Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 2 no. 113 December 7, 1992 1) S'iz geven erev krismes (Bob Rothstein) 2) Terms for Gentiles (Martin Davis) 3) Etymology (Noyekh Miller) 4) Chagall in Manhattan (Yitzhak Kertesz) 5) Schvartze as derogatory (Cal Pryluck) 6) Pejorative words (Debra Halperin Biasca) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 5 Dec 92 22:14:10 EST From: rar@titan.ucc.umass.edu Subject: S'iz geven erev krismes Sheldon Benjamin asked for a Yiddish version of Clement Moore's poem. One version can be found in a book by Marie B. Jaffe, _Gut Yuntif, Gut Yohr_ [sic], (New York: The Citadel Press, 1969). Since the text is long and I don't want to offend Reb Noyekh's sensibilities, I'll quote only the first few lines and send a photocopy of the rest by snail-mail to Sheldon and to anyone else who requests it. The poem begins: 'Sis geven erev krismes, und shtil is in heizel, Kein nefeshel rirt zich, afileh kein meizel; Beim oiveleh zeinen die zocken gehangen, Mit hofnung as bald vet der yuntif onfangen... Bob Rothstein 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 7 Dec 92 07:53:49 -0500 From: davism@turing.cs.nyu.edu Subject: terms for gentiles Reading the discussion on "shiksa" and "sheygitz" I feel very much that this is where I came in. In the original draft of my "introduction" to Mendele, I wrote that I had been married for more than forty years to a "shkisa." At our shames' instance, I was persuaded to delete the term which he assured me was offensive. I did as asked, though I was not really convinced, because in my family I had never heard the term used pejoratively. However, the current discussion has certainly convinced me that many do find the term deeply offensive. Although I was pleased to see Ellen Prince's defense of the terms, aspects of it bothered me. The idea that "shiksa" and "sheygitz" were used to indicate that Jewish children were good looking, is too strongly redolent of the "zelbsthas" of the ghetto, as though good looks were not to be expected of Jewish children. Finally, I do hope no one will take offense (because truly none is intended) at the following joke which was told to me by my mother who had picked it up in the South Miami Beach Jewish community: "Rebbe, rebbe, iz okh un veh! M' tanst mit shiksas un m'est khazar." "Noo, iz vohs? Az m' vet tansen mit khazayrim un essen shiksas, dos vet zayn eppes." Martin Davis 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 7 Dec 92 10:03:30 EST From: nmiller@starbase.trincoll.edu Subject: Etymology Does anyone have an explanation of how 'hinerplet' comes to mean lethargy, coma, etc.? Noyekh [Also, while I'm up: like the unpleasant feeling I get from those clothing store mirrors, I'm not a little chagrined to discover that the shames has become a virtual Anthony Comstock. And it's true! I apologize for him and wish to announce that he--that shoyte--will be kept henceforth under strict control, and that Mendele's readers should feel free to write anything they like. Hulyet vi fil aykh glust! nm] 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 7 Dec 92 07:26:42 PST From: Yitzhak Kertesz Subject: chagall in Manhattan N.Y area Mendelists may be interested to know about the Chagall exhibit at the Guggenheim in SoHo. They have Chagall's costume and set designs on display. Ch' prepared them in the 1920s for the State Jewish Chamber Theater (Moscow). As an added benefit visitors learn about the story of this theater-company. The exhibit is an ideal place to take a break from your X-nukkah (pron. Chi-nuka) shopping activities. The address is: 575 Broadway near Delancey (be careful at the crossing!) Yitzhak Kertesz 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 07 Dec 92 11:06:19 EST From: Cal Subject: schvartze as derogatory A speculation: schvartze/shiksa/shegetz as adjectives are perhaps non-judgmental, simply descriptive. The words become derogatory when used as nouns as in der schvartze, etc. The analog that struck me as I thought about it is that I am not offended if one says that Cal Pryluck is a Jew; I would be profoundly offended if referred to as The Jew. Cal Pryluck 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 07 Dec 1992 11:33:19 -0700 (MST) From: DEBRA HALPERIN BIASCA Subject: RE: pejorative words A propos Vicki Fromkin's and others, I note an incident which occurred in my class at the Summer Program in Yiddish at Columbia this year. Most of my classmates were in their 20's, learning Yiddish without having heard it spoken at home. When the text (Weinreich's _College Yiddish_) referred to schvartze, the class unanimously voted to read (instead): "mentchen fun kolor." The term was obviously perceived as pejorative by these young Yiddish learners. This occurred despite der lehrer's insistence that the expression was descriptive and not pejorative. Debra Halperin Biasca ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol 2.113