Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 09.035 October 23, 1999 1) u - i (Anatole Beck) 2) u - i (Reinhard "Ron" Hahn) 3) u - i (Sam (Shloyme Zalmen) Millman) 4) "real" geography & "dialect" geography (Mikhl Herzog) 5) Courtly romance literature, King Arthur (Marion Aptroot) 6) mitlalter romantzn (Sylvia Schildt) 7) Yiddish in Jerusalem (Perets Mett) 8) Il dibuk (Zachary Baker) 9) Vegn Dibuk (Moyshe Kijak) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 05:32:25 -0400 (EDT) From: Anatole Beck Subject: u - i In connection with the u - i connection mentioned here, I am fascinated by the letter upsilon in Greek which serves as a v (Evropa, Evripides) or a u , just as the vaf does (David, dudi), but also as a y (ygrec in French) and is pronounced as an umlauted u in German (analysis). Without any philological backup, it seems to me that Ukraine, being the nearest to Greece of all the Ashkenazic lands, might still retain this triple (quadruple?) pronunciation in the cognative letter. Anatole Beck 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 11:00:34 -0400 (EDT) From: "R. F. Hahn" Subject: u - i Tayere Mendelyaner, In response to Ben Fogel: Several of my friends are from Lodz, Poland, or are the descendants of people from that city, and they all regularly pronounce /u/ as [i] and [I] in Yiddish, as do speakers from other areas of Poland I know (and so do I now, thanks to extensive exposure to their "accents," though I usually write "u" in Romanization). So, obviously this feature is in no way unique to the southeast of the Ukraine. Do not dialect maps also indicate that this is a very widely spread feature? Surely Mikhl Herzog had additional linguistic features or perhaps non-linguistic clues in mind when he surmised we were dealing with Southern Yiddish, perhaps of Southeastern Ukraine. FIn hartsn vIntsh Ikh aykh ales gIts. Reinhard "Ron" Hahn Seattle, USA 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 16:18:59 -0400 (EDT) From: "Sam Millman" Subject: u - i With regard to the discussion of "diln/duln a spodik", I would like to say that: man futer 'n miter, hobn nit gezugt say diln say duln. Ba ins hot men gezugt, vi emese Beseraber ferden ganuvim, "drey mir nit der spodik"! Man futer is geboyren gevorn in Brichon, 'n man miter in Kezhevutz, nit vat fin Brichon. Mit yurn tz'rik, hob ikh zikh a bisl gesheymt mitn "grob Beseraber lushn" fin mane eltern. 'kh hob shtudirt litvishe yidish, az gelernte menshn zoln nit meynen, khulile, az ikh bin "a poyer". Ober yetzt, az ikh ver elter, fil ikh az 'kh hob gurnisht mit vus zikh tz' sheymen. Dus lushn fin mane eltern toygt fayn, 'n iz ba mir gonz pasik, 'n ikh darf zikh nisht dreyen man spodik vayl "litvishe yidish iz mer eydl". Us Bessarabian horse thieves gotta stick together. Sam (Shloyme Zalmen) Millman 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 21:42:44 -0400 (EDT) From: "Mikhl Herzog" Subject: "real" geography & "dialect" geography Ben Fogel (9:032) take me to task for considering Yiddish in Lublin part of Southern Yiddish. The Southern Ukraine, yes, obviously; but Poland? Horrors! Well, I'm actually grateful to Ben for giving me the opportunity to sound off on this subject, although some of you may remember, better than I, if I've already done so in the past. So here goes (again?): All of the following may be relevant to the question: There is no precise correlation between the following entities: 1) language names; 2) the boundaries of specific linguistic features; 3) the boundaries between what we generally refer to as "dialects"; 4) political boundaries; 5) linguistic and geographic directions, or linguistic and geographic topology. Re 4: Barring wars, etc. political boundaries are fixed. We know where France ends and Italy begins. Re 1: Language names are often politically, NOT linguistically motivated. Language boundaries are fluid. In France, one speaks French, ostensibly; in Italy, Italian. As many speakers on the French-Italian border can testify, the problem is more complicated. Unless they are speaking the languages of Paris aand Rome, the presumed differences in their languages may be difficult to discern, regardless of what they name tham.. Re 2: The boundaries of specific linguistic features (e.g., between _zogn_ and _zugn_)can generally be plotted quite accurately on linguistic maps, but may actually shift in the course of time. Re 3: What we call "dialects" are linguistic entities whose boundaries are often arbitrarily selected from among the items described in 2) above. If a single feature is taken as criterial, 2 dialects will emerge. Two feature may yield 3 dialect areas: X, Y, and XY. You can figure out