Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 14.007 July 16, 2004 1) gret, zhaleven (Dovid Braun) 2) gret (Meyer Wolf) 3) Yiddish stories in transcription (Itsik Goldenberg) 4) Pronouncing the final "s" (Jillian Tallmer) 5) Synopses of Yiddish plays (Harry Cornbleet) 6) Yiddish poetry translation contest (Miriam Koral) 7) Two bibliographic questions (Fradle Pomerantz Freidenreich) 8) Referat vegn khemye af Yidish (Shloyme-Khayem Cohen) Visit Mendele on the Web: http://www.mendele.net 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: July 11, 2004 From: dovid@MIT.EDU Subject: Re: gret, zhaleven In response to Hugh Denman's posting re _gret_ et al: _gret_ has in it the /e/ of _bet_ 'request'. _greyt_ has the diphthong /ey/ of _heym_ 'home'. Hence, the 3 dialects (Northeastern/Southereastern/Central, in this order) have: gret~greyt~greyt vs. greyt~greyt~grayt. Doesn't look like there's any relationship between these two roots. To Dina Leviash re her reply re _zhaleven_: Russian _zhalovat'_ and Polish _ZaLowaC_ 'to regret, feel sorry for' are etymologically and semantically related to the Yiddish word, but Yiddish dictionaries (and Mendele readers) have given us straightforward glosses. The Yiddish word does not mean 'feel bad for, regret'. Al dos guts, Dovid Braun 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: July 12, 2004 From: wolfim@earthlink.net Subject: Re: gret Those interested in the etymology of gret may be interested to note that Both Weinreich and Harkavy list vaystsayg for 'linens', where tsayg is 'fabric'. The usual Yiddish for German geraet 'tools, equipment' is getsayg. Stutshkoff (p. 99 col. A) has a list: vaysgret, vaystsayg, veshtsayg, bettsayg, betvesh. Meyer Wolf 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: July 12, 2004 From: rgoldenberg@sympatico.ca Subject: Re: Yiddish stories in transcription In Mendele 14.004, Lynda Cohen asks for a source for transliterated Yiddish stories. Ruth Levitan has published several excellent collections, mostly of humorous stories. Glossaries of "difficult" words are included. These books are probably available from the Workmans Circle Book Store in NYC. Two of the books are: "A Sheyne Gelekhter," and "Azoy Gor," but there are others. Itsik Goldenberg 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: July 14, 2004 From: yidl@peoplepc.com Subject: Pronouncing the final "s" Here's a pronunciation/transliteration question for you. In English, final written "s" as a grammatical marker (for plurals, possessives, third person singular verbs, contractions) is pronounced either s or z, depending on the sound before it: e.g., cats and dogz, the beez kneez, washez the dishez. In English, if the preceding sound is voiced or a vowel, then the "s" is pronounced z. How about Yiddish? I'm interested in the cases where "s" is written and the preceding sound is unvoiced. There are fewer cases than in English insofar as Yiddish makes less use of final "s" as a grammatical marker. Here are just 2 examples from songs: 1. bulbes, mayn mame's oygn (both s sound I think) 2. un geshikt nokh di fidlers, di tsvey (would this be a z sound?) I don't care too much about how these are transliterated into the roman alphabet, but I'm doing some transliterating into cyrillic. I had Dovid Katz' grammar book somewhere, but can't find it. He may mention this. Thank you Jillian "Yidl" Tallmer San Francisco 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: July 16, 2004 From: Subject: Synopses of Yiddish plays I'm involved in a project with a local Jewish museum (Magnes Museum in Berkeley, CA) to develop a slide presentation about the Yiddish theater. Specifically, we are looking for brief synopses of the plots of the following Yiddish plays: Dos Groyse Gevins by Sholem Aleykhem Der Meshiekh Kumt by J. Rumshinsky The Tzadike's Mishpokhe by Ludwig Satz The Green Millionaire by Abraham Shomer Oy is Dos a Meydl by Jacob Kalich Can anyone help? Thanks. Harry Cornbleet 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: July 16, 2004 From: koralm@earthlink.net Subject: Yiddish poetry translation contest tayere mendeleyners: I would like to bring to your attention the first round of a new contest for translating Yiddish poetry into English. a hartsikn