Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 4.327 February 20, 1995 1) Shmuel Rollansky (Shoshana Balaban-Wolkowicz) 2) Verter vos endikn zikh mit -im (Mikhl Herzog) 3) Verter vos endikn zikh mit -im (Michael Wex) 4) Verter vos endikn zikh mit -im (Mathis Chazanov) 5) Verter vos endikn zikh mit -im (Ellen Prince) 6) Song "Shlof, Dvoyrele, shlof" (Joachim Mugdan) 7) Gikh/gikher: help wanted (Mikhl Herzog) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 19 Feb 95 16:20:58 PST From: shoti@eworld.com Subject: Shmuel Rollansky Mit tifn veitik loz ikh visn az Shmuel Rollansky iz in elter fun 92 yor geshtorbn, dem 19tn Februar, 1995 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Shmuel Rollansky - Lerer, shraiber, forsher, grinder fun Argentiner YIVO, un redaktor fun "Di 100 Bend Musterverk fun der Yidisher Literatur" Koved Zain Ondenk. Shoshana Balaban-Wolkowicz 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 17 Feb 95 00:57 EST From: zogur@cuvmb.columbia.edu Subject: Verter vos endikn zikh mit -im Leybl Botvinik, Vos heyst den az ir kent bloyz tsvey verter 'oyf yidish' vos endikn zikh mit im'? _shabosim_ un _taleysim_ kent ir dokh zikher. Vet ir efsher taynen az dos heyst nit 'oyf yidish'. Pruvt nor in yisroyel, vet ir zen az oyf ivrit zogt men andersh. Al akhes kame vekame, kent ir dokh _poyerim_ un _yayvolim_ oykh, ayo? Un efsher hob gor shlekht farshtanen ayer shayle. Mikhl Herzog :-) 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 17 Feb 95 02:29:13 EST From: 76252.147@compuserve.com Subject: Plurals in -im Although I don't know that I can fill Leybl Botvinik's complement of nouns ending in -im, I can offer the following standard Yiddish words that don't come from loshn-koydesh: poyer/im (peasants), fakter/faktoyrim (agents), tayvl/tayvlonim (devils), kundes/kundeysim (zany madcaps.) From my Yiddish-speaking childhood, I can also recall use of the -im ending with words that don't normally take it in order to display contempt. For example, "aktyorim" for bad or ham actors, "ministorim" for non-Catholic Christian clergymen, and my own personal favourite, "rednorim" for long-winded, tedious speakers (this last was once explained by my father as being based on the principle of "nor zey reydn"). Less lightheartedly, but more commonly, the plural "Hitleyrim", usually preceded by an adjective denoting national origin (usually "daytshe" or "arabishe"--I'm simply reporting here). It seems more than mere coincidence that, with the exception of "kundes", which "should be" from loshn-koydesh, all the above examples end with a liquid in the singular. Michael Wex 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 17 Feb 1995 11:31:29 -0800 (PST) From: chazanov@news.latimes.com Subject: Doktoyrim und naronim di kashe vegn yidishe verter vos endigen in mertzol mit "im" dermont an alter vertl: ven di rabon_im zaynen gevorn doktoyr_im, iz yiddish_kayt gevorn a krank_hayt. Mathis Chazanov Los Angeles 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 17 Feb 1995 15:08:25 EST From: ellen@central.cis.upenn.edu Subject: Doktoyrim un naronim To: leybl botvinik don't know eight but one other is _poyerim_, _poyer_ being germanic, cognate of _bauer_. anybody know why this word got a semitic plural? one wildly speculative possibility might be that initial /p/ in yiddish is rarely germanic; perhaps the yiddish speakers figured it couldn't be germanic and knew it wasn't slavic and so figured it must be semitic? just a thought... oh, another _possibly_ non-semitic -im plural is _kabtsonim_--i've heard several etymologies for _kabstn_, at least one of them slavic. any thoughts? ellen prince 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 17 Feb 1995 15:49:43 +0100 (MEZ) From: mugdan@uni-muenster.de Subject: Song "Shlof, Dvoyrele, shlof" In his "Hebraeisch-orientalischer Melodienschatz, vol. 9: Der Volksgesang der osteuropaeischen Juden" (Amsterdam 1932), A. Z. Idelsohn records the following song (#152, p.40f): Shlof, Dvoyrele, shlof, di feygelekh zingen in vald, zey zingen un shpringen in grinem groz, zey veln Dvoyrelen brengen vos. Vos veln zey brengen? Sheyne fayne ringen. Di ringen veln zayn mit gold bashlogn, dos vet Dvoyrele trogn. Since Idelsohn was interested in the melody, he gives only one verse, but surely there must be more. I have not been able to find the song in any of my books and I don't have access to Beregovski's collection; according to Ruth Rubin ("Voices of a People", Philadelphia 1979, fn.18 to p.38), it appears there (Moshe Beregovski & I. Feffer, "Yidishe folkslider", Kiev 1938, p.306), but she doesn't quote more than the above verse either. Does anyone know further verses or other collections in which this song is printed? Another question: What exactly does "mit gold bashlogn" mean? Rubin translates the phrase as "wrought with gold", and my guess was that the rings are gilded (alias gilt). What do the native speakers say? Please respond by e-mail to my above adress, and I'll post a summary (bli neder). A hartsikn dank! Joachim Mugdan 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 17 Feb 95 10:01 EST From: zogur@cuvmb.columbia.edu Subject: Gikh/gikher: help wanted Help wanted, fast! A. The Facts: 1. Yiddish renders 'fast', 'quick(ly)' as _shnel_, _geshvind_, or (Standard Yiddish) _gikh_ (regional _gey(e)kh_, _gyakh_, and Litvish! _gekh_). 2. The comparative _gikher_ can be used to render English 'sooner = rather'; e.g., _eyder geyn tsu der arbet volt ikh haynt gikher geblibn in der heym_. 3. Yiddish renders 'to hurry' as _zikh (h)ayln_ and _zikh yogn_. B. The Hypotheses (or, 'Rediscovering America'?): 1. _gikh_ and _yogn_ are cognate forms. 2. Yiddish _gikh_ is cognate with German _jaeh(e)_ /_Jaehe_ (which is probably cognate with _jagen_?). C. The Questions: 1. Are there any regional German cognates of _jaeh_ with word- initial "g-"? (Berlin, Anno?). 2. Is there a regional German usage in which _jaeh_ is 'synonymous' with _schnell_? 3. Is there a German usage of the comparative that parallels the Yiddish one? Help received will be appropriately acknowledged in connection with future publication (as will similar help previously received from Mendelniks). Mikhl Herzog ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 4.327 Mendele has 2 rules: 1. Provide a meaningful Subject: line 2. Sign your article (full name please) 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 Send articles to: mendele@yalevm.ycc.yale.edu Send change-of-status messages to: listserv@yalevm.ycc.yale.edu a. For a temporary stop: set mendele nomail b. To resume delivery: set mendele mail c. To subscribe: sub mendele first_name last_name d. 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