where to go from there. Re 5: The following will illustrate this and all of the above. Yiddish Lite = Lithuania, right? Litvish = Lithuanian, and a Litvak = a Lithuanian, no? NO! On the Jewish map, Lite is the area where Litvish Yiddish is spoken--Lithuania, Latvia, Belorussia, and the Northern Ukraine. Lite is a Jewish language-and culture-area--not a political one. A Lithuanian (no-Jew) in Yiddish is a Litviner. A Litvak is a Jew from Lite (see above). The area in which Litvish Yiddish is spoken is known as Northeastern Yiddish in the dialectological literature. Together, Yiddish in most of the Ukraine, in Rumania, and in all of Poland is called Southern Yiddish (a term I did not invent). Southern Yiddish is itself divided into Southeastern Yiddish (essentially, Rumania and most of the Ukraine), and Central Yiddish (essentially Poland, including Galicia). In other words, the fact that Poland is not "South" doesn't preclude us from considering it part of the "Southern Yiddish" dialect area. In a similar vein: Many speakers of Yiddish entertain a stereotype of the "Galitsyaner" and the way he speaks. A closer look reveals that there is no defineable "Galitsyaner" dialect. Galicia is an easily defined historical area but, as it turns out it is divided by important linguistic features that distinguish Yiddish in Poland from Yiddish in the Ukraine. The most important of these is the border between _geyn/gayn_, _shteyn/shtayn_, _heym/haym_. To belabor the point with an additional illustration. The "Jewish" map of Hungary consists of two major language and culture areas: "Oyberland" 'Highland' and "Unterland" 'Lowland'. These terms, which reflect the topography of Hungary, are calques of Hungarian terms for "Highlands" and "Lowlands". So the Yiddish and Hungarian terms have the same referents, right? WRONG! The Jewish map and the Hungarian map of the same Hungarian territory DO NOT correspond. The Hungarian division is a North-South one, and actually corresponds to the topography. The Jewish division is essentially an East-West one, and DOES NOT, despite the terminology. It refers to strictly Jewish language and culture areas. Same words, different music. I might be able to go on, but perhaps I've said enough. Mikhl Herzog 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 06:18:16 -0400 (EDT) From: aptroot@phil-fak.uni-duesseldorf.de (Marion Aptroot) Subject: Courtly romance literature, King Arthur In Mendele Vol 09.032 Norman Simms asked about "medieval Yiddish traditions in courtly romance literature, troubador and trouvere traditions, and Yiddish responses to the Arthurian fad from the 12th-15th centuries." Of course the first place to start looking for this topic, apart from the MLA and RAMBI bibliographies, are the works of Chone Shmeruk and the two prewar literary histories of pre-modern Yiddish literature, Zinberg and Erik. (Those who read French can also find valuable information in Jean Baumgarten's introduction to older Yiddish literature which includes a long bibliography.) Shmeruk discusses the "shpilman" theory put forward by Erik in detail. There are quite a few articles on on Yiddish adaptations of the Arthurian tradition, notably by Robert G. Warnock and Wulf-Otto Dreessen. I have listed a few below. Since Yiddish literature should not just be seen in its relation to non-Jewish literatures, it would also be interesting to look at Hebrew adaptations. Curt Leviant has published on one or more Hebrew adaptations of the Arthurian tradition. Shmeruk, Khone, Sifrut yidish: perakim letoldoteha. Tel-Aviv: The Porter Institute for Poetics & Semiotics, Tel Aviv University 1978. Shmeruk, Khone, Tsi ken der Keymbridzher manuskript shtitsn di shpilman-teorye in der yidisher literatur?. In: Di goldene keyt 100 (1979), 251-271. Shmeruk, Khone, Can the Cambridge Manuscript Support the Spielman Theory? In: [Chava Turniansky (ed.)], Studies in Yiddish Literature and Folklore. Jerusalem: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem 1986, 1-36. Shmeruk, Khone, Prokim fun der yidisher literatur-geshikhte. Tel Aviv: I.L. Peretz & Yiddish Department, The Hebrew University in Jerusalem 1988. Dreessen, Wulf-Otto, Zur Rezeption deutscher epischer Literatur im altjiddischen. Das Beispiel 'Wigalois' - 'Artushof' in Deutsche Literatur des sp=E4ten Mittelalters. Hamburger Colloquium 1973. Berlin: 1975, 116-128. Landau, L., Arthurian Legends or the Hebrew-German Rhymed Version of the Legend of King Arthur and Hebrew-German Romances and Tales and Their Relation to the Romantic Literature of the Middle Ages.. Published for the =46irst Time from Manuscripts and the Parallel Text of Editio Wagenseil together with an