Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 13.002 June 8, 2003 1) how is "lamed yud" pronounced (Hugh Denman) 2) kugel vs. kigel pronunciation/kashe varnisches (K.C. Ligon) 3) Solon Beinfeld Interview on The Yiddish Voice Radio (Mark David) 4) Der Yidisher Tamtam numer 38 (Gilles Rozier) 5) Abraham Ber Gottlober (Paul Chernick) 6) dramatishe baarbetung fun "Di brider Ashkenazi" (Refoel Goldwaser) 7) translation of poem (Barry Friedman) 8) Friedrich Schiller in Yiddish (Kay Schweigmann-Greve) 9) anti-Hasidic humour (Justin Lewis) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 19 Apr 2003 11:51:34 -0400 (EDT) From: Hugh Denman Subject: how is "lamed yud" pronounced? I note with some surprise that that so far nobody has responded to Andrew Firestone's interesting and important question in Mendele 12.013 (19-02-03), or at least not publicly. The simple answer, of course, is that lamed yud is normally pronounced as a palatalised [l], i.e. IPA [lj] or YIVO-Romanisation [LY], eg. 'lyang', 'lyade', 'lyokhe', klyatshe', plyese' etc. This is to be contrasted with the uvular [l] sound that is the normal realisation of lamed. In some narrow transcriptions this distinction is made clearer by transcribing the uvular sound by means of the Polish barred l (which was pronounced in the same way at an earlier stage in the development of Polish - Today, of course, it is pronounced [u]). In reality, however, the situation is somewhat more complex. First we need to note that lamed alone is occasionally given the same [lj]-realisation. This is recorded in _College Yiddish_ by transcription with an italicised upper-case [L] and in Weinreich's dictionary by means of a subscript crescent under the lamed. Thus we have words such as 'lyedvitse', 'lyeptshikhe', 'lyepke', 'mol' ("moth") which, though pronounced [lj], are spelled with lamed alone. In prevocalic position there appears to be no better justification for this anomaly than that this spelling may be suggested by the orthography of the cognate words in Polish etc. Not surprisingly, these two spellings are often regarded as free variants. On the other hand where lamed yud is followed by a vowel and the yud is a khirek yud the pronunciation is [li], as in 'tlien', 'tlie' ('Soviet' orthography), 'bliung', 'bliekhts', 'flien'. Unfortunately, there is another category of 'international' words which, though spelled lamed yud (without a khirek in the YIVO-orthography) are nonetheless also pronounced [li]. In my view this represents a regretable inconsistency in the YIVO-orthography. Vaynraykh's comments on the topic in the introduction to his dictionary are unhelpful and I have failed to draw Mordkhe Shekhter, the doyen-arbiter of such matters, on this question. But the problem was evidently recognised in the USSR, since Shapiro, Spivak and Shul'man in their _Russko-Yevrejskij (idish) Slovar'_ (1989) do consistently spell with khirek yud in such cases, e.g. 'bibliografye', 'bibliotek' etc. Hugh Denman, London 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 30 Apr 2003 13:08:07 -0400 (EDT) From: "K. C. Ligon" Subject: kugel vs. kigel pronunciation/kashe varnisches Could you advise me about the difference between these two pronunciations, that is, what kind of variation is "kigel" and which speakers are apt to employ it over "kugel"? I am wondering if it is a Polish variation as I heard a speaker from Luboml say it in the documentary "Luboml: My Heart Remembers." I am working as a dialect consultant for a play based upon Isaac Bashevis Singer's "Meshugah" and a character speaks of potato kugel and kashe varnisches, which we have been saying KAHSH-eh-varNEESHez. I am wondering about both, we have been saying an -u vowel in "kugel" so far. The character is Polish, and I noted that the town had been given an unofficial name of "Libivne" and I wondered if this is related to the "kugel/kigel" difference. Naturally we would like to be authentic! Many thanks, K.C. Ligon 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 8 Jun 2003 13:55:21 -0400 (EDT) From: "Mark H. David" Subject: Solon Beinfeld Interview on The Yiddish Voice Radio in Boston The Yiddish Voice, a weekly Yiddish-language radio show, will feature an interview with Solon Beinfeld on its Wednesday, June 14, 2003 broadcast starting at 7:30 p.m. on WUNR 1600 AM in Brookline, Mass. Sholem Beinfeld, as he is known in Yiddish, lives in Cambridge, Mass., and is Professor Emeritus of History at Washington University in St. Louis, where he taught modern Jewish history and specialized in the Vilna Ghetto. He has been a consultant on many important projects related to Holocaust history, including the documentary film Partisans of Vilna and the Kovno Ghetto Exhibit at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. Recently he was the translator, from Yiddish to English, of the book _Girl with Two Landscapes: The Wartime Diary of Lena Jedwab, 1941-1945_ by Lena Jedwab Rozenberg. Since retiring from active teaching and settling in Cambridge several years ago, Beinfeld has been active in Boston's Jewish and Yiddish cultural circles, notably as a lecturer, in Yiddish and in English, on various aspects of Jewish cultural history. The interview was conducted by the cohost of the Yiddish Voice, Hasia Segal, a native of Lithuania. The Yiddish Voice is heard each Wednesday from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. on WUNR 1600 AM, Brookline, Mass., serving