Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 6.273 April 4, 1997 1) A WWW page about Polish roots (Pawel Brunon Dorman) 2) Scientific Yiddish (Elliot Aronson) 3) Idiomatic expressions (Rick Turkel) 4) Idiomatic expressions (Bob Poe) 5) Idiomatic expressions (Mikhl Herzog) 6) Yidishe shprikhverter (Mikhl Herzog) 7) Vey iz mir nit (Malka Essig) 8) Hemingway and Sholem Asch (Miriam B. Mandel) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 26 Mar 97 11:07:33 CET From: dorman@plearn.edu.pl Subject: A WWW page about Polish roots I know it is not related to Yiddish literature, but I have to recommend one superb site where you can get information about our roots in Poland. There is also possibility to receive photos from Poland region all of today's cities and villages!!! Also information deal with about 800 cities and villages in today's Poland country. The address is below: http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/3326/jewgen.html I had emails requested this info so I am sending it. Pawel Brunon Dorman 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 3 Apr 1997 10:40:51 -0800 From: elliot@cats.ucsc.edu Subject: Scientific Yiddish For a scholarly article I am writing in a scientific journal, I want to use the term "bobbeh psuchology" (meaning unnecessarily elaborate psychological experiments aimed at uncovering simple truths about human nature that my grandmother could have told me). I'm not sure about the spelling. Is there a generally agreed upon way of spelling this affectionate transliteration? I have seen it spelled several different ways including "bubba". But, alas, that would not differentiate my grandmother from Bill Clinton's bubba, by which I take it he doesn't mean his grandmother but rather, is referring to a brother, or more generally a "good ol' boy". I would appreciate your advice on this matter. Elliot Aronson 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 3 Apr 1997 14:04:39 -0500 From: rturkel@cas.org Subject: Idiomatic expressions Alan Berkowitz asked in 6.270 about the two expressions "tzveytn tog yontif" and "Ale montik und donershtik." My mother, a"h, (New York born of Bendiner parents) used the first, but with "tzveyte" instead of "tzveytn," whenever one of us children came with a request or comment she had just heard from another of us. I would therefore agree with Alan's interpretation as "a day late and a dollar short." I always heard (and use) the second expression as "yedn montik un donershtik." My understanding of it was always in reference to something that occurred frequently, but not necessarily on a regular basis. The allusion to the weekday Torah readings is correct. As long as we're dealing with such things, I know many people (myself included) use the word "yenemzvelt" to refer to someplace far away. Several years ago I was driving somewhere with a friend from Detroit (parents from Poland via Argentina) who said "kenishkakn" in that context, and I almost hit a tree I was laughing so hard! Anyone else ever hear this, or do you suppose it's just something her family made up? Rick Turkel 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 3 Apr 1997 15:42:28 -0500 From: poe@ekbos.com Subject: Idiomatic expressions My mother's version of this was "tsveyte teg yontif", which is in the plural: "Second days of the holiday". Her explanation of it (although she was not observant) was that it referred to Passover: The first couple of seders involved a lot of preparation, work, and commotion, and the family had hardly recovered from them when the last couple of days came around and it all began over again. So the meaning she imparted to the expression was more like: "Here we go again!" This was a favorite of hers and was usually uttered in exasperation. Bob Poe 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 3 Apr 97 18:39 EST From: zogur@cuvmb.columbia.edu Subject: Idiomatic expressions Alan Berkovitz refers to "tsveytn _tog_ yontef". That _would_ refer to the _second_ day. However, the expression he's after is "di tsveyte _teg_ (yontef)", regionally "di _andere_ teg (yontef)". Both refer to the days of yontef that follow _xalemoyd_ (Peysekh or Sukes). By the way, _ander(e)_, in this context, reflects an earlier usage, even in counting, in which _der anderer_/_di andere_ means 'the second' and not 'the other'. _zi iz bay im dos andere vayb_ 'she's his second wife'. _di andere vokh_ 'next week'. _dos andere kapitl_ 'Chapter 2'. Mikhl Herzog 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 3 Apr 97 18:39 EST From: zogur@cuvmb.columbia.edu Subject: Yidishe shprikhverter Regarding Bernsteins erotica, "Erotica und Rustica", a supplement to Ignaz Bernstein's _Yidishe shprikhverter un rednsartn_, in Yiddish and in transcription, with interpretations, glosses, etc. can be found in the 1988 reprint by Fourier Verlag, Wiesbaden (_Juedische Sprichwoerter und Redensarten_) Mikhl Herzog 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 3 Apr 1997 20:22:59 -0500 (EST) From: dkmouser@aol.com Subject: Vey iz mir (nit) "oy,vey is mir nit!" is what my (polish) great-aunt used to say and also is the first yiddish that i ever spoke! i never hear anyone else say it,so i just assumed it was a polish jewish expression,or else just a localism (she was from chigago.) don't know anything else about it tho. anyone else have ideas? malka essig 8)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 4 Apr 1997 04:22:40 +0300 (IDT) From: mbmandel@post.tau.ac.il Subject: Hemingway and Sholem Asch Some time ago I posted a query about the connection between Hemingway and Asch. I got an answer from Len Prager in Haifa, which led me to Asch's great-grandson in London, who answered my question and is a nice young man besides. So my thanks to Mendele for leading me to an answer I had been unable to find on my own. Miriam B. Mandