Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 5.313 May 5, 1996 1) A Yidish folks-lidl (Borukh Moyshe Layb Katz) 2) Shprikhverter (Marcia Gruss Levinsohn) 3) Tsatske (Alan Shuchat) 4) Tsatske (Anatole Beck) 5) Tsatske (Noyekh Miller) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 3 May 1996 07:39:51 -0400 (EDT) From: bkatz@uoguelph.ca Subject: A Yidish folks-lidl In Mendele 5.309, Mendy Fliegler hot gefreygt fun a Yiddish lidl vos geyt azoy: Men khapt un men nemt un men zetst im an... Ikh anshuldig mir vos ikh hob nit gehat der tsayt tsu entferen biz yetst. Ikh denk az di lidle hayst "A Geneyve" a humoristish folks-lid vos gefint zikh mit etlikhe variatsyes in dem tsuzug ober, vayter altz shener, dem zelben farzn. Ayner fun di variatsyes in tsuzug gayt azoy: Khapt im un bind im, khapt im un bind im, Khapt im un bind im, un zetst im arayn. Efsher vet er moydes zayn. Oy, gevalt, a ganev! Er hot nokh mir baganvet, Er hot nokh mayn getsugenumen, Er hot nokh mayn getsugenumen, Ales fun der shtib! Dos hob ikh gefinen rekordirt bay Netanya Davrat (Vanguard VRS-9117: "Natania Davrath Sings Yiddish Folk Songs") arim 1965. Ober Rut Rubin's zehr fayn bukh: "A Treasury of Jewish Folksongs" (Schocken Books, 1950) git es oys azoy: Bay mayn Rebn iz gevezn, Iz gevezn, bay mayn Rebn, Bay mayn Rebn, iz gevezn A geneyve! Di variatsye ken mir gefinen rekordirt in Yisroel bay Khava Albertein (CBS SM-63603: "Chava Alberstein/Yiddish Folk Songs") arim 1975-80. A drite variatsye iz Y.L. Cahan gefinen in Varshe far dem ershten velts kreig, un hot es aroysgegebn in zayn zeyr khosheve bikher: "Yidishe Folkslider Mit Melodien [etc.]" 1912-31, ibergedrukt, fargressert un redaktirt bay Max Weinreich (YIVO, 1957). Cahan git es azoy: Men iz tsu mir arayn gekumen, Men hot mayn leben tsugenumen, Oy, gevalt! a ganev Hot dokh mikh baganvet! Rut Rubin git fir farzn: Un Cahan azoy: Zibn hemder vi di bekher, [er git nisht dem farz] Dray mit lates, fir mit lekher! Bay mayn Rebn iz gevezn -- a geneyve! Zibn laykhter vi di shtern, Zibn por laykhter vi di bern Dray on fis, un fir on rern! Dray on fislekh, fir on rern Bay mayn Rebn iz gevezn -- a geneyve! Oy, gevalt! a ganev Hot dokh mikh baganvet! Zibn hener vu di tsigl, Dray on kep, un fir on fligl! [er git nisht dem farz] Bay mayn Rebn iz gevezn -- a geneyve! Zibn neydn vi di sosnes, [er git nisht dem farz] Dray on tseyn, un fir on yosles! Bay mayn Rebn iz gevezn -- a geneyve! Zibn por zokn vi di mitsn Dray on piyentes, fir on shpitsn... Oy, gevalt! a ganev Hot dokh mikh baganvet! Vu iz di bobe mit dem shlayer? Vu iz dos kayshele mit di ayer? Oy, gevalt! a ganev Hot dokh mikh baganvet! Nu, vayter ken ikh dir geben tsu farshtayn, az Natanya Davrat zingt a kombinatsye fun di tsvay variatsyes, ober mer nunt tzu Cahan. Borukh Moyshe Layb Katz der pulgrosek's an elter aynekl Guelph un North York, Ontario 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 3 May 1996 22:54:41 -0400 (EDT) From: mashinke@wam.umd.edu Subject: Shprikhverter Hay yor praven mir "Yerushelayim Dray Toysnt." mir ale kenen der Hebrayishe shprikhvort, "oyb ikh forges aykh oy Yerushelayim..." tsi kent emitser a shprikhvort vos kumt fun Yidish un redt fun Yerushelayim, fun _Yidish Lebn in Yerushelayim durkh di doyres_? Marcia Gruss Levinsohn 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 02 May 1996 21:03:09 -0400 (EDT) From: ashuchat@wellesley.edu Subject: Nokh tchatchkes At trade shows, especially computer shows, "tchatchkes" are the little things exhibitors give away as inducements to get people to stop at their booths! Alan Shuchat 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 3 May 1996 11:47:09 -0500 (CDT) From: beck@math.wisc.edu Subject: Tsatske I always had the idea that tsatske was from the Polish for doll. So I communicated with my Polish-English friend from the London School of Economics. His reply, which only partly confirms this perception, I enclose herewith. I think that a reasonable translation into colloquial English would be honey . It is also clear that the use of tchatchke for bauble derives from the same root, and is also used almost exclusively ironically. Yiddish has a record of using foreign words (even Hebrew words like khokhem and amhoretz) in a way which is derisive of their original meanings. Written cacko and pronounced tsatsko means anything "twee", nice or sweet and especially toy-like. The word cacy (tsatsee) is used in baby-talk to mean beautiful. However, i do not know the origin of this word in Polish and I will check for you. Anatole Beck 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 05 May 1996 From: nmiller@shakti.trincoll.edu Subject: Tsatskes tkhies hameysim This is by no means the only topic that comes up repeatedly. Given the changes in our readership it's natural enough that things get said as though for the first time. It might be helpful to point to older numbers of Mendele where some useful items are to be found. They are: 1.097 2.112 2.121 4.229 1.104 2.114 2.123 4.237 1.105 2.116 4.211 4.238 2.109 2.118 4.215 5.148 2.111 2.120 4.219 5.310 Of special interest might be our resident Slavicist Bob Rothstein's definitive statement in 4.237: The Polish word _cacko_ [tsatsko] is usually explained as a dialectism for the older _czaczko_ [chachko], variants of which exist elsewhere in Slavic. The etymological dictionaries treat this as coming from baby talk--a nursery word for 'toy'. As for Arre Komar's statement (5.311) that tsatske and tshatshke are found in the same dialect and have slightly different meanings, I am somewhat skeptical on both scores. I wonder --not being an etymologist I can only speculate wildly-- if there might not be some confusion here with tshashke (a cup) which occurs in Russian as well as Polish. Noyekh Miller ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 5.313