Introduction, Notes, Two Appendices, and Four Fac-Similes. In: Uhl, Wilhelm Teutonia, Arbeiten zur germanischen Philologie 21. Leipzig: Eduard Avenarius 1912. Warnock, Robert G., Wirkungsabsicht und Bearbeitungstechnik im altjiddischen 'Artushof'. In: Zeitschrift f=FCr deutsche Philologie 100, Sonderheft Jiddisch (1981), 98-109. Warnock, Robert G., The Arthurian Tradition in Hebrew and Yiddish. In: Lagorio, in: M. Valerie and Mildred Leake Day, King Arthur through the Ages. New York: Garland1990, 189-208. Warnock, Robert G., Fr=FChneuhochzeitliche Fassungen des altjiddischen 'Artushofs' in Albrecht Sch=F6ne, Walter R=F6ll and Hans-Peter Bayerdorfer, Kontroversen, alte und neue. Akten des VII. Internationalen Germanisten-Kongresses, G=F6ttingen 1985, V: Auseinandersetzungen um jiddische Sprache und Literatur; J=FCdische Komponenten in der deutschen Literatur - die Assimilationskontroverse. T=FCbingen: Niemeyer1986, 13-19. Marion Aptroot 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 12:59:05 -0400 (EDT) From: Sylvia Schildt Subject: mitlalter romantzn l'gabe mitlelter romantishe literarishe shafungen un azey vayter kont ir zikh shteln in kontakt mit emetzn vos hot dem inyen gut geforsht - er heyst mendi kahan un er iz fun di firer fun "yung yidish". ikh meyn az ir vet im konen gefinen durkhn hebraishn universitet in yerushalayim.(Dr. Khava Turnianski) re: medieval rmantic literary creations, etc., you can contact someone who has studied the subject well. his name is mendi kahan and he is one of the leaders of "yung yidish". i think you'll be able to locate him through the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. (Dr. Khava Turnianski) Sylvia Schildt 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 10:47:38 -0400 (EDT) From: Percy Mett Subject: Yiddish in Jerusalem Rukhl Eissenstat refered to " lots of Yiddish being spoken, in the Romema area, not just Mea Shearim, and among little kids -- some were hasidic in appearance, others modern orthodox". Throughout the northern areas of Jerusalem, especially through Gush 80, Ezras Toyre, Unsdorf and Matersdorf, you will hear some Yiddish spoken. There is a fairly new Beys Yakov "Chasidi Yiddish" which uses Yiddish as its main language of instruction and attracts girls from all these areas. fun vant veys ikh dos? vayl mayn eynikl hot letsns ongehoyhbn di ershte kite dortn. Perets Mett London 8)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 17:26:34 -0400 (EDT) From: Zachary Baker Subject: Il dibuk In response to Shimen Kass's question (MENDELE, 09.032) concerning the opera "Il dibuk," attached is one of two catalog records found in the RLIN Eureka database, for the score of the opera based on Sh. An-ski's "Dybbuk": Rocca, Lodovico, 1895-1986. [Dibuk. Vocal score] Il dibuk : leggenda drammatica / di Scialom An-Ski ; ridotta in un prologo e tre atti da Renato Simoni ; [musica per] Lodovico Rocca ; riduzione dell'autore per canto e pianoforte. Milano ; New York : Ricordi, c1934. 1 vocal score ([14], 319 p.) : port. ; 27 cm. Simoni, Renato, 1876-1952. An-Ski, S., 1863-1920. Dibek. The score is available at Indiana University Library (which cataloged it) and in about a dozen other research libraries in the U.S. In addition, among books in the YIVO Institute's Sutzkever-Kaczerginski collection there is a copy of an Italian translation of An-ski's play, also published in 1934. The Sutzkever-Kaczerginski collection contains books that were hidden in the Vilna ghetto by Jewish forced laborers working under Nazi supervision sorting books in the former Vilna YIVO building (outside the ghetto), circa 1942. Perhaps they were struck by the fact that it had been possible for a Yiddish play to be mounted (in translation) in Mussolini's Italy just a few years earlier. Zachary M. Baker Stanford, CA 9)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 9 Oct 1999 09:45:10 -0400 (EDT) From: moises kijak Subject: Vegn Dibuk Der fraynt Shimen Kass fregt zikh nokh vegn Lodovico Roccas opere "Il Dibuk" vos iz geshpilt gevorn in Italye. Ikh hob di dozike opere nisht gezen ober ikh hob zi gehert durkh radio in Buenos Aires, mit draysik yior tsurik. Dos heyst az es iz faran a gravatsye. Vos es iz oykh faran iz a broshur mitn inhalt fun der opere, vos der Ricordi-farlag fun Milano hot aroysgegebn in yior 1934. Der fuler titl funem broshur iz: Scialom An-ski.Il Dibuk. Leggendda drammatica in un prologo e tre Atti. Riduzione di Renato Simoni per la musica di Lodovico Rocca. Zayt ale gezunt, Ayer argentiner fraynt, Moyshe Kijak ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 09.035 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://metalab.unc.edu/yiddish/mendele.html