Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 09.056 January 25, 2000 1) Mikhl Herzog's report - addendum (Ulrike Kiefer and Robert Neumann) 2) "Mendele" af Ladino! (Borukh Mitshel) 3) Translation of The Internationale (Ron Kuzar) 4) Yiddishland (Yakira Frank) [Moderator's note] 5) "Friling" and Zusman Segalovitch (Simkhe Drayer) 6) Yerme Hesheles (Motkhe Shekhter) 7) Verner's Law (Hugh Denman) 8) "Mershkuts gevorn" and "a shvarts yor" (Jack Berger) 9) Grammar in the younger generation (A. Joseph Ross) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2000 10:13:41 -0500 (EST) From: "R. Neumann" Subject: Mikhl Herzog's recent report - addendum We thank our colleague Mikhl Herzog for relating this overall information about the EYDES project to the Mendele community (09.051). The text quoted by Mikhl Herzog is taken from a conference presentation at Granada (Spain) and was published in: European Language Resources Assiciation ELRA. Conference Proceedings. First International Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (ELREC), Vol. II. Paris 1998. pp 1045. Robert Neumann, from the F”rderverein fr Jiddische Sprache und Kultur, Dsseldorf, recently returned from Chicago where he met with a group of linguists to discuss innovations in language technology and new methods for extracting, exploring and disseminating the information contained in archives of spoken text (such as the Language and Culture Atlas of Ashkenazic Jewry). He and Judith L. Klavans, director of the Center for Research on Information Access (CRIA) at Columbia University, New York, have initiated a transatlantic cooperation to make accessible and exploit the holdings of the Yiddish Atlas archive and disseminate its inherent information. In doing so, they make use and develop the new facilities of language engineering. For further information please see the relevant Columbia website (http://www.columbia/cria/current-projects/Yiddish/yiddish.html), the relevant talkbank website (http://www.talkbank.org/exploration/index.html) or, soon again, the website of the F”rderverein. Ulrike Kiefer Coeditor, The Language and Culture Atlas of Ashkenazic Jewry Robert Neumann F”rderverein 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2000 08:01:18 -0500 (EST) From: Bruce Mitchell Subject: "Mendele" af Ladino! Tayere Mendelianer, Vi zogt men "Mendele" af Ladino? Ikh meyn az ikh hob gefunen an entfer af der aygener shayle--Ladinokomunita! Ikh hob lemayse bakumen a briv fun a Ladino kultur tuer in velkhn me hot mir dertseylt vegn der nayer email diskusies reshime af ladino vos heyst "Ladinokomunita". Kadey zikh tso abonirn, muz men onshraybn dem folgndikn adres: Ladinokomunita-subscribe@onelist.com Kadey tsu shikhn an elektronishn briv vos ale abonirte kenen leyenen, muz men onshraybn: Ladinokomunita@onelist.com Ikh veyz az etlekhe ladino rednidike tun a kuk af mendele vi a mol, aber ikh hob az ashkenazim vos kenen a bisl spanish oder ladino veln zikh farinteresirn oykhet. Borukh Mitshel 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2000 06:32:03 -0500 (EST) From: "Ron Kuzar" Subject: Translation of The Internationale Dear Mendele subscribers, I am looking for information about the translation of The Internationale into Yiddish. Who was the translator? What is the year of translation? Does it predate the Bund? Is it Bundian? Was it sung only by Bundists, or also by Jewish communists? Were there any alternative translations? Many Yiddish speakers in Israel are glad to sing it to me, but nobody seems to know the answers to my questions. I suspect that early lyrics and music booklets might have a record of the translator. If anybody is aware of a very early publication of the anthem, this might also be a pointer. Thanks, Ron Kuzar Haifa 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 21 Dec 1999 16:44:03 -0500 (EST) From: Sfyhf@aol.com Subject: Yiddishland Has anyone seen the book--or has information about the book, Yiddishland, by Gerard Silvain and Henri Minczeles, published by the Gingko Press? Have you seen reviews? I've seen an advertisement for it in the New York Review of Books. Thank you, Yakira Frank [Moderator's note: Yiddishland is a very nice collection of more than 500 postcards and photographs, originally published by Editions Hazan (Paris, 1999, ISBN 2850256234), and in English translation by Gingko Press (Corte Madera, CA, 1999, ISBN 1584230185). For more information and to purchase online this and other new books translated from and about Yiddish go to http://members.aol.com/dermoykhersforim (features books by David Bergelson, Roman Vishniac, James Matisoff, Steven Cassidy, David Roskies, Nahma Sandrow and others). Interestingly, since the last Mendele discussion on the word Yiddishland (vols. 07.192, 07.194, 08.001, 08.002, and 08.055) at least three books with this title were published. Besides Silvain & Minczeles' collection, they include: Meir Tzeelim, Yidishland : sihot `al Yidish, folklor, glaykhvertlekh u-vedihot. Tel-Aviv : Y.L. Perets, 1999. 223 p. ISBN 965701221X and Biblioteca di storia dell'anarchismo: Yiddishland. Furio Biagini, Nati altrove : il movimento anarchico ebraico tra Mosca e New York. Pisa : Biblioteca F. Serantini, 1998. 190 p. ISBN 8886389361 -i.v.] 