Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 10.006 June 7, 2000 1) tok (Jan Jonk) 2) tok (Jan Jonk) 3) shok (Seth Wolitz) 4) shok (Jan Jonk) 5) amolik (Lucas Bruyn) 6) Translating a Yizkor book (Benjamin Fogel) 7) Getsl Kakaruze (Jonathan Sunshine) 8) shmontzes (Josl Piekarski) 9) shtil, di nacht (Martin Cohen) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 2 May 2000 18:55:39 -0400 (EDT) From: "Jan Jonk" Subject: tok Tayere Mendelyaner,, I read the discussion in Mendele Vol. 04.600 about tok etc. In a little dictionary 'Langenscheidts Taschenw”rterbuch der russischen und deutschen Sprache, Berlin 1959 19. Auflage p.465 I found for tok = Dreschboden, Tenne = threshing floor. Reading the phrase in the context I see that the returning arender sees the court in disorder, and and clearly he doen't like the way they have threshed the corn and they have handled the patatoes. He is a person who takes care of the pences! and the tok -he knows - is the best place to thresh the corn. I would like to say that the explanation which is giving by Lucas Bruyn is very acceptable and realistic. And how to explain that it is possible to thresh 'corn of the cob"? Zayt gezunt, Jan Jonk 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 3 May 2000 01:53:20 -0400 (EDT) From: "Jan Jonk" Subject: tok Yesterday I send an email about tog. I would like to send this addition: The 'Russian-English Dictionary' edited by R.A. Daglish, M.A.Cantab. Moscow 1987 7e revised and enlarged edition' gives -page 556 - for (tok II) threshing-floor and tok (III) courting place. It seems to me that wenn we accept the translation from David Assaf we change the point of view, the returning arender sees the hoyf in disorder not because of the fact that there were day-laborers, but only that they have not worked carrefully on the floor. A grus Jan Jonk 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 1 May 2000 00:54:05 -0400 (EDT) From: slwolitz@mail.utexas.edu (seth l. wolitz) Subject: shok [in reference to: TMR04.006] I never enter the fray of Yiddish vocabulary battles for my interests and strengths are not there but I should like to observe that shok in my family was used generally at Pesakh time to buy "a shok eyer" which was the large carton of eggs which had approximately 60 eggs compartimentalized. Actually one would state "a por shok eyer" for buying many "trays" of eggs for they would be used in large quantity to make sponge cake and in kneydlakh etc. It was a measurement and was a fairly large number of one item. Sincerely, Seth Wolitz 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 15 May 2000 12:04:06 -0400 (EDT) From: "Jan Jonk" Subject: Notes on 'shok' Dear Sir, My name is Jan Jonk and I am from Alphen aan den Rijn (Holland) not from Utrecht. Regarding Leonard Prager's Notes (TMR Vol.4 Number 7): Frierich Kluge, Etym. Woerterbuch d. dt. Sprache, Strassburg, 1910. p. 411 for 'shok' - Schock N. mhd. schoc M. 'Haufen; Anzahl von 60 Stueck (von Muenzen und andern Gegenstaenden)'; vgl. asaechs. skok '60 Stueck', ndl. schok '60 Stueck. Eigentlich vielleicht nur von 60 Stueck Garben gebraucht; vgl. mhd. schocken 'Korn in Haufen setzen'- schoche (so auch noch schwaeb.-alem.)  ufgerichteter Haufen Getreide'- schoc 'Haufen'. Verwandt mit mndd. hocke 'zusammengestellte Garben'. In: Franz Dornseiff, Bezeichnungswandel unseres Wortschatzes, Lahr/Schwarzwald 1966. 7e Aufl.p.111: (...) Schock, das im Mittelhochdeutschen wie das verwandte schoche (so jetzt noch im Schwaebischen) auch einen aufgeschichteten Haufen benennt und zur Zahlbezeichnung (frueher auch Schock Groschen, heute noch allgemein in Nord- und Mitteldeutschland ein Schock Eier) wohl infolge der Gewohnheit geworden ist je 60 Buendel zusammenzuordnen; aehnlich wird Schober vhl ndl. schoof; engl sheaf 'Garbe') auch fuer eine Zahl von 60 Buendeln verwendet. Zayt gezunt Jan Jonk 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 30 Apr 2000 08:20:38 -0400 (EDT) From: Marion Troia/Lucas Bruyn Subject: amolik Re: a question on 'amolik' Henry Mullish and Jack Berger both suggest/guess that the Yiddish word 'amoliker' is related to German 'einmal' In U. Weinreich's EYYED we find: mol - time, instance a mol - sometimes, formerly 4der amol - the past amolik - past, former The etymology seems clear. But: Germ. einmal; einmalig - Yidd. nor eyn mol (1X) Comp. Germ. ehe - before; ehemals, ehemalig. damals, damalig = Yidd. demolt/demlt Comp. Du. toen - at that time, formerly; toenmaals - then, at that time; toenmalig - of that time. Could 'amolik' be a contraction of (???)