Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 11.013 September 1, 2001 1) Introduction (Alain Rapoport) 2) a song from the past (avraham chasid) 3) song (Bertha A. Berman) 4) hebreyish un arameishe verter (Moyshe Wolf) 5) Sauregurkenzeit & Hals-und Beinbruch (Jan Katlev) 6) Samuel Marghoshes (Sam Shube) 7) Cracow dialect (Tomasz Wisniewski) 8) words (Yankev Berger) 9) Boris Sandler's "A Shmek Tabeke" (Herman Taube) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 27 Jul 2001 00:26:40 +0200 From: "Alain Rapoport" Subject: Introduction A few words about myself: My father was born in Kielce (Poland) in 1921, and settled in Paris in 1928. In 1941, he was arrested with his whole family, escaped shortly before being sent to death, and spent a few years fighting as a partisan in the french Alps. I was born in Paris in 1961 and although my mother tongue was French, I spent my whole childhood among Yiddish speakers. My father encouraged me to learn German at school so that I could better understand Yiddish. At the age of 22, I moved to Israel and spent four years studying linguistics at the Hebrew University. But for private reasons, I eventually relocated to France, where I could unfortunately not really make use of my knowledge. I am now working in France for a german company (Lufthansa). I have always been fascinated with languages and with the many aspects of the jewish culture. I studied thoroughly German, Hebrew and Russian. I find of particular interest the blending of these languages into Yiddish. And I think that both the respect for tradition and the aspirations to progress inherent in the Yiddishkeit keep it as "actual" as ever. Alain Rapoport. 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2001 00:51:58 -0400 (EDT) From: Abe Chasid Subject: a song from the past shalom khaveirim. can anyone help me from his/her database of childhood memories and give any information of the song: "Kinder, kumt, der friling ruft, Klor di himl, bloy di luft,...." who wrote it ? when? what are the words? a groiser dank far aier hilf avraham chasid 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 20 Jul 2001 23:02:36 -0400 (EDT) From: Bertha A Berman Subject: song Does anyone know the full words to a song that I think is callled "Yidn Redn Yiddish". It talks of all the lands in which Jews speak Yiddish. It was taught at the Workman's Circle elemntary schools in the 40's. Thank you. Bertha A. Berman, Scotia, NY 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2001 15:45:47 -0400 (EDT) From: Moisey Wolf Subject: hebreyish un arameishe verter Tayere Fraynd! Dem brif shraybt aych ayer yibergegebener leyener Moshe Wolf. Yich shrayb aych benogeya hebreyish un arameishe werter in der yiddisher shprach [TMR 05.008]. Mich wundert un ruft aroys troyer dos wos yir weyst nisht vegn mayn buch: hebreyishe un arameyishe verter yin der yidisher shprach, zeyer oysleyg un aroysred, zeyer taytsh yin english un yin rusish (Hebrew and Aramaic words in the yiddish language. Their Phonetic Spelling and translation into english and Russian), welchn es hobn aroysgelozt: Der Yidisher Welt Kongres beshutfes mit der Yidishe Federatsie fun Portland Oregon . (komitet far viderfaeynikung fun yidish) 1998. (Operation to Reunify Yiddish, Ale ekaemplyarn zenen farkoyft gevorn bemeshech fun gor a kurtser tsayt. Bay der federatsie zenen farblibn efsher 2 ekzemplyarn. Nit shoyn Yogati Lorik? Oyb ba emetzn iz farblibn a cheyshek bakumen mer protimdike yinformatsie , bitte, zol er mir onshraybn. mit derech eretz Moyshe Wolf 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2001 02:52:33 -0400 (EDT) From: jan.katlev@pol.dk Subject: Sauregurkenzeit & Hals-und Beinbruch A Yiddish etymological background has been suggested to me behind the German idioms SAUREGURKENZEIT and HALS-UND BEINBRUCH - I don't recall exactly which and how, and maybe it was only a folk etymology or pun in Yiddish based on the German idioms. As far as I remember the SAURE- part in SAUREGURKENZEIT could be from yiddish tsores 'trouble, ..'. And maybe the -BRUCH part in HALS-UND BEINBRUCH could be from brokhe / brukhe 'blessing'. Please enlighten me or link me further on to someone who might be able to do so. Best regards Jan Katlev Copenhagen, Denmark 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2001 13:15:03 -0400 (EDT) From: "kehillat mevakshei derech" Subject: samuel margoshes I am trying to track down the papers of Samuel Marghoshes for research purposes. Specifically, I would like to find his doctoral thesis, written in English in 1916. I've had no luck at JTS, Columbia, or YIVO. Can anyone point me in the right direction? Many thanks. Sam Shube, Jerusalem 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2001 14:05:53 -0400 (EDT) From: tomasz wisniewski Subject: Cracow dialect I live in Cracow, but I have a very hard time trying to find any speakers of local Yiddish (and there are no books on it). Could I get some info (or an address where I can find it) about the dialect spoken in Crakow like: did it preserve length (shluufn/zugn, zyn-ziin son-sun), final voiced consonants (kind or kint), what became of MHG aa (zaagen, taag), ee (schnee), ii (miin, ziin), oo (root, groos), uu (huus, aruus), u (gut), ou (koufn), ei (klein, ein), iu (friunt, hiunt). I wonder why M. Gebirtig rhymes (or maybe it is licentia poetica) weeping and to be (gewejn-zain, gewajn-zaan), great and mouse (grojs-mous), love and room (liib-shtuub/shtiib) while also makh tsu and lyu lyu. I will appreciate your answer very much. Tomasz Wisniewski 8)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2001 07:43:23 -0400 (EDT) From: Jack Berger Subject: words Khaverim, In my translation of the Volkovysk Yizkor Book, from Yiddish to English, I have encountered Yiddish names for a series of 'pre-industrial' trades and occupations, that I am not familiar with (I suspect that these words were never used in my household, in mid-20th century America, out of sheer lack of need and/or obsolescence). I would like to render these in English correctly, and welcome any interpretation you may be aware of. A list follows: a kotler a koshtiolker/koshtelker (may have something to do with churches?) a vendzler a meckler a zhemshchik a bayn-tokker (I am told a tokker turned wooden furniture legs to finish them) a pandanter a tenzer a niezner A hartzigen dank! Yankev Berger 9)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 20 Jul 2001 09:24:22 -0400 (EDT) From: "Herman Taube" Subject: Boris Sandler's "A Shmek Tabeke" I had the pleasure to listen to Boris Sandler's "A Shmek Tabeke" The disk is beautifully crafted, perfect stories well presented by Dovid Rogow, Mina Bern and Shifre Lerer . This remarkable CD lends itself as an educational tool for Yiddish classes and good entertainment for Yiddish clubs and individuals who enjoy to listen to a good Yiddish story. I highly recommend Sandler's CD to those who can't read Yiddish but understand and enjoy listening to Mame-Loshen. Di CD hot be'emes mir farshaft asakh fargenign. Herman Taube ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 11.013 Address for the postings to Mendele: mendele@lists.yale.edu Address for the list commands: listproc@lists.yale.edu Mendele on the Web: http://www.mendele.net http://ibiblio.org/yiddish/mendele.html