Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ____________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 15.011 June 19 , 2005 1) orkheporkhe (Lucas Bruyn) 2) dray yingelekh (Lori Cahan-Simon) 3) dray yingelekh (Marvin Engel) 4) parkh (Zachary Baker) 5) English in Yiddish (Melvin Ring) 6) tate (Hirsh Perloff) 7) Lillian Lux o"h (Noyekh Miller) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: June 12, 2005 Subject: Re: orkheporkhe In Mendele Vol. 15.007 Yoyne Freer asked about the derivation of orkheporkhe. In the next issue the question was answered by several Mendelianer and there seems to be agreement on the `orkhe' part, meaning: wanderer. The porke part seems to be less certain Amitai Halevi says, that orkheporkhe is an Aramaic expression. Unfortunately he does not quote its original context. How did it get to be an expression in Yiddish? Thinking it was some kind of rhyming slang I suggested that porkhe might have come from Polish `parkh', a person with a skin disease. Lyuba Dukker casts serious doubt on this interpretation. In Vol 15.010 several Mendelianer discuss the medical details of `parkh' and its usage, but no additional information about `porkhe' has been given thus far. Lucas Bruyn 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: June 12, 2005 Subject: Re: dray yingelekh Ellen Prince's posting in response to Marvin Engel contained brackets containing lyrics she was unsure of. Below are the complete lyrics, according to the Gelbart melody. This version can be found on Lori Cahan-Simon's CD, Vessel of Song: The Music of Mikhl Gelbart. The last verse here included is not from the Gelbart, but rather the Zaslavsky version. It does nicely complete the joke. The Zaslavsky is a lovely melody, but to my way of thinking, less appropriate to the lyrics than the Gelbart. I have been told that this song was popular not only in the U.S., but also in Eastern Europe. Di mame hot dray yingelekh, Dray yingelekh gehat, Mit veykhe, royte bekelekh, Vi tsarter samet glat. Hot eyns geheysn berele, Dos tsveyte khayim-shmerele, Dos drite hot geheysn Men zol im koyfn shikh. Ikh hob aykh opgenart! Ikh hob gevust; ir vart. Dos drite, kleyne yingele Dos drite, dos bin ikh. Di mame hot dray niselekh Fun dem yarid gebrakht, Dray gute, fete niselekh, Dray niselekh a prakht. Iz eyns geven far berelen Un eyns far khayim-shmerelen Un gor dos beste nisl Hot zi belozt far zikh. Ir vundert zikh a bisl, Far vos nit mir a nisl? Vayl nisn, nisn, nisele, Dos drite, dos bin ikh! Di mame hot aheym gebrakht Dray niselekh un mikh, Dray niselekh far di briderlekh, Un mir tsvey naye shikh. Lori Cahan-Simon Lorelecs@Juno.com 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: June 17, 2005 Subject: Re: dray yingelekh I'd like to thank Ellen Prince for the lyrics and all the other mendelistn who shared their information re this song. Mendele is really the cat's pajamas! Marvin Engel [yo, ober viazoy zogt men dos oyf yidish?] 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: June 14, 2005 Subject: "Ale parkhes keyn Mitsrayim!" Some years ago Itzik Gottesman gave a paper at the Association for Jewish Studies conference, in which he discussed a quaint custom pursued by some of our forebears in Eastern Galicia. On or around shabes ha-godl (Shabbat ha-Gadol, the Sabbath preceding Passover) "parkhs" - individuals with the skin disorder that was described in other postings - were chased around town in a kind of hazing ritual. "Ale parkhes keyn Mitsrayim!" was the cry of those who led the chase. This tidbit of Jewish folklore is the subject of a 32-page booklet, Gdules ha-parkhes (Gedulat ha-parkhut), by the pseudonymous M.P., published in Lemberg in 1875: "Di bashraybung fun di parkhim vos zey geyen ale yor shabes ha-godl avek keyn mitsrayim un far yorn hobn zey urloyb gehat vayl es iz keyn ayz nisht geven un dos yor iz gekumen un zey veln shoyn muzn dos yor aynrukn vayl es iz dos yor do a sakh ayz veln zey zikh konen glidshn" (p. 2 of the booklet, as quoted in the catalog card that is reproduced in The Yiddish Author-Title Catalog of the YIVO Library). Attempt at a translation: Description of the "parkhs" who go away to "Egypt" every year on Shabes ha-godl. Last year they had a respite because there wasn't any ice and this year has come and they will have to be "drafted" because there is a lot of ice this year and they will be able to slide. Ah, the good old days... Zachary Baker 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: June 16, 2005 Subject: English in Yiddish Regarding the rapid inclusion of English into Yiddish by immigrants to America, a good example is the somg "di grine kuzine" where the third verse says: ikh hob mikh bakent mit mayn "nekst-dorke," gehat hot zi a "milinery storke," a dzjob hob ikh gekrign far mine grine...... The use of English pervades the song, which was not only sung on the stage but sung by ordinary people when getting together. Melvin Ring 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: June 19, 2005 Subject: tate Have any Mendelists a view on the etymology of the word tate -- dad? It doesn't seem to derive from either German or Slavonic, although Polish does have the endearment tatus. Could it perhaps originate from the Turkish for father ata? Hirsh Perloff 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: June 19, 2005 Subject: Lillian Lux o"h Mendelistn of a certain age can never forget this wonderful comedienne who along with her husband Pesakh'ke Bursteyn brought us so much pleasure over the years. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/15/theater/15lux.html Noyekh Miller ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 15.011 Please do not use the "reply" key when writing to Mendele. Instead, choose one of these three: Messages for posting on Mendele Personal and other messages to the shamosim