Mendele: Yiddish literature and language
______________________________________________________
Contents of Vol. 3.320
April 18, 1994

1) "Sdonzshen" un "dzshvingn" (Perl Teitelbaum)
2) Introduction (Mark P. Line)
3) Gib a kuk/a kuk geton: Slavic influence (Yude Rozof)
4) Ton/tin and verbal repetition (Ralf Arnemann)
5) Sholem Aleichem's letters re: Tevye (Varda Ullman Novick)
6) Men darft a lerer (Andy Cassel)

1)----------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun Apr 17 21:18:03 1994
From: 74031.775@CompuServe.COM
Subject: "Sdonzshen" un "dzshvingn"

Meyshe-Yankl Sweet fregt vos meynt "zdonzhen" un "dzhvigen". "Ikh volt
nisht zdonzhen aza zakh tsu dzhvigen oyf di pleytses."

Der zats meynt, "ikh volt nisht gekent aza zakh trogn oyf di pleytses."
Men dzhviget nor shvere zakhn.  Beyde verter zaynen slavitsizmen un
"dzhvigen" hot gornisht keyn shaykhes mit "tsvingen".

Vegn zdonshen:  Ikh hob es keynmol nisht gehert in aza kontekst.  Vi ikh
ken dos vort, meynt es bavayzn tsu ton epes tsu der tsayt.  Lemoshl,  "Es
iz shoyn shpet! Ikh hob moyre, az ikh vel nisht zdonzhen oyf der ban."
Oder, "ikh vel nisht zdonzhen endikn di arbet biz fraytik vayl es geyt
zeyer pameylekh."

Perl Teitelbaum

2)----------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun Apr 17 21:49:54 1994
From: markline@henson.cc.wwu.edu
Subject: Introduction

I am a linguist by training, and have a fascination for all "minority"
languages -- and their preservation. I would very much like to learn to
communicate in Yiddish. I'm fluent in both Standard German and in
Rhine-Palatinate dialect, so I have little trouble understanding most of
transliterated Yiddish. I need to learn the Hebrew orthography, move from
passive understanding of the Middle-German-derived parts of Yiddish to
active competence, and complete my vocabulary with respect to the Hebrew
lexis (I'm not Jewish, so I don't have the benefit of any more knowledge
of Hebrew than what I learned in one semester as an undergraduate many
years ago).

I hope I haven't broken into a list that is not for interested
beginners ...

Mark P. Line

3)----------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon Apr 18 00:42:25 1994
From: jrosof@sas.upenn.edu
Subject: Gib a kuk/a kuk geton: Slavic influence

Ikh tsitir fun der englisher iberzetsung, "The History of the Yiddish
Language," by Max Weinreich (University of Chicago Press, 1980; section
7.49, p. 528):

    Yiddish possesses forms that are strongly reminiscent of the Slavic
    aspects.  They are not identical to the Slavic forms; therefore, it
    is preferable not even to use the term *aspect*; but they are
    *aspectoid* forms at any rate.  One can say not only *ikh shrayb* (I
    write), but also *ikh gib a shrayb* or *ikh tu a shrayb* (I hurriedly
    write)...  How do these patterns get into Yiddish? Surely not from
    the first three determinants [i.e., loshn-koydesh, loez, Germanic].
    This type of systematically organized grammatical category is unknown
    there...  The tendency to have such forms is Slavic, and... they have
    developed only in those areas where Yiddish is coterritorial with
    Slavic.  The appropriate historical explana- tion, then, is that
    Yiddish constructed the aspectoid forms in the manner of Slavic from
    German-component material.

Thought this might shed some light on the Slavic-derived "ton."  I look
forward to reading more about the older "ton" which seems to express aspect.

Yude Rozof

4)----------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon Apr 18 07:38:30 1994
From: rarnemann@attmail.com
Subject: Ton/tin and verbal repetition

Rick Gildemeister wrote:

> "... It's a hard thing for English speakers to grasp; compare it to
> French or Spanish, where there is a distinction between perfect and
> imperfect. Example: Ikh hob gelernt; Ikh hob oysgelernt. Ikh kuk; ikh tu
> a kuk. German lacks this entirely."

I'd say those examples can easily paralleled:

English: "I have learned; .I cook; I do cook (cooking)"
German: "Ich habe gelernt; Ich habe ausgelernt. Ich koche; Ich tu kochen"

The last example, with do/tun - tun/tin, could mean more emphasis (in
English) or might be considered jargon (in German), but is correct to
construct ..

... while

> "Zingen zi" doesn't exist in German or any other Germanic language
(that I know of) and is a very unique and interesting feature in
Yiddish.

Ralf Arnemann

5)----------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon Apr 18 12:26:22 1994
From: vunovick@netcom.com
Subject: Sholem Aleichem's letters re: Tevye

Dear Louis Fridhandler:  Your translation of those letters has
coincidentally given me sought-after information about my grandmother. My
grandmother, who died in 1967 at the age of 80, had said she was from a
resort town outside of Kiev.  She also said that her family milkman was
named Tevye, and that Sholem Aleichem had visited her town when she was a
child.  But, until I read your translation today, I didn't know the name
of that town.  My grandmother's three facts coincide with three facts in
the September 21, 1894 letter: Sholem Aleichem was staying in a country
home in a town in which Tevye was a milkman.  So, I've finally found out
the name of the town in which my grandmother was born and grew up:
Boyarka!   Thank you!

Varda Ullman Novick

6)----------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon Apr 18 13:24:34 1994
From: acassel@philly.cerf.fred.org
Subject: Men darft a lerer

Philadelphia's Gratz College is looking for a Yiddish teacher. Actually,
the group of us who took two evening sections of Yiddish at Gratz this
past fall and winter are looking to continue (we only got to page 40 of
Der Yiddisher Lerer!) and Gratz would like to accomodate us, but is
having trouble finding Yiddish teachers; Dr. Jerry Kutnick, who runs the
evening/continuing education division, asks anyone interested, qualified
and available to give courses at the Melrose Park campus to contact him
at 215-635-7300. Ikh ken tzuzogn shoin finf dankvare talmidim ....

Andy Cassel

______________________________________________________
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