Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 3.163 December 11, 1993 1) Bergelson, Segalovitch (Sean Martin) 2) Yiddishe linguistic Fihrers (Arre Komar) 3) Daytshmerizmen (Khaim Bochner) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri Dec 10 16:04:54 1993 From: Sean A Martin Subject: Bergelson, Segalovitch I'm a Yiddish student at Ohio State, and I have questions about Dovid Bergelson's "Yordim" and Zusman Segalovitch's "Dos Tekhterl." In Bergelson's story, one character asks "Kh'bet dikh, Rokhele-Serdtse, vifl hot Shmuel eygene guralnies?" My question concerns the last word. (To make up for my transliteration: Bergelson spells it as giml-vov-reysh-pasekh alef-lamed-nun-yud- samekh.) Any ideas on what this word means and where it comes from? The quote is taken from Bergelson, Oysgeveylte verk, Moskve, 1961, p. 436. Segalovitch's "Dos Tekhterl" is about a fourteen-year-old girl who insists that her family speak Polish. The father is reluctant to agree, especially when he wants to play cards. "Un eyn mol in vokh shpilt men a derdele. Demolt lebt er uf, Moyshe. Demolt redt er zikh oys far der gantser vokh, un take af yidish. Vayl vi andersh? Vi kon men es shpiln a derdele nisht af yidish?" The quote above is taken from Segalovitch's Lider, Dertseylungen, Zikhroynes, Buenos Aires, 1968. It is from his collection Shmendrikes, which originally appeared in Warsaw in 1930. My question concerns "derde/derdele." Harkavy defines this as a game of cards. What kind of card game is this? Does "derde" mean a specific game, or is it a general term? And, while I'm asking about card games, what are the Yiddish terms for popular card games like rummy, gin, bridge, euchre? I should note here that Weinreich gives "poker" for poker. Thanks for the help. Sean Martin 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri Dec 10 17:54:58 1993 From: "Dr. Arthur Komar" Subject: Yiddishe linguistic Fihrers Ikh find es zayer interessant al die diskutsia ibber dialects fun Yiddish un zayer geographic variances un evolution. Ober es gibt (sic!) tsu file fihrers vos zogen men tor nit dos un men tor nit dos. Verbn darfn nur im tsvaytn shtelle zitsn, nit in ershten oder drittn oder firten! Daytshmeyrish iz a balaydigung! (Ober iz es nit emes az balaydigung iz a daytshe vort!) Men zol nur YIVO oyslegung banutsen, zonst darf men nur English shraybn! "Lezn" iz a daytshmerishe balaydigung un iz azoy farboten! Uzv., uzv..... Got zay dank Yidn hobn kayn Fihrers un veln kayn Fihrers hobn. Mir veln Yiddish shprekhn un shraybn in unser aygene proste mameloshn azoy vie men vil.. Shen genug! Arre Komar 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri Dec 10 21:18:41 1993 To: mendele@yalevm.cis.yale.edu Subject: Re: daytshmerizmen Do gefin ikh zikh in der mit tsvishn tsvey tsdodim. Efsher vel ikh kenen makhn a pshore? Nu, lomir zen. Ikh halt take mit di puristn vos zogn az me darf hobn standardn. Vegn dem hob ikh shoyn geshribn. Un ikh halt oykh az me darf zikh nokh alts mien kegn di daytshmerizmen. Bay mir iz "akhrayesdik" beser vi "antvortlekh", "lemoshl" beser vi "tsum bayshpil", un azoy vayter. Halt ikh, heyst es, mit Reyzlen. Ober a daytshmerizm tsu a daytshmerizm iz nisht glaykh. Lemoshl, "frage" iz in onheyb geven a daytshmerizm. Dos eltere vort (efsher nor eyns fun etlekhe eltere verter?) iz kashe, vi lemoshl "di fir kashes". Nor haynt tsu tog iz "frage" dos tog-teglekhe vort. Avade zogt men "di fir kashes" un a "klots-kashe", ober akhuts di oysdrukn, nitst men dos vort zeltn. Meyn ikh az "frage" iz mer nisht keyn daytshmerizm; dos vort hot zikh ayngevortslt. Un der grenets tsvishn a gevezenem daytshmerizm un an itstikn daytshmerizm iz oftmol nisht zeyer klor. Bederekh-klal bin ikh tsufridn mittsuhaltn mit Vaynraykhn, vayl keyn besern oytoritet hobn mir nisht. Un derfar, ven ikh lern yidish mit onheybers, lern ikh zey "leyenen", un nisht "lezn". Nor ikh bin nisht in gantsn tsufridn. Lemoshl, in Vaynraykhs verterbukh hobn ale dray verter "lezn", "tante", un "onkl" dem zelbikn tseykhndl vos iz taytsh "nit derlozlekh in der klal-shprakh". Dos iz nisht genug pinktlekh far mir. Oyb s'iz do ergets a dialekt vu me zogt "onkl" bay folksmentshn, iz dos far mir a khidesh. Ikh hob es gehert nor inem film "Onkl Moses", un geleyent zeyer zeltn. Dos iz bay mir an emeser daytshmerizm. "Tante" iz ober epes andersh. Avade iz "mume" an elter vort, un efsher derfar iz es shener oykh. Un in a sakh dialektn iz dos vort "tante" nokh alts fremd un daytshmerish. In andere dialektn, ober, iz dos shoyn gevorn dos tog-teglekhe vort, un "mume" nitst men zeyer zeltn. Iz dos bay mir mer dialektish vi daytshmerish. Un "lezn"? Efsher nisht azoy gut vi "tante", nor kimat? Halt ikh, heyst es, nisht azoy vayt fun Robert. Nu, vos tut men? Ikh meyn az me darf kenen zogn "Dos vort iz bay mir beser fun yenem", un nisht dafke ale mol "Dos vort tor men nisht nitsn." Afile far di vos zenen maskem az "aynladn", "tsum bayshpil" un "lezn" zenen nisht azoyne sheyne verter vi "farbetn", "lemoshl" un "leyenen", blaybt eyn zakh klor: az me vil gut kenen yidish, MUZ men kenen di verter. Ale fun zey. Vayl me hert zey, afile az me nitst zey nisht. Un dos iz a teyl funem ashires fun der shprakh. Un es zol zayn sholem ;-) Khaim ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 3.163 Mendele has 2 rules: 1. Provide a Subject: line. 2. Sign your article. 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