Mendele: Yiddish literature and language
______________________________________________________
Contents of Vol. 5.315
May 9, 1996

1) Patshkn (but not paskenen) mit tshatshkes (Harvey Spiro)
2) YIVO recordings (Myles Slatin)
3) Spoken recordings of Sholem Aleichem? (Harvey Spiro)

1)----------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 08 May 1996 11:01:29 -0400
From: hjs@nrc.gov
Subject: Patshkn (but not paskenen) mit tshatshkes

A sheynem dank to our shames for his tkhias-hamesim of previous Mendele
discussions of the word(s) tsatske/tshotshke. In a related resurrection, I
have cleared off some of my desk, read with delight over a hundred unopened
Mendeles, and am returning to cyber-Yidishkayt after a few months'
hibernation.

I recalled a similar tsatske/tshotshke thread in 1994, but was unaware of the
earlier 1992 discussions.  Thanks to the Mendele archive, I have now read
through most of the pertinent earlier emails.

Bob Rothstein and our other Slavicists have established a long and diverse
history of the word(s) in Polish, Russian, Czech, etc.  Paulo Agostini added
findings in Hungarian and German, which confirm a widespread usage of the
word(s), with one meaning or the other, in the major language areas where
Yiddish was also spoken.

Anu, as Tevye would say, "vos zol ikh aykh do lang ma'arikh zayn?" Why am I
still beating a dead tshotshke?  To this linguist-manque, nothing I have seen
yet in Mendele definitively proves a unique and solely Slavic origin for the
Yiddish word(s).

First, I believe that we may have two words, not one, whose meanings have
become entangled because of their similarity in sound and potential semantic
overlap.  Second, we cannot ignore the fact that Hebrew (modern, Rabbinic and
biblical) also has two distinct but virtually homonymous words with related
meanings.

Jastrow's 1903 Dictionary of the Talmud cites the word tsa'atsu'im (root
tsadi-ayin-tsadi-ayin), used in the Tanakh in II Chronicles (3,10), to mean
"miniatures, babes, dolls." Ignoring the late 20th century slang meaning of
"babes," we have a potential source for the [tshotshke = toy, knickknack]
meaning, plus a potential link to [tsatske = attractive female].  The second
Hebrew word, sh'a'shu'a (shin-ayin-shin- ayin) appears first in Rabbinic
Hebrew, according to Jastrow, who cites it in Tankhuma, Cant. R. and Pesikta
R., meaning "delight, pleasure."

I'm not sure of the original language of Jastrow's dictionary, but these
turn-of-the-century English understandings of the words seem highly relevant
to our question.

Of minor relevance, my parents (both native Yiddish speakers, one from north
of Warsaw, the other from Galitsia near Tarnow) used tsatske and tshotshke
distinctly, although I only recall hearing them used within English, not
Yiddish, conversations. Of course, all this implies is that "Yinglish"
recognizes two separate words.

My amateur conclusions?  I must take issue with Reb Noyekh's (5.313) doubts
about two different words.  Dafke with Noyekh's mention of the Russian/Polish
tshashke = cup, it seems that we are working with separate words confounded by
Yiddish dialectical differences in pronunciation and overlapping meanings.

Who borrowed from whom?  Was the source for the Yiddish words Slavic or
Hebrew?  Possibly both.  Two data points would be useful here:

1. Is either word found in early Western Yiddish, presumably untainted by
Slavic?

2. How old are the earliest uses of the word(s) in Slavic languages?  Do they
precede the 10th century, after which Yiddish could have been a source to the
Slavic, rather than the reverse?

Derekh agev, Modern Hebrew, uses tsa'atsu'a to mean "toy," and sha'ashu'a to
mean "delight" or "amusement." Israeli slang, however, has accepted from
Yiddish both tsatske and tshatshke in their "attractive/coy woman" and
"knickknack" meanings.

Harvey Spiro
Vienna, Virginia

2)----------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 09 May 1996 10:22:40 -0500 (EST)
From: engmyles@ubvms.cc.buffalo.edu
Subject: YIVO recordings

Is YIVO thinking of issuing re-recordings on cds of parts of its sound
archives, including the Yiddish theater actors' recordings in its files?

Myles Slatin

3)----------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 09 May 1996 15:12:17 -0400
From: hjs@nrc.gov
Subject: Spoken recordings of Sholem Aleichem?

A letter from Chaim 'eynekh Sapoznik (Mendele 5.312) said that YIVO collected
several thousand Yiddish 78s and that among those who recorded were: Sholem
Aleichem ...

Henry, are you saying that there are extant recordings of Sholem Aleichem
reading his own work?  I'm amazed that they haven't yet been released.

While I understand that the economics of the market for Yiddish spoken word
recordings is -- viazoy zogt men, epis shvakh -- I'd bet that there are
possibly thousands of Yiddishists out there who would love to hear the
master's voice, no matter how scratchy the recording. This probably includes
half of the Mendele membership, and every college Yiddish class and leynkrayz
in the country (and Canada). Am I wrong here?

If the recordings still exist, vi kumt der kats ibern vaser?  How do we
encourage YIVO to transfer them to cassette and slap a label on them. There's
got to be an inexpensive way to get them out.

Harvey Spiro
Vienna Virginia

______________________________________________________
End of Mendele Vol. 5.315