Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 7.006 May 22, 1997 1) Maykomashmalon a frage (Shoshana Balaban-Wolkowicz) 2) Forverts (Bob Rothstein) 3) Forverts (Dan Leeson) 4) Yiddish possessive (Morrie Feller) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 22 May 1997 04:02:05 -0400 (EDT) From: mahosu@aol.com Subject: Maykomashmalon a frage Mayn derfarung, 17 yor, vi eyne fun di bibliotekarn in Argentiner IWO (YIVO) un in di letste 8 yor vi an ongeshtelte in journal "Yidishe Kultur" iz mir oysgekumen tsu entfern on a shir telefonishe frages arum un vegn Yidishe literatur un bibliografies fun shraybers -- gevise frages gor laykhte, say tsulib dem vos a yeder velkher iz adurkhgegangen a Yidishe shule un a seminar volt gekont entfern un say vayl oft mol zaynen zey - di frages - geshtelt on kop un on fis. Dos meynt nit, az undzere entfers zenen, oder zaynen gegebn gevorn, "laykht" abi tsu enfern. Mit der tsayt zenen mir gekumen tsum oysfir az: der/di (groys oder kleyn, student oder forsher) velkher shtelt frage(s) viln konkrete entfers, D"H: nit "vu" m'ken gefinen materialn arum a teme, oder biografie -- nor "git mir an entfer". Gey veys fun vanen es nemt zikh: Fun nit hobn kayn aynfal? Fun nit hobn a pasike(r) rotgeber? Tsi gor fun foylkayt?. In di letste khadoshim bamerk ikh az me fregt nit kayn narishe shayles, un di entfers zaynen -- merstns -- balerndike un interesant. Dokh, es volt nit geshat far der/di vos banitsn zikh mit oyszogn far a shrayber/s, forsher/s -- in zeyere entfers -- m'zol es dermonen un avade-un-avade oyb es zenen "eygene oysfirn" es vet dergantsn -- far di velkhe zamlen materialn der moker fun a geentferte teme. Agev, oyb me hot nit kayn anung az in Amerike dershaynt a tsaytung oyf Yidish velkher iz tsum lebngekumen mit 100 yor tzurik -- meynt es az mir zaynen zoykhe geven (gevorn?) tsu derlebn an ameratsisher stade in undzer cultur-lebn? oder di yorshim viln nemen di kivudim? Shoshana Balaban-Wolkowicz 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 21 May 1997 15:23:25 -0400 (EDT) From: rar@slavic.umass.edu Subject: Forverts Let us assume that Dan Leeson was writing from the midst of a bad dream about a world without the _Forverts_. I am probably repeating some of what I posted to Mendele a few years ago, but even if one has time to read only Chana and Yosl Mloteks' "Perl..." (every other week), Yosl Mlotek's "In der velt fun yidish" (on alternate weeks) and Miriam Hoffman's weekly columns (and now the occasional piece by Shikl Fishman), the _Forverts_ is well-worth the small subscription price ($36/year in the US). My first encounter with Yiddish was the attempt to puzzle out English cognates in my grandmother's _Forverts_ some fifty or so years ago, and I've been a subscriber for as long as the Mloteks have been publishing their wonderful column (if not longer). It's a present I give myself every year, and I would encourage as many as possible of the Mendele _khevre_ to do the same. It's a much better way to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the _Forverts_ than by reading about it in the _(English) Forward_ or the _(Russian) Forverts_ (which I'm doing too). The address, for those who don't have a copy handy, is 45 E. 33rd St., New York NY 10016. In 1966 Poland launched a campaign to build 1000 schools in celebration of the millenium of the Polish state. Surely Mendele can produce at least 100 new subscriptions to the _Forverts_ in honor of its centenary! Bob Rothstein 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 21 May 1997 12:09:50 EDT From: leeson@olive.fhda.edu Subject: Forverts I'm joining a monastery I have not had this much guilt heaped on my since my mother told me that it was my fault that the dinosaurs died. With respect to the Yiddish language Forward, I haven't seen it for years and assumed that it had been completely replaced by the English language version. So I said so as if it were true. The pains inflicted in my body as a result of that faux pas will be with me for years to come. Someone called me a trumbenick and I had to check to see exactly where that put me in the social scheme. It is 2.3% of the way to being a putz! So much for being a hoo-hah famous writer. My first fiction story gets published and 38 people jump on me. I'm joining a monastery and I know exactly which one: the Abbey of New Clairvaux in the northern California town of Vina, halfway between Chico and Red Bluff in Tehama County. And the reason why I have chosen that one is that they have a resident rabbi, Charles Arian. No joke!! Arian has said that it is very difficult to be an observant Jew in a monastery because they have 7 services a day and he was davening three times a day on top of that and going crazy from the effort. So I will start a small Yiddish club in the Abbey of New Clairvaux and your guilt will be unable to reach me there. Dan Leeson Los Altos, California 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 21 May 1997 22:59:26 -1000 From: feller@indirect.com Subject: Yiddish possessive Modern Yiddish texts indicate that the possessive in Yiddish is formed by adding a "samekh" to the noun without using an apostrophe. In older writings, e.g., in Sholem Aleykhem's stories, the apostrophe is used with the "samekh" to show possession. Can anyone tell us when, and why, the apostrophe was dropped? Morrie Feller Phoenix ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 7.006 Mendele has 2 rules: 1. Provide a meaningful Subject: line 2. Sign your article (full name please) Send articles to: mendele@yalevm.cis.yale.edu Send change-of-status messages to: listserv@yalevm.cis.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. To unsubscribe kholile: unsub mendele Other business: victor.bers@yale.edu Victor Bers iiv@mmlds1.pha.unc.edu Iosif Vaisman nmiller@mail.trincoll.edu Noyekh Miller ****Getting back issues**** 1. Anonymous ftp archives are available. ftp ftp.mendele.trincoll.edu in the directory pub/mendele/files A table of contents is also available, along with weekly updates. 2. 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