Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 3.313 April 10, 1994 1) Migldik, loshn-koydesh (Yude Rozof) 2) Caucasian Jews (Jascha Kessler) 3) MENDELE in the FORVERTS (Zachary Baker) 4) ShmulyAres (Mikhl Herzog) 5) Introduction (Leah Zazulyer) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri Apr 8 20:03:28 1994 From: jrosof@sas.upenn.edu Posted-Date: Fri, 8 Apr 1994 19:58:35 -0400 Subject: migldik, loshn-koydesh In the last issue of Mendele, Arre Komar discusses migldik and ekldik, and the broader questions of language standardization. While it may be true that migldik has lost ground to ekldik, the principle of standardization and Mordkhe Schaechter's "principle of specificity" remain valid. Thus we ought to use leyenen and not lezn, vunderlekh and not vunderbar, moshel and not bayshpil. The historical course of Yiddish has been one away from German. An approach which views Yiddish as an independent language rather than an extension of New High Literary German demands that Yiddish continue an independent course. Thus we may create new Yiddish words on Germanic stems present in Yiddish for centuries. We may not however simply find new words in the Langenscheidt Dictionary and liberally sprinkle them in our journalistic and prose writings. This is an attitude of disrespect to Yiddish, assuming that Mame-loshn is a grade B German "Mundart." In the past many German words entered Yiddish directly from German. These words were often liberally used for sheer prestige value, and not because they filled a lexical gap. Thus many authentic Yiddish expressions were replaced by foreign sounding equivalents from German (witness:vunderBAR rather than vunderLEKH). Sometimes the language was actually impoverished when a single German word replaced a large number of home-grown expressions. Yiddish language planners do not want to create a language that never was. They simply want to eliminate superfluous Germanicisms which have driven out perfectly good yiddish words, eg. a gerotener pruv vs. a derfolgraykher farzukh. If I recall correctly in traditional Yiddish, farzukhn means to taste. In German, versuchen means to attempt or to try, which in Yiddish is pruvn. Thus there is no need for a confusing farzukh meaning attempt in the German sense of the word in Yiddish. No one is trying to create a new language, except in cases where a new concept arises for which there is no pre-existing word, eg. lekerl for lollypop, or beserveyser for know-it-all. In the case of the migldik, it is to be preferred because it is homegrown, but ekldik has won the battle in general usage. Nonetheless using the German-inspired ekldik does not rule out the use of migldik. Arre Komar also addresses the question of the loshn-koydesh component of Yiddish, suggesting that currently, the latter component of the language is becoming as dangerously all pervasive as daytshmerish once was. As evidence, the change in the language of the Forwards is cited. It is true that today's Forverts uses more Loshn-koydesh than the issues of the forties but this is in fact more authentic! The original Forverts was heavily pro-Germanicisms and Anglicisms. Its language has changed over time to reflect a truer picture of authentic Yiddish as captured in classic Yiddish literature. The use of Loshn-Koydesh is as old as Yiddish itself. This is what split Yiddish off from the German stock language originally. Traditionally in Europe, the more scholarly one was, the more one used Loshn-Koydesh. It was a sign of education. I don't think that Yiddish has any natural boundaries on Loshn-Koydesh usage. Yiddish is unique in that it is defined by a culture, not by a lexical history. Thus Ma nishtana is fair game for inclusion in a Yiddish text. A Yiddish speaker might not know what ma or nishtana means but culturally he is bound to recognize ma nishtana from passover. There are therefore no limits on losh-koydesh use. Today's forwards is actually quite restrained in its used of Hebrew-Aramaic. Harkavy's dictionary is crammed packed with Loshn-koydesh lexical items and phrases straight out of the Jewish sources. Thus the indo-european part of Yiddish lends itself to inventorization, but Loshn-koydesh, that which makes Yiddish Jewish, will forever defy inventorization! That is the beauty and chaos of the language. It is the reflection of a culture. As a supporter of normativism I am glad to fight daytshmerizms. The question of Losh-koydesh however cuts the very center of Yiddish's unique identity and self-definition. There are no simple answers on how much is too much. Yude Rozof 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri Apr 8 20:26:54 1994 From: IME9JFK@MVS.OAC.UCLA.EDU Subject: Caucasian Jews Mark Southern asks about the Caucasian Jews' language. There was in September of 1992 a fine anthropological, etc. exhibition about these peoples at the Haifa Museum, and I believe there should be a lot of documentation available there for you, on paper, or even email, perhaps? who knows? But as to getting it, my own assumption that perhaps a letter addressed to the Haifa Museum might actually reach it, though given Israeli postage. If you dont get through, you might email Prof Ada Aharoni, who is an English prof and ask her for the address, at her husband is at the Technion, and answers email that way. CERRACCA@TECHNION.BITNET Try that email address, and see what you