dank, Miriam Koral ANNOUNCING THE CIYCL YIDDISH POETRY TRANSLATION CONTEST Calling all poetic mavens! Do you have a favorite Yiddish poem tucked away that has yet to reach the English-speaking masses? Do you bemoan the poor translation of your favorite Yiddish poem that your bobe used to lovingly read to you at bedtime? This is your chance for redemption. Find that special poem that is so dear to your heart and make it come alive. Just as the Golem rose to life by the sacred words of its creator, breathe life into your poem of choice. The California Institute for Yiddisn Culture & Language (CIYCL) is proud to present a unique contest where you enjoy complete creative control and poetry is FOUND in the translation of a Yiddish poem that needs to be shared with a broader audience. Dazzle us with your cross-cultural understanding of the Yiddish and English languages. Impress us with your knowledge of the delicate intricacies and nuances of the mameloshn. Contest rules: Entries must include the original poem and your own English translation. Submissions must be received by October 15, 2004 via snail or e-mail. Our expert panel of judges, which includes the noted author and Yiddish translator Leonard Wolf, will review all the entries and choose the finest translation. Winner receives a $180 prize and publication on our website and in our newsletter. For submissions by mail: CIYCL, 333 Washington Blvd., #118, Marina del Rey, CA 90292 For submissions by e-mail: yiddishinstitute@earthlink.net Miriam Koral California Institute for Yiddish Culture & Language The New CIYCL 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: July 16, 2004 From: FradleF@aol.com Subject: Two bibliographic questions I have two queries: 1- The initials samekh-tes are listed as the author of several entries in both editions of Der Algemeiner Yiddisher Entzeklopedia. I cannot find any references regarding this author and would appreciate any information as to who this might be. 2- I am looking for any information about Volume 2 of Asher Penn's "Yiddishkeit in Amerike." It does not have a Library of Congress identification, does not exist either at the YIVO or the 42nd St. Library in NY, and seems to have never been published although in Volume 1 Penn annotates each chapter of Volume 2. If anyone has any idea of where/how to access this book, please contact me. I am particularly interested in seeing Chapter 11, titled Camping. A sheynem dank, Fradle Pomerantz Freidenreich 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: July 16, 2004 From: scohen@rutchem.rutgers.edu Subject: Referat vegn khemye af Yidish Tayere Mendelyaner: Ikh volt gevolt onzogn az ikh vel gebn a "shildl-referat" (poster-paper) bay der Amerikaner Khemye-Gezelshaft (American Chemical Society) 8 azeyger n"m in Philadelphia, dem 23tn oygust 2004, vegn der teme: "Dos besere lebn durkh khemye: Chemical Literature in Yiddish Stephen M. Cohen Chemical literature is usually studied in one of the principal languages of chemical research (e.g., English, Russian, German, French, Japanese, etc.). For marginalized or minority groups, their only exposure to higher education may not be available in these languages. Yiddish, the language of the poor and segregated Eastern European Jews, has a highly developed fictional, political, religious, and theatrical literature, but also includes little-known scientific writings, mostly from the Soviet Union and United States. This paper presents a rationale for and history of 20th-century chemical works in Yiddish, including textbooks for the student and layperson, teachers' guides, propaganda, reference works, and news articles. Examples of these works will be shown." Mer informatsyes ken men zen bay dem vebzaytl fun der ACS, www.chemistry.org, un kvetsh afn "ACS National Meetings" knepkele. Efsher veln mir hobn a por Yidish verter bay der grester visnshafts-gezelshaft iber gor der velt. Di vos farshteyn nit dem titl funem referat zoln visn as "Better Living Through Chemistry" iz geven a barimter "motto" fun der groyser khemikalye-shtofn fabrik "DuPont". Shloyme-Khayim Cohen ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 14.007 Address for the postings to Mendele: mendele@lists.yale.edu Address for the list commands: listproc@lists.yale.edu