+mol+ik? Lucas Bruyn 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 3 May 2000 22:02:50 -0400 (EDT) From: Benjamin Fogel Subject: Translating a Yizkor book In 1961 a group of people who had come from Brzezin, Poland published a Yizkor (Memorial) Book. At that time there was a major disagreement. To publish in Yiddish or English. It was decided to publish in Yiddish. The only English to be found in this book is a page and a half declaration in English which ends "This work is written in Yiddish, the language in which the great majority of our townspeople lived, created, and ultimately went to the gas chambers.. If future generations wish, yearn to come to know about the Jewish community of Brzezin that was destroyed, and they will be unable to read this material in the original, they will be able to have this historic work translated into whatever tongue is familiar to them The future generations now exist and they cannot read Yiddish. Most of them understand little, if any spoken Yiddish. They are orphans in history. My children and grandchildren are deprived of the history in this book written in part by my mother and uncle. My own ability to read Yiddish is on the level of a third or fourth grade student. If a translation exists I am unaware of it. If it does not exist can we make the Book Committee's prediction,"---they will be able to have this historic work translated----", be made a fact? Is there anybody who can help me make the prediction come true? Ben Fogel Delray Beach, Florida 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 4 May 2000 06:55:52 -0400 (EDT) From: Jonathan Sunshine Subject: Does anyone know Getsl Kakaruze? Tayere fraynd, In our family, we use the name "Getsl" or, in full, "Getsl Kakaruze" to denote (and criticize) someone who is supposed to be providing a service, but is hopelessly incompetent at it. For example, we'd use this name for a waiter who can't get even half the order right, or for a ticket seller at the movies who gives you the wrong number of tickets to the wrong move. I always assumed Getsl Kakaruze must be a stock character from the Yiddish stage, or vaudeville or radio or comics, or some such. And so it seemed the name should be widely known. But outside of our family, I haven't found anyone who knows the name. 20 So, please help: Can anyone tell me who Getsl Kakaruze is (or was), in what media the name was used, who created the character, etc.?20 A sheynem dank in faroys. Itsik Kvitshik (Jonathan Sunshine) Chevy Chase, MD PS. The last name is obviously the Yiddish word for corn, pronounced in a slightly non-standard fashion. 8)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 5 May 2000 15:55:07 -0400 (EDT) From: Przemyslaw Piekarski Subject: shmontzes Libe Mendelyaner! Wer kent di etimologie fun shmontzes? a sheynem dank. ayere Przemek - Josl Piekarski a yidish lerer in Kroke 9)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 7 May 2000 19:58:41 -0400 (EDT) From: Martin Cohen Subject: shtil, di nacht I am currently researching Yiddish secularist songs for a lecture. I have come upon three slightly different explanations for Hersh Glik's choice of words for pistol in his song, "Shtil, di nacht". The three different words that refer to the same weapon are "shpayer," "pistoyl," "nagan". The first word is German, the second is Polish. I need help on the third. One of my sources claims that Glik was expressing what he thought was international struggle against fascism , and that the third word was specifically Yiddish. A second source agreed with the reason for the three words, but claims that "nagan" cames from Hebrew, and is related it "Irgun". Ruth Rubin, in her book _Voices of a People_, was told by a "former resident of the Vilno Ghetto" (where the song was written) that "nagan" is Russian, and the use of all three words in one song was due to the presence in the Ghetto of Jews from all over Europe. Does anyone on the list know where the word "nagan" comes from? If Rubin's explanation is correct, does that mean that there was no Yiddish word for pistol that would have been understood by Yiddish speakers from diverse parts of Europe? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, Martin Cohen ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 10.006 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