get. You can use my name and apologiz e for the trouble. She is not a Yiddishist, being a Cairene, originally, altho ugh her husband Chaim, a chemist, might be. Jascha Kessler 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri Apr 8 21:09:19 1994 From: BM.YIB@RLG.Stanford.EDU Subject: MENDELE in the FORVERTS In today's issue of the Yiddish "Forward," under the regular rubric "In der velt fun yidish" (compiled by Y. Hamer, a.k.a. Yosl Mlotek -- o.k., the secret's out, folks...), there is a dispatch from Yakira Frank (Hagalili), of Stamford, CT, entitled "A kompyuter-nets vegn yidish mit 400 farinteresirte." The article brings to the attention of "Forverts" readers the existence of an electronic newsletter -- MENDELE -- that is devoted to Yiddish. I don't need to summarize the entire article, which highlights some of the issues that have been discussed here over the past couple of years (from daytshmerizmen to matse-bray [matzah brei], with sidetracks into the genetic background of Ashkenazic Jews). To me what is most striking is the article's description of the e-mail medium by which we subscribe and contribute to MENDELE: "Ikh leyen yede vokh in 'Forverts' vegn di gezelshaftlekhe tetikaytn oyfn yidishn gebit vos komen for ibern land un oykh in oysland. Dakht zik, az biz itst hot men nisht bashribn far ayere leyener di 'elektronishe post', vos heyst oyf english 'E-mail'. "Elektronishe post iz an oyfn fun shteln zikh in farbindung mit akademiker un andere, iber gor der velt, mit der hilf fun a kompyuter vos iz farbundn mit a telefon. A sakh akademiker hobn oysgefunen, az zey kenen zikh durkhshmuesn mit kolegn iber der velt vegn zeyer arbet oder interesn oyf a gants heymishn oyfn. Onshtot vartn biz a zhurnal vet opdrukn artiklen, frages, oder glat meynungen, kenen zey oyf der gikh onklapn oyf a kompyuter zeyere gedanken un shikn durkhn post tsu mekhabrim iber der velt velkhe zaynen farinteresirt in di zelbe inyonim. "Es zaynen itst faran hunderter grupes spetsyalistn, vos shraybn zikh durkh oyf 'E-mail' -- lemoshl, vegn politik, literatur, psikhologye, muzik... un oykh yidish! Yede grupe hot a nomen un di yidishe grupe heyst 'Mendele'. Der vos shtelt tsunoyf di frages, bamerkungen, artiklen -- d.h. a min redaktor -- iz geven a profesor fun sotsyologye. Er heyst Noyekh Miler. Letstns hot er ibergegebn, az di grupe hot shoyn an erekh 400 abonentn, di merste in Amerike, khotsh a hipshe tsol gefinen zikh oykh in Kanade un Yisroel." What's the point, you might ask; WE already KNOW all of this! Mit vos bin ikh oysn? Well, just this morning a co-worker of mine who is, shall we say, very *close* to Yosl Mlotek and is a regular contributor to the "Forverts," was asking me about MENDELE (she had read Ms. Hagalili's article) -- how does one subscribe? And even though the dispatch excerpted here doesn't give technical details (most "Forverts" readers presumably have yet to learn about gophers, archie, veronica and ftp -- "forzetsung kumt," vi me flegt shraybn, eyder s'iz gevorn oys daytshmerish), it gives enough of a description, one hopes, to whet the appetites of some native Yiddish speakers (and readers) to join the ranks of The 400. (I can feel the trembling in the shames's boots.) Zachary Baker 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri Apr 8 21:40:40 1994 From: ZOGUR@CUVMB.CC.COLUMBIA.EDU Subject: ShmulyAres A belated thought. If it's been expressed already, forgive me. I've been napping. The process of derivation probably was as follows: Standard Yiddish "toler" and Southern Yiddish "tu:ler" "tU:ler", perhaps palatalized "tUl'er", plural "tU:l=ers" parallel to Yiddish "stOl'er/stOl'ers" ; Next, pelorative "tU:lers-shmU:lers" (cf. Cancer-shmancer); finally, even more pejorative, "shmul'Ares" parallel to pejorative "stal'Ares". Mikhl Herzog 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat Apr 9 15:13:07 1994 From: WATSON@UNO.CC.GENESEO.EDU Subject: Introduction By way of introducing myself, Leah Zazulyer, new member: I'm a writer of poetry and prose, a (co) translator, and have also had a varied and long career in special educ., school psych, educ. mediation. Parents from shtetl Shershev, lebn Pruzany, l8 k from Brest. Grew up in Los Angeles; parents active in Yiddish circles but alas also rendered children "Yiddish impaired" (great phrase!). As adult have studied Yiddish privately WHEN could find teacher in Yiddishly inhospitable Roch. N.Y., and also at Columb. and Oxford...currently with a Moldavian refugee...Have been (co) translating and rescuing the poetry of Israel Emiot, born Ostrov-M., Poland 1909, died Roch. N.Y. l978. Knew him in local literary circles...I am very interested in Yiddish literature, esp. poetry. Have also done some interviewing etc of holocaust surviors. A novice in e-mail world. Greatly enjoying Mendele. Ziit Gezunt! Leah Zazulyer ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 3.313 Mendele has 2 rules: 1. Provide a Subject: line. 2. Sign your article. A Table of Contents is now available via anonymous ftp, along with weekly updates. Anonymous ftp archives available on: ftp.mendele.trincoll.edu in the directory pub/mendele/files Archives available via gopher on: gopher.cic.net To subscribe, send SUB MENDELE FIRSTNAME LASTNAME to: LISTSERV@YALEVM.YCC.YALE.EDU Send submissions/responses to: mendele@yalevm.ycc.yale.edu Other business: nmiller@starbase.trincoll.edu