob ikh gehert a vits baym los-andzshelesn
yidishn kultur-klub vos kumt shoyn tsunoyf keneynehore an
erekh 67 yor!  Kh'hob dem vits bald gevolt dersteyln di
mendelnikes hob ikh moyre gehat az koydem vet es efsher
emetsn baleydikn vehasheynes (vos iz efsher gor a sakh
erger!) volt dos efsher geshafn a rey andere politishe
vitsn.  Hob ikh nor haynt geleynt Dovid Shermans a vits
vegn di anumltike valn in di fareynikte shtan un vi vayt
kh'gedenk hot dos gornisht nisht geshafn keyn eyn opentfer.
Vel ikh aynshteln un ibergebn ot dem vits (vos agev hot men
mir dersteylt nisht vi a teyl fun program nor in a zayt):

        Klinton hot zikh kandidirt [iz "gelofn"] tsuzamen
        mit Gor, Bush hot zikh kandidirt mit Gornisht.

(My apologies to the Republican Mendelnikes and here's the
English version:)

        Clinton's running mate was Gore, Bush's running
        mate was Gor(e)nisht.

{Kh'tret op tsum Shames meyushevdikeyt tsi der doziker vits
 iz derlozlekh in Mendele tsi nisht}

Elyet Gertl (Elliot Gertel)

2)----------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 92  13:27 EST
From: ZOGUR@CUVMB.Columbia.edu
Subject: Names


To: P. Mett: If you have no objection, I would address you
as Peyrets. F most of us, I think "ay" would rhyme with
English "my". The only other person I know with that name
is from Vilna and his rendition is with "e" rhyme with get.
There are three groups of segolate nouns in Yiddish: those
like emes and (the month) Elul are universally with "e";
those lik khesed vary along with words like lebn: khesed,
kheysed, khised (in Voli and those like Pesach, seder,
melekh which have merged with tseyre in Yi and occur as
pejsakh/paysekh, etc. The Litvak says the brokhe "melekh ha
and speaks of "der yidisher meylekh". The Central Yiddish
speaker reads broke "meylekh hooylom" and speaks of "a
yidisher maylekh". If you knew all of this, forgive me for
going on.

Mikhl Herzog.

3)----------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 92 14:15 PST
From: KESSLER <IME9JFK%UCLAMVS.bitnet@YaleVM.YCC.Yale.Edu>
Subject: Spouses

for Ellen Prince: your point is nicely taken.  I am sorry
your husband is offended by the term.  I suppose that when
one leaves the poker game before midnight to warm the
wife's cold feet, as so many wives do seem to have, then
his pals will call him uxorious, as mild form of sarcasm?

Jascha K

4)----------------------------------------------------
Date: 15 December 1992, 21:09:31 CST
From: GA3704@SIUCVMB.BITNET
Subject: -m versus -n

One of my colleagues in German, to whom I speak Yiddish so
that he cannot laugh at my German accent, has asked me why
Yiddish has `ah sheyneM dank', with what looks like a
dative ending.  I noted tonight that someone (my apologies
for not remembering the name) ended his comment/question
`ah groyseN dank'.  Any comments about the endings?

A sheynem dank for any information,

Malkah (Margaret) Winters  <ga3704@siucvmb.bitnet>

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End of Mendele Vol 2.124