Boston and suburbs. Information about the radio show, and also a live feed of the broadcast, is available from the Yiddish Voice web site: http://www.yiddishvoice.com Mark David Host/Producer, The Yiddish Voice radio@yv.org 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 22 Apr 2003 06:30:23 -0400 (EDT) From: Bibliotheque Medem Subject: Der Yidisher Tamtam numer 38 AN ANNOUNCEMENT FOR READERS OF YIDDISH Der Yidisher Tamtam, a Yiddish periodical published in Paris by the Association for Yiddish Studies (AEDCY) and the Medem Library, is in its eyghtth year of publication. Der Yidisher Tamtam is intended primarily for students of Yiddish but it can be of interest to all Yiddish readers. It contains articles of various levels of language, with difficult words and expressions explained in French and English. It comes out 5 times a year and is available by subscription to readers abroad. HOW TO SUBSCRIBE The cost of a 1-year subscription (5 issues of minimum 8 pages) is 15 Euros (about $15 U.S.) in the European Union and 23 Euros (about $23 U. S.) for other countries. We also offer a special group-discount, specially for Yiddish classes or reading groups : for 10 copies sent to the same adress, 38 Euros (about $38 U. S.) in the European Union and 53 Euros (about $53 U. S.) for other countries. Payment can be made to the address below : 1. by check in Euros (no checks in foreign currency can be accepted). 2. by credit card (Visa or Eurocard/Mastercard). Please send full name and address, number and expiration date of card. For further information, or to receive a free copy of the last issue, write to the following address. Bibliotheque Medem - Maison de la Culture Yiddish 18 passage Saint-Pierre Amelot 75011 Paris or send an e-mail to : medem@yiddishweb.com A MELDUNG FAR YIDDISH LEYENERS Der Yidisher Tamtam, a periodish bletl far yidish lerners, hot ongehoybn zayn zekste yor publikatsye. Dos bletl iz aroysgegebn fun der Gezelshaft farn Yidish-Limed (GEFIL) tsuzamen mit der Medem Bibliotek. Der Yidisher Tamtam past far ale yidish-leyeners, ober der iker far lerners fun der shprakh. Me gefint artiklen oyf farsheydene madreyges, fun same onheybers biz gants avansirte, mit derklerungen oyf frantseyzish un oyf english. Der Yidisher Tamtam kumt aroys 5 mol a yor un mir nemen abonementn fun oysland. ABONEMENT An abonement oyf eyn yor (5 numern fun minimum 8 zaytn) kost 15 eyres (an erekh 15 dolar) in dem eyropeishn fareyn un 23 eyres (23 dolar) far andere erter. A grupe (a yidishklas tsi a leyenkrayz) ken abonirn unter di vayterdike badingungen : far 10 numern geshikt oyf dem zelbikn adres 38 eyres (38 dolar) in dem eyropeishn fareyn un 53 eyres (53 dolar) far andere erter. Me meg batsoln (oyf dem adres gegebn oybn ): 1. mit a frantseyzishn tshek (men ken nit batsoln mit a tshek fun oysland) 2. Mit Visacard oder Eurocard/mastercard (shikn nomen, fornomen, numer un oysgang-date) Far mer protim, un oyb ir vilt bakumen an exemplar umzist, zikh vendn tsum adres do oybn oder durkh blitspost : medem@yiddishweb.com Gilles Rozier 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 13 May 2003 17:41:32 -0400 (EDT) From: "Paul Chernick" Subject: Abraham Ber Gottlober I am compiling information about Abraham Ber Gottlober, who was my great-great-great-grandfather, in addition to a leading maskil and the teacher of Goldfaden and Mendele Moykher-Sforim. If anyone has copies of ABG's works (other than those in the Yiddish Verk collection), or obscure sources on his life and works, I would be pleased to see and/or purchase them. Paul Chernick Lexington MA 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 2 May 2003 10:48:27 -0400 (EDT) From: "rafael goldwaser" Subject: dramatishe baarbetung fun "Di brider Ashkenazi" Sholem Aleykhem Tsi veyst emetser fun aykh vu un vi azoy tsu bakumen di dramatishe baarbetung fun Y. Singers "Di brider Ashkenazi?" A dank fun foroys; Refoel Goldwaser Strasbourg - Frankraykh 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 12 May 2003 10:08:29 -0400 (EDT) From: Barry Friedman Subject: translation of poem Can anyone send me an English translation of the poem "A Tree in Vishkeve" by Binem Heller? Thank you in advance. Sincerely, Barry Friedman Columbus, Ohio 8)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 25 Apr 2003 04:29:42 -0400 (EDT) From: "Schweigmann-Greve, Kay" Subject: Friedrich Schiller in Yiddish Dear Mendele-friends, does anyone know if the little text of Friedrich Schiller "Ueber die aesthetische Erziehung des Menschen" ever was translated into Yiddish. I wonder if his idea to preform a nation aesthetically by a "Nationalliteratur" had any outspoken influence in the yiddish context. A shainen dank! Kay Schweigmann-Greve 9)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2003 10:33:30 -0500 (EST) From: Justin Lewis / Jane Enkin Subject: anti-Hasidic humour Tayere khevre, I am looking for jokes and parodies that mock Hasidic tales, especially Hasidic miracle stories. While all humour of this kind is of interest, I am most interested in material published before the First World War. I am also looking for information on the dates of composition or first circulation of Yiddish folksongs that parody Hasidim ("Az der Rebe tantst", "Kum aher du filosof", "Makht dos Khosidl bim bom"). with thanks for any leads, Justin Lewis ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 13.002 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