Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 07.147 February 11, 1998 1) Introduction (Ruchl Pudlowski Eissenstat) 2) New York Klezmer Ensemble (Bernard Katz) 3) Frayhayt baym Forverts (Sholem Berger) 4) German for Bal-dover (Vivian Aldridge) 5) Mark Twain in Yiddish (Lea Singer) 6) grobe verter (Itsik Goldenberg) 7) Grobe verter (Rick Turkel) 8) Introduction and request (Geoff Nathan) 9) klintn's hoyzn (Haveyl Havolim) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 4 Feb 1998 03:27:53 EST From: Eissenstat Subject: Introduction Ich bin a nayer "mendelister", 'ch'heys Ruchl Pudlowski Eissenstat un voin in Milwaukee. Zeyr zeltn gefint men do a Yidish reder. Ich bin azoy mekane enk velcher voinen in gresere shtet vu me ken zich treffen mit andere Yidishistn! Ich bin naygerik vegn an oysdrik "ongetuen oyf terkish". Vos genoy maynt es, un fun vanen un ven shtamt es? Zayt gezunt! Ruchl Pudlowski Eissenstat 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 9 Feb 1998 20:14:49 -0500 (EST) From: Bernard Katz Subject: New York Klezmer Ensemble I would like to have the names of the members of this group, tied to the instruments played. I have a cassette with no liner notes, issued (or at least copyright) by Michael Allen Productions in 1984 (MA-500). The music is very traditionally (and well) performed, by drums, double bass, piano, violin, clarinet, trumpet and trombone. I have the names of the pieces. Mit a hertzlikhe dank far unzer Medelyaners' hilf! Bernard Katz 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 10 Feb 1998 23:49:56 -0500 From: "Sholem Berger" Subject: Frayhayt baym Forverts Shoyn hekher a khoydesh bavayzt zikh a groysartike enderung af der ershter zayt "forverts," fun oybn, inem kestele vu se shteyt geshribn "Der FORVERTS iz far:..." Es fleg zikh leyenen gants klor: "Der FORVERTS iz far...a frayer arbeter bavegung." Itst shteyt geshribn shoyn kame yomim: "Der FORVERTS iz far...a frayer arbeter "--ot azoy o, mit a rakhvesdikn bleyz vos varft zikh in di oygn. Fregt zikh: vos iz der teyrets? Hob ikh zikh nokhgefregt bay mayn oysgeshultn personal (kh'fleg shoyel-eytse zayn bay mayn konservativn rov, nor nokh dem vos di neeman-komisye hot aroysgetrogn ir psak-din bin ikh dokh shoyn mer nisht keyn yid). Mir hobn tsunoyfgeshtukevet a por teshuves: 1. Der FORVERTS iz shoyn mer nisht far keyn frayer arbeter bavegung. Oys sotsializm. Dos volt geshtimt mit di hayntike tsaytn. 2. Der FORVERTS trakht zikh arayn inem inyen un vet undz untertrogn di tshuve tsum gikhstns, vayl izn veys der FORVERTS faktish nisht far vos un far vemen der FORVERTS iz. Hob zhe a bisl geduld. 3. Der FORVERTS iz take far 'fraye arbeter," dos heyst, bilike un untertenike. Oykh dos volt geshtimt mit di hayntike tsaytn. Nu, ir zayt dokh moderne yidn: shaft zikh aleyn a rikhtike tshuve. Sholem Berger NY 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 11 Feb 1998 09:01:57 +0000 From: vivaldi@es-basel.ch (ES-Basel) Subject: German for Bal-dover In her "Woerterbuch zu Surbtaler Jiddisch" (Surbtal is in the north of Switzerland) (Zurich, 1976), Florence Guggenheim-Grunberg defines the word baldoower (which she writes with a stress mark over the first o and a schwa where I have an e; w as in German; Hebrew beyz ayen lamed daled beyz reysh) as "Anstifter, Kundschafter". Langenscheidt's German-English dictionary gives following definitions of the German words: Anstifter - instigator, plotter, inciter, abettor Kundschafter - reconnoiterer Vivian Aldridge p.s. I forgot to add to my quotation of Florence Guggenheim-Gruenberg's "Woerterbuch zu Surbtaler Jiddisch": The Yiddish dealt with in that work is a Western Yiddish dialect that - from the very little that I have seen of it - seems to my untutored eye closer to a Swiss German with a great many Semitic loan words than to the Eastern dialects which I mostly read and read about. Just one sentence as illustration - taken more or less at random from a book giving examples of the use particular words ("Endinger Jiddisch, eine vergangene Sprache" by Michy Bollag and Karl Weibel, 1995) - in which I have attempted to adapt the orthography to something like YIVO and the translation to something like English: Zayt im Perets zay Yung uf der yeshive ish, hod er zish peyez [?peyes] wakhse [?wakhze] loze. Since Perets' boy has been at the yeshiva he has grown sidecurls (let his sidecurls grow). Vivian Aldridge 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 11 Feb 1998 07:34:11 EST From: RivkaLea@aol.com Subject: Mark Twain in Yiddish I am looking to purchase any books by Mark Twain translated into Yiddish. NYBC hasn't had any. At the Mark Twain home in Hannibal, Mo., an exhibit of Twain's books translated into other languages did not include any in Yiddish. Thank you. Lea Singer St. Louis, Missouri 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 11 Feb 1998 08:45:30 -0500 From: "Robert Goldenberg" Subject: grobe verte Sholem Berger fregt vegn a verterbukh fun grobe verter af yidish. Me ken gefinen hunderter sheltungen un balaydikungen in Stutchkoff's Oytser fun der Yidisher Shprakh. Zey heybn zikh on af p.635. Ikh hob zey gefinen al-pi traf; ikh hob zey nit gezukhen. (Methinks he doth protest too much!) Ven ikh hob zey getrefn, ikh hob zikh dermont vegn mayne kheyder-yorn. Mayn rebe hot gehat, un hot genutst, a groyse vokabular fun azelkhe sheltungen. Itsik Goldenberg 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 11 Feb 1998 13:40:10 -0500 From: rturkel@cas.org (Rick Turkel) Subject: Grobe verter Sholem Berger hot gefregt in mendele 7.144: "Tsi hot emetser amol gezen a verterbukh fun grobe verter af yidish? Un agev-orkhe: vos iz dos beste bukh azoyns af ivrit?" I'm not familiar with such a dictionary in Yiddish, but in Hebrew the best one I know of is "Milon `olami le`ivrit meduberet" ("World Dictionary of Hebrew Slang") by Dan Ben-Amotz and Netiva Ben-Yehuda, published in 1973 by E. Lewin-Epstein, Ltd. in Jerusalem. Given its age it's probably a bit outdated and may even be out of print for all I know, but it covers all aspects of slang, grob and otherwise, with etymologies, examples of usage, and amusing illustrations. Hope this helps. Zayt gezunt un shtark. Rick Turkel 8)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 11 Feb 1998 14:05:53 -0600 From: "Geoffrey S. Nathan" Subject: Introduction and request I am a very amateurish semi-speaker (mainly understander) of Yiddish, which I can follow primarily by virtue of many years of Hebrew and some of German. My wife, Margaret Winters, whom some of you know, was an early member of this list, a literate speaker of the language (albeit rusty), but too busy to turn around, let alone join in here, alas.. I have been taking formal voice lessons, part of which involves preparing songs for a recital, and I've been trying to track down some Yiddish songs. The problem is that whatever I sing needs to have a piano accompaniment. There is a website (TARA) that sells Jewish music, and they have some music books, but most of them lack piano scores. I am specifically looking for a version of Zog nit keinmol. I have one, but am looking for more. If anyone has something that they think would be useful, I'd very much appreciate it if they could contact me off-list. Meanwhile, I continue to struggle through the Yiddish postings, and enjoy the discussion. Geoff Nathan Carbondale, IL 9)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 11 Feb 1998 16:39:33 +0000 From: Haveyl Havolim Subject: klintn's hoyzn klintn's hoyzn ikh bin di mikhnosayim finem prezident's raglayim raboysay hert mikh oys vos es tut zikh oyf zayn shoys ven er tut mikh on tsu fri far er fort oyf reder zog ikh im 'gedenk!' zogt er mir 'bli neder' kumt ober zeyger tsen un es khapt im on a bren der neder vert farkrokhn tsuzam mit mir un oykh mayn shokhn shtip ikh mikh keyn tsofn tsit er mikh keyn dorem er zogt er vil geyn shlofn mit a sheynheyt in di orem zog ikh im 's'iz tu! s'past nit farn prezident' makht er mir 'nu nu' er redt nor mit di hent kh'zog er draf zayn tokhter bald untern khupe firn ver vet veln a mekhuten vos tut di hoyzn alts farlirn? ober kh'meyn az ale tsores veln nemn bald an ek vayl ikh zog aykh b'nemones s'iz oyf mir nit do keyn flek oykh di prezidentke's droshe iz gornit keyn gelekhte: oy hobn geknipt di linke oyfn rekhte dertsu zogt er, er klapt al kheyt; ikh zog bloyz s'iz a nes az men klapt nit oyf di hoyzn vayl ven yo bin ikh a mes Haveyl Havolim ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 07.147 Address for the postings to Mendele: mendele@lists.yale.edu Address for the list commands: listproc@lists.yale.edu Mendele on the Web: http://mendele.commons.yale.edu http://sunsite.unc.edu/yiddish/mendele.html