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2000 20:01:51 -0500 (EST) From: "Saul Drajer" Subject: More (and different) about "Friling" and an answer Tayere Mendelyaner: Reishis: kh'hob geleyent ale entfern vegn Shmerke Katcherginsky's lid "friling" un vel nit tsugebn nokh a versie, nor bloiz dertseiln a kurioz. MIt tsvei yor tsurik hot der argentiner IWO (YIVO) gefayert in Buenos Aires dem aroysgebn a bukh in Shpanish vegn yidn un tango ("El tango y los judios, geshribn fun Jose Judkovsky), mit a groiser iontev vu es hobn zikh bateylikt vikhtike kulturele figurn fun undzer land. Di ekhste surprize iz geven di forshtelung funem Folkskhor fun La Matanza (nit yidn) vos hobn mit groys maystershaft un gefil gezungen OYF YIDDISH Katcherginsky's "Friling". Dem dozikn vunder darfn mir danken undzer direktor Avrom Lichtenbaum vos hot zey oisgelernt dos lid durkh fonetik. ­A zeltnheit! Sheinis: far Shavit Ben-Arie vos fregt vegn Zusman Segalovitch: Er iz geboyrn gevorn in Byalistok, Poyln (februar 26, 1884) un plutzem geshtorbn in Nyu York (februar 19, 1949). Vegn ale protym fun zayn lebn un shafn, vet ir gefunen kmat fir zaytlekh in dem "Leksikon fun der nayer yiddisher literatur", zekster band. a. I have red all letters regarding the lyrics of Shmerke Katcherginsky's "Friling", and will not add a line to it. Instead let me tell you about a singular happening. Two years ago, the argentine IWO (YIVO) had a great party to celebrate the appearance of a book in spanish about jews and tango ("Los judios y el tango", written by Jose Judkovsky). A large and qualifyed number of local artist pay their hommage, but the highlight of the party was the presentation of the non-jewish Popular Chorus of La Matanza, who sang IN YIDDISH a moving version of "Friling". The "miracle" was possible through Abraham Lichtenbaum, IWO's CEO, who masterminded the phonetics for the singers.) b. To Shavit Ben-Arie: Zusman Segalovitch was born in Byalistock, Poland, on february 26,1884 and suddenly passed away in New York on february 19, 1949. In the "Leksikon fun der nayer yiddisher literatur" (Biographical dictionary of modern yiddish literature) edited by Congress for Jewish Culture, Inc. part 6, you will find full four pages devoted to Segalovitch with all the data you may need. A hartsikn grus Simkhe Drayer 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2000 20:17:22 -0500 (EST) From: MSchaecht@aol.com Subject: Yerme Hesheles In response to Gilles Rozier (09.050): Af der shayle ven di shraybers hobn zikh gefelt vil ikh onvayzn az Yerme (er iz, farshteyt zikh, nisht Yermiyohu hanovi, un er ruft zikh yidishlekh: Yerme) Hesheles lebt, biz hundert un tsvontsik, un vert in finef vokh arum a nayntsiker. Aldes guts, Motkhe Shekhter 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2000 21:33:17 -0500 (EST) From: Hugh Denman Subject: Verner's Law with reference to Nina Warnke query [09.053:9], Verner's Law represents a modification of Grimm's Law concerning the second Germanic sound shift [Lautverschiebung]. The process involved began in the extreme south and rolled northwards over a considerable period until it came to a halt in attenuated form along the so-called Benrath line. It had the effect of distinguishing High German from Low German. But we can be sure that this process had been completed many centuries before the genesis of Yiddish. Yiddish originated in the south (probably in the upper Danube valley) and so in common with southern German dialects and standard German is 'high' not 'low', so Verner's Law definitely applies to Yiddish, but not to Dutch (here Jammie is confusing the first or Germanic Lautverschiebung, which took place circa 500 BCE and applies to all Germanic languages including English, with the second or High German Lautverschiebung, which applies only to (standard) German, southern German dialects, Yiddish and long extinct Langobardish). Hugh Denman London, England 8)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2000 20:35:05 -0500 (EST) From: Jack Berger Subject: "Mershkuts gevorn" and "a shvarts yor" In response to Diane Rabson (09.050): Both of these were quite common in the Byelorussian Litvak idiom of my grandparents, whose Yiddish was probably very close to that of your grandparents. In the first, what you say as "Mershkuts gevorn," you have fused two words into the first. It is the expression, "Es hot mir skuchneh gevoren." The word 'skuchneh' comes from the Russian 'skuchaty' which means to grow weary of something. The expression is an indication that the speaker has become weary or tired of something, or that something is getting on their nerves. A synonymous expression is" "Es hot mir tzugegessen gevorn." (In English you might say I can't stand it anymore). The second, pertains to the metaphor of "a shvarts yohr," literally a 'black year.' It is a metaphor for 'misfortune' (i.e. a black year would be a misfortune). 'Ale shvartse yorn' is literally then 'all manner of misfortune.' If you wanted to curse your enemies, you might say, "Aff meine sonnim ale shvartse yorn.' (My enemies should have all manner of misfortunes). Regards Jack Berger 9)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2000 01:14:34 -0500 (EST) From: "A. Joseph Ross" Subject: Grammar in the younger generation Bob Wilson mentions that the younger generation of Yiddish speakers, in his expericence, speaks with a grammar different from that of their parents. Could this have to do with differences in schooling? Did the older generation have schooling in Yiddish, while the younger generation did not? Might schools conducted in Yiddish teach Yiddish grammar (or at least the teachers correct their students' grammar errors)? I've generally thought that this was the reason for some grammatical change in English. A number of rules that I learned in school in the 1950s seem to be ignored regularly by people younger than I am. Things like the distinction between 'its" and "it's," the disappearance of the English subjunctive ("If that were so" rather than "was"), and the general acceptance of "snuck" and "alright," both of which I was taught were wrong. I've always thought that this was because, starting sometime in the late 1960s, many school systems stopped teaching grammatical rules for awhile. A. Joseph Ross Boston, MA ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 09.056 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