Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ____________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 17.007 August 5, 2007 1) Influence of Yiddish in Modern Hebrew (Aviad Eilam) 2) petsha (Yehudit Permut) 3) petsha (Mimi Halkin) 4) etymologies and meanings (Hershl Glasser) 5) loksh (Mike Hirsch) 6) jaundice (Al Grand) 7) Naylebn (Henry Srebrnik) 8) The Forverts (Arieh Lebowitz) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: July 16 Subject: Influence of Yiddish on Modern Hebrew I am a PhD student in the Linguistics Dept. at UPenn, working among other things on the semantics of Modern Hebrew. I am working on a phenomenon which was apparently borrowed into Hebrew from Russian and/or Yiddish, and so I'd like to get the opinion of native Yiddish speakers on this phenomenon in their language. If you are a native speaker of Yiddish, I'd be very grateful if you could translate into Yiddish the 4 Hebrew sentences below (which I provide a gloss and English translation for) and answer the short questions following the sentences. It's really very simple and shouldn't take more than a few minutes of your time. You are obviously more then welcome to write me if you have any questions or comments at eilamavi@babel.ling.upenn.edu (1) dani yamshix lishon ad she-ha-mesiba lo tatxil danny will.continue to.sleep until that-the-party NEG will.start 'Danny will continue sleeping until the party starts.' =>Is negation in the until-clause obligatory in this case? (2) dani lo yishan ad she-ha-mesiba lo tatxil danny NEG will.sleep until that-the-party NEG will.start 'Danny will not sleep until the party starts.' =>Is negation in the until-clause obligatory in this case? (3) ma she-lo tixtov yikalel ba-sefer what that-NEG you.write will.be.included in.the-book 'Whatever you write will be included in the book.' =>Is negation obligatory in this case? (4) a. ma asiti etmol! what I.did yesterday 'The thing I did yesterday!' b. ma lo asiti etmol! what NEG I.did yesterday 'The things I did yesterday!' =>Does Yiddish have counterparts for both (a) and (b)? =>If so, do you get the difference in meaning as in Hebrew, i.e., (a) expresses surprise at the identity of something while (b) surprise at the quantity? Thanks in advance, Aviad Eilam 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: July 18 Subject: petsha Just to add what was already posted about petsha: I am working on my late mother's book recipe writings from over 25 years in Canada and here is the family recipe for petsha -- (Russian origin). I do remember that my father, who was Rumanian, preferred it with vinegar so she would make both. 1 calf's foot or feet from about 6 chickens 1 onion whole head of garlic 1 bay leaf 1/2 tsp. peppercorns salt to pepper to taste 2 Tbsp. lemon juice 2 hard boiled eggs Chop the feet in several pieces and clean well. Peel and slice onion. Chop garlic. Place foot, onion, garlic, bay leaf, and peppercorns into a pan. Cover with cold water. Simmer for about 3 hours until the meat drops off the bones. (In a pressure cooker it will take about an hour). Remove the meat and cut into small pieces. Strain the liquid. Add the lemon juice and adjust the seasoning as required and mix with the meat. Pour into a shallow dish, add slices of eggs and when cool place in refrigerator at least over night. Happy eating, Yehudit Permut 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: July 19 Subject: petsha My mother, who came to the US as a child of 7, made petsha once or twice, and served it hot, as a soup, not chilled and jelled. In my home, as in David Spodick?s, it was a one- syllable word. I liked it hot, but could never stomach it cold, as it is usually served. In Israel one still sees it for sale, with sliced hard-boiled eggs embedded in it. As a soup it had the consistency of chicken soup, although greasier, with bits of meat and vegetables in it. And definitely made from calves? feet, not cows?. Mimi Halkin 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: July 18 Subject: Etymologies and meanings For what it's worth: 1) Amitai Halevi writes: "I recall a suggestion that "petsha" may be a corruption of the French "pied chaud" (heated foot), just as "cholent" is derived from "chaud lent" (slowly heated). As it happens, "tsholnt" does not derive from "chaud lent"; a more likely etymology is the one proposed by Max Weinreich in his History of the Yiddish Language (a full English translation of which will be published later this year by YIVO and Yale University Press): Latin "calentem" '(approx.) being heated'. To prove that "petsha" derives from "pied chaud," you would have to explain, for example, why the final /o/ sound in French yields /a/ in Yiddish. You cannot ascertain an etymology merely from a chance phonetic resemblance. 2) Jack Berger writes in reference to idioms in a yizker-bukh: A) A 'yold' is a lout, or rude, unmannered individual. This comment could be applied to anyone who was acting in a manner deemed unruly by the speaker. While "yold" may mean that, a more common meaning is the one given by Uriel Weinreich in his dictionary: 'chump, sucker.' There is also the meaning used by criminals: 'straight,' i.e., someone who is not a criminal. B) "Khotsh nem im un shnayd im op fun shtrikl. Literal meaning is clear, but I am unfamiliar with the idiomatic use." "Khotsh" in this case means 'you might as well.' The example in the Uriel Weinreich dictionary: "S'iz shlekht khotsh zets zikh un veyn" 'it is so bad one might as well sit down and cry.' C) "[nisht far keynem fun di mendelyaner gezogt!]. Bob [Rothstein] should say gedakht instead of gezogt." Bob may have mixed two expressions: "nisht far ... Gedakht" and "af mir gezogt (gevorn)." Paul (Hershl) Glasser 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: July 20 Subject: loksh From Philadelphia days, I recall the term "loksh," for an Italian (possibly pejorative?). Pardon the folk etymology, but is it related to "lokshn" (noodles), as in "lokshn kugel"? Also, the alternative [was] "taleyne." And yes, [we used] "gedule,? but a "big deal" was usually a "gantse gedule." Regards, Mike Hirsch (Shiye Meyer). 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: July 21 Subject: jaundice I need clarification of the Yiddish word for "jaundice." I rely heavily on Uriel Weinreich for such help but in this case there is a discrepancy: In the English section of Weinreich, "jaundice" is listed as a two-word feminine noun gele zokh. In the Yiddish section, on page 671, gele zokh is not to be found but the one-word noun gelzukht is listed as "jaundice." I would be grateful to anyone who can offer an explanation of this inconsistency. If I may be allowed a follow-up inquiry - can anyone help me out with "jaundiced?" That's the word I really need and it's neither in the English nor Yiddish section of Weinreich. Al Grand 8)---------------------------------------------------- Date: July 24 Subject: Naylebn I wonder if anyone on this list can answer this query: the pro-Soviet ICOR magazine Naylebn (New Life) published two issues in 1941 prior to the Nazi invasion of the USSR. They were Vol. 15, Nos. 1 and 2. Does anyone have them and, if so, in what months were these two issues published? Henry Srebrnik 9)---------------------------------------------------- Date: July 31 Subject: The Forverts Re: Rachel Rojanski's "A Neon Sign Overlooking the Manhattan Bridge," a few corrections: Today the Yiddish Forverts weekly continues to be published. It is _not_ "part of" the English-language Forward's internet edition. [I should note that the English-language Forward appears in print as well as online - online at http://www.forward.com ] On the left-side of the web version of the English edition _is_ a link [no pun intended] to the web version of the Yiddish edition - which can be found at http://yiddish.forward.com/ The online - not cybernetic - version of the English edition of this century-plus-ten old periodical (see http://www.forward.com) is indeed attractively designed. And the print version is indeed well written and intellectually in the tradition of its namesake. The Yiddish edition appears to be quite well-designed, much better in print form than on the web. Interested individuals should write for a sample print copy and compare the two. [Yiddish Forvarts, 45 East 33rd Street, new York NY 10016] The short-lived Russian edition of the Forward was sold in I believe 2004, and not long thereafter ceased publication. Arieh Lebowitz ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 17.007 Please do not use the "reply" key when writing to Mendele. Instead, choose one of these, as appropriate: Material for postings to Mendele Yiddish literature and language: mendele@lists.yale.edu Material for Mendele Personal Notices & Announcements: victor.bers@yale.edu (in the subject line write Mendele Personal) Other messages to the shamosim: mendele@lists.yale.edu Address for the list commands: listproc@lists.yale.edu To signoff from the list, email to listproc@lists.yale.edu with the following request: signoff MENDELE or unsubscribe MENDELE Mendele on the web: http://shakti.trincoll.edu/~mendele/index.htm