Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 3.287 March 15, 1994 1) Introduction (Ken Maltz) 2) Reerences to beatings (Martin Davis) 3) On not one not two (Yude Rozof) 4) Two questions: schmuck, varf mir aroys (Yude Rozof) 5) On ekl (Yude Rozof) 6) Di fir kashes (Bobbi and Michael Zylberman) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon Mar 14 20:05:20 1994 From: klezmer@aol.com Subject: Introductory statement Sholom aleichem I am a new Mendele subscriber, but not new to the Yiddish world, having been a klezmer clarinet player with Kapelye since its inception in 1979. I grew up in the Bronx, NY, during the late 40s...mid-sixties; a place where Yiddish was interchangeable with English on the street. In addition to my work with Kapelye, I teach music in the public schools and am an official with the Amer. Fed. o f Teachers. and now I'm glad to be a part of Mendele. Ken Maltz 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon Mar 14 21:20:21 1994 From: davism@turing.cs.nyu.edu Subject: references to beatings in Yiddish I can't contribute to the subject of wife beating references, but I do have a related one. One of my mother's favorite songs was "Unter a green baymele" It continues something like this Zitsn yingelekh zwei Ertsayln zikh a maynsele [sic re the "n"] Kayn zakh ... ... Ayner dertsaylt dee nissemlakh Vos er hot geht Shlogt der zvayte inter bald Bei mir ahkurah Un der tate in der haym Mitn pasek dem groysn Hot geshlogen a gevalt Un vertribn deroysn That's all I can retrieve from my memory of 60 years ago. Anyone really know the song? Martin Davis 9)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon Mar 14 21:20:27 1994 From: jrosof@sas.upenn.edu Subject: on not one not two Ms. Bechtel asked about the custom of counting not one, not two. It is my understanding that this custom derives from the the folk superstitions surrounding the evil eye. Related customs are the expression "konehore--keyn eyn hore," recited to ward off the evil eye after reckoning a blessing, and the custom of the word as power as reflected in names: sick Jews would sometimes undergo name changes or have the name "alter"- old man added to their name in order to prolong their lives and hide them from the evil eye. My father's hebrew name is Avrom Khaym. He is named for his father's brother Avrom who passed away at an untimely age. The name khayem has the meaning that through my father Avrom lives, but the name "life" may also be rooted in the folk tradition, serving as a protection to my father, saving him from a similar early death. Yude Rozof 10)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon Mar 14 21:35:41 1994 From: jrosof@sas.upenn.edu Subject: two questions: schmuck, varf mir aroys Anatole Beck attributes, as do others, the word schmuck to the German Schmuck, meaning jewel/decoration. If I am not mistaken, the pronunciation of this word in Yiddish is /shmok/ and the German Schmuck is pronounced /shmuk/. If this is the case, then the German etymology posited appears unsound. German /u/ becomes NE Yiddish /u/ and Southern and Central Yiddish /i/. Witness Fuss-fus-fis. Thus the derivation /shmuk/ - Yiddish shmok seems phonetically contrary to the history of Yiddish phonetics. The same would seem to hold true for putz. I remember having read a suggestion that schmuck in fact may have its origins in a Polish word for dragon. Does anyone know more about this? What do we say haynt iz purim morgn iz oys gib mir a groshn un varf mir aroys rather than mikh aroys as the accusative case would seem to demand? Yude Rozof 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon Mar 14 22:02:33 1994 From: jrosof@sas.upenn.edu Subject: on ekl Recently there has been much discussion surrounding the word ekl. I thought I'd put in my two cents worth. As I recall Dr. Mordkhe Shekhter in his opus Laytish Mameloshn identifies ekl and its varied uses as daytshmerish. Most particularly unpalatable to the Yiddish Sprachgefuehl is the thoroughly German ekelhaft. I believe that migldik is recommended instead and possibly s'iz mir nimes for es ist mir ekelhaft? Yude Rozof 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue Mar 15 05:31:26 1994 From: Subject: di fir kashes farvos iz di dozike nakht fun seyder andersh fun ale nekht fun a gants yor? ale nekht esn mhr say khomets, say matse, ober in der doziker nakht nor matse? ale nekht esn mir kolerley grinsn, ober in der doziker nakht bloyz bitere kraytekher? ale nekht darfn mir nit ayntunkn afile eyn mol oykh nit, ober in der doziker nakht tunkn mhr ayn tsvey mol? ale nekht kenen mir esn say zitsndik glaykh, say ongelent' ober in der doziker nakht esn mir ale ongelent? Hope this helps. zayt gezunt. Bobbi and Michael Zylberman ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 3.287 To subscribe, send SUB MENDELE FIRSTNAME LASTNAME to: LISTSERV@YALEVM.YCC.YALE.EDU Mendele has 2 rules: 1. Provide a Subject: line. 2. Sign your article. 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