Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 14.026 December 31, 2004 1) Etymology of berye (Lyubov Dukker) 2) Paris Yiddish Theater (Cyril Robinson) 3) Non-idealized Yiddish (Lyubov Dukker) 4) Gender of yortsayt (Irving Korr) 5) Gender of yortsayt (Yitskhok Luden) 6) zhote (Yale Strom) Visit Mendele on the Web: http://www.mendele.net 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: December 30, 2004 From: Lyubov_Dukker@adp.com Subject: Re: etymology of berye In response to Jack Berger's letter [Mendele 14.025]: This hypothesis is is completely illogical. Even the word "barii" is a non-existent one. The Russian (Slavic) for lordly (but not in the sense of a "berye, a gerotene") is "barskiy". Absolutely no correlation in meaning. Berye means somebody like this: she manages to raise the kids, keep the house with a meager salary and despite shortages of everything, work in an office, dress well, bribe the official to get her kid in a better school etc. That was my aunt, a well known berye. "Barskiy" has a connotation of "lazy, born with a silver spoon in his mouth". No way. Lyubov Dukker 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: December 30, 2004 From: lunar@siu.edu Subject: Paris Yiddish theater While doing other research in Paris I discovered that there was no history of the Yiddish theater in Paris so that I started to interview former participants and embarked on a history, 1920- 1970. So far I have compiled a chronology, a list of participants, a bibliography, and am in the process of writing. I would be pleased to be in contact with others who might have similar interests, who can suggest leads, etc. Cyril Robinson 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: December 30, 2004 From: Lyubov_Dukker@adp.com Subject: Non-idealized Yiddish As much as a "layperson" can judge, I find Ewa Geller's article [TMR 8.012] to be wonderful and extremely true. I was totally not surprised by the fact, that only a native Polish speaker could truly make sense of a survivor's testimony. Ms. Geller's observation about the interviewee and interviewer speaking different languages is also very keen. It has triggered some memories, fortunately, of an amusing, rather than tragic nature: in the late 80s, just "off the boat", after suffering through the oppressive heat of our first summer in New York, our extended family pitched in, and next summer rented a tiny onebedroom in a bungalow colony in the Catskills - "tsulib di kinder". The plan was for my mother-in-law to stay there during the week with the grandchildren, and we, the parents, would come on weekends. The owner assured us, that many of the bungalows are occupied by elderly "Floridians", who speak Yiddish, thus, providing my non-English-speaking mother-in-law with some support system. And indeed, during the very first week, she made some acquaintances, and especially befriended one neighbor, who was considered a Yiddish maven. Over the weekend I was privileged to meet her. Here is, more or less, how I remember the conversation between my mother-in-law (MIL) and the neighbor (N). ... MIL: O, froy Vernik iz do. Kumt, kumt arain, froy Vernik. S'iz take heys, efsher vilt ir a gloz mineralke? N: Vus? MIL: (opens the refrigerator and points) Mineral'ne vaser. N: Neyn, adank dir, s'mir vert heartburn fun seltzer. MIL: Vos? N: (points to her chest) Es brent afn hartzn. MIL: A... nu dan keyn marantz zaft avade vilt ir nit. N: Vus? MIL: (points) Apel'sin zaft. N: Un ken ice tea hostu nit? MIL: Vos? N: (after some thinking) Ken farayziktn tey. MIL: Neyn, ot dos hob ikh nit. Zetsekh, zetsekh. Zetsekh dortn afn kushetke, di taburetke iz umbakvem. N: S'iz ba dir azoy zoyber. Un ikh khob shem nit ken keyekh tsu shlepn dem vacuum. MIL: Mikh nervirt ober der remont in dem tsimer, di greyse blumen af di vent. My Lyovin'ke hot gevolt dos fardekn mit oboyen, ober ver veys, tsi mir veln do kumen iberayor. N: (not sure of the meaning switches conversation): Vus makhstu, lunch? MIL: Varemes far di kinder, blinchikes. N: Makhst fun scratch? MIL: Vos? ... And so it goes: with pointing, pausing, gesticulating and various facial expressions. But when in the fall the Floridians indeed leave for Florida, the very first phone conversation stumbles. After initial greeting and a couple of minutes on the phone my mother-in-law calls out to me in frustration: "Lyubin'ke, kum, herzikh ayn vos zogt tsi. Es dakhtsekh az ir Lui iz krank." Turns out, that what she was saying, is that "Lui matertzikh vayle di dentures scratchen em di gumen, ober der specialist zogt az vet dos adjustn"... Also notice, that MIL uses the polite plural "ir", where the N is using "du", same way she would use "you". And their accents are very different. But, aside from academic circles, this is the only Yiddish that is out there. And, with the imminent crossing of both of these distinguished older ladies onto the other side, even this will be gone: "di kinderlakh" , for whom the "blinchikes" were being prepared fun "scratch", don't speak a word of Yiddish. Happy New Year! Lyubov Dukker 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: December 30, 2004 From: ikorr@mindspring.com Subject: Re: gender of yortsayt Zeit is feminine so jahr zeit is a feminine word period. Irving Korr 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: December 30, 2004 From: luden@netvision.net.il Subject: Re: gender of yortsayt Vegn der frage tsu velkhn min es gehert dos vort "yortsayt": tsum menlekhn oder tsum vayblekhn un - vi azoy darf men zogn: di, oder der - iz faran deroyf a klorer gramatisher klal az in tsuzamengeporte verter bashtimt es der min (loshn-zeykher tsi loshn-nekeyve) fun dem zakhvort - dem substantiv, oder noun. in dem fal: di tsayt fun dem yor - di yortsayt. azoy vi: der nakhtshoymer, di nakhtvakh; di tog-ordenung, der yor-barikht, der tsayt-farlust un, lehavdil - di tsayt-bombe... Di merste yidishe publikatsyes shraybn falsh "der yortsayt" - un dos iz, layder, nisht zeyer eyntsiker feler. Yitskhok Luden Tel-Aviv 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: December 31, 2004 From: Yitztyco@aol.com Subject: zhote I recently transcribed a song for my book: "A Wandering Feast: A Journey Through the Jewish Culutre of Eastern Europe" called "Malke Zhote". I collected the song in Velki Kapusany, a small town south of Kosice in Slovakia. Can anyone tell me what "zhote" means. The song's lyrics are: Malke Zhote, es tut in hartsn brenen! Malke Zhote, loz zhe zikh derkenen. Malke Zhote, Ikh ken on dir nisht zayn! Ikh tsu dir, du tsu mir, lomir tantsn ale fir. Yale Strom ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 14.026 Address for the postings to Mendele: mendele@lists.yale.edu Address for the list commands: listproc@lists.yale.edu