Mendele: Yiddish literature and language
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Contents of Vol. 2 no. 160
March 17, 1993
 
1) Housekeeping again (Noyekh Miller)
2) Yiddish kashes (Hershel Bershady)
3) Mutual comprehensibility (Zev Bar-Lev)
4) Introduction (Henry Koretzky)
5) Introduction (Reyzl Kalifowics-Waletzky)

1)----------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed Mar 17 09:49:58 1993
From: nmiller@dot.trincoll.edu
Subj: Housekeeping (again)

Once again I must ask all Mendelniks to change their ways
(in the matter of addressing Mendele) and follow these
new procedures:

Please do NOT write to: nmiller@vax1.trincoll.edu
                                or
                        mendele@vax1.trincoll.edu

Instead, address all personal mail to:

                        nmiller@dot.trincoll.edu
                                
Communications to Mendele still go to:

                        mendele@yalevm.ycc.yale.edu

Noyekh

2)----------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed Mar 17 09:49:58 1993
From: IN%"hbershad@sas.upenn.edu"
Subj: Yiddish kashes

When I was a little kid, I used to ask my grandfather the
four questions in Yiddish.  The time is now too distant for
me to be able to reproduce what I said accurartely.
However, a friend recently gave me a Yiddish version of the
four kashes which I pass on to anyone who may be
interested.  Here goes:

Tateh (or zayde), ikh vill dir fregen die vier kashes.  Der
Ershte kashe ikh vill dir fregen:

Far vus is der nakht von Pesakh andisht von alle nakht von
a ganze yahr? Far vus alle nakht von a ganze yahr as mir
villen, essen mir khometz, und as mir villen, essen mir
matzoh, aber der nakht von Pesakh essen mir nur matzoh?
Aber kein khometz turen mir nisht essen.  Hab ikh dir
gefregt ein kashe.

Der zweite kashe ikh vill dir fregen:

Far vus alle nakht von a ganze yahr as mir villen essen mir
bissere grinsen, und as mir villen essen mir zisser
grinsen?  Aber der nakht von Pesakh essen mir nur bissere
grinsen.  Hab ikh dir gefregt zwei kashes.

Der dritte kashe ikh vill dir fregen:

Far vus alle nakht von a ganze yahr tinken mir ein mul
ekhnit eyn? Aber der nakht von Pesakh tinken mir eyn zwei
mul? Ein mul tsibele in zalz vasser, und der zweite mul
khrain and kharoset.  Hab ikh dir gefregt drei kashes.

Der vierte kashe ikh vill dir fregen:

Far vus alle nakht von a ganze yahr as mir willen essen mir
ziztendik, und as mir willen essen mir ungeshpart?  Aber
der nakht von Pesakh essen mir alle ungeshpart?

Yetzt hab ikh dir gefregt alle vier kashes.  Heint entfir
mir ein tiretz von alle vier kashes.


Perhaps some of Mendele's subsribers will find this useful.

Hershel Bershatsky

3)----------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed Mar 17 12:40:39 1993
From: zbarlev@SCIENCES.SDSU.EDU
Subject: Mutual comprehensibility

mutual comprehensibility reminds me of a conversation in
israel, 15 years ago, between my (american, from poland)
grandmother-in-law with the grandmother of our neighbors
(ex-ukrainian), in which misunderstandings were jumped over
one at a time, e.g. (the recollection filtered thru my own
small knowledge of yiddish): "hobn dayne kinder a sheyne
kvartira?"  "nein, ze hobn nit keyn kkvartira.  ze hobn a
groisn apartment." etc. -- neither, of course, using the
YIVO/(Hebrew) "direh", and so forth, as i recall, for
several russian/american pairs.

apart from this battle of russianisms vs. americanisms, the
eastern-european substratum was remarkably similar, and
they did successfully "negotiate meanings" through their
conversation, although apparently never being quite aware
of the linguistic aspects behind the fun.

Zev bar-Lev, San Diego State U.

4)----------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed Mar 17 14:34:28 1993
From: HRK@PSULIAS.PSU.EDU
Subject: Hello from a New Member

        My name is Henry Koretzky, and I'm employed in the
library at Penn State at Harrisburg, located in Middletown,
PA.  My knowledge of Yiddish is negligible, but I'm serving
as an electronic mediator for 2 friends who are more
familiar with the subject: Simon Bronner, a folklore
professor here at PSH who has been learning Yiddish over
the past few years; and Susan Leviton, the singer for the
klezmer band with which I play.  Hope my quiet presence is
acceptable to all.

        Thanks,

        -Henry


5)----------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed Mar 17 15:07:47 1993
From: "R. Kalifowicz-Waletzky" <71773.2606@CompuServe.COM>
Subject: Introduction

        Now several questions from this brand new member:
Ershtns, shraybm do ale oyf Yiddish oder darf men do
tsebrekhen di oygn mit transliteratsye? (I'll continue in
English).  Can one type in in Yiddish characters and have
others be able to read the Yiddish text even if they don't
have something like Note Bene?  I do have Note Bene and I
would also like to know if anyone has discovered a better
layout than the basic setup of the Royal Yiddish typewriter
format? (Of course, it needs some changes to comply with
the standard YIVO orthography.) Also has anyone found the
best solution to properly labeling the keyboard? I have the
catalogue from the Hooleon Corporation (800-937-1337) that
features 1)an Enlish-Hebrew Keyboard,  2)Hebrew keytop
lable kits, and 3)self adhesive do-it-yourself label-making
kit all of which will have to be modified for Yiddish.
Which works best and are there better ideas? Does anyone
have any advice on this issue?

        I was born in a D.P. camp in Austria to Polish
Holocaust survivors.  At age one, my family moved to Israel
and we lived there for nine years.  There were people from
all over the world in my neighborhood in Israel, but the
chief language of my street was undoubtedly Yiddish.  I
learned to speak Hebrew only once I went to kindergarten.
Yiddish is the only language I ever spoke to my parents (my
father died 2 weeks ago), but always in my mother's
Volhiner Yiddish dialect.  Reading and writing Yiddish, I
learned in my very frum Yiddish-speaking Yeshiva once I
came to America at age ten.  I became a "farbrente
Yiddishistke" only after leaving New York after college,
even married another "farbrenter Yiddishist", and we speak
Yiddish to each other as well as to our children (ages 12
and a half and 6).  I am proud to say that at least half
the time they also speak Yiddish to each other.

I have been a Yiddish instructor since 1971 (not as much
since my children were born) and have a master's in Yiddish
linguistics and folklore from Columbia.  The fact that I
quit my Ph.D. program is still a painful knife in my heart
but I am hoping that that is not a permanent decision.  I
have been very active in Yiddish circles for a long time
and have had many students over the years.  I am presently
editing my own linguistic work on a challenge to the Berlin
and Kay theory on color categories on the basis of both
classical Rome and the Jewish experience in color naming. I
am also writing a book on the world history of the art of
papercutting, with a particular focus of Jewish
papercutting as well as working part time for the National
Yiddish Book Center.  I am very interested in doing all
kinds of Jewish research and hope to end up working in a
museum preparing exhibitions on Jewish life. P.S. One could
definitly say that my children are of the rare breed of
native speakers of Standard Yiddish.  They are also part of
Pripetchik.

Reyzl Kalifowicz-Waletzky
(English name is Roslyn but more than half my world calls
me Reyzl)

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End of Mendele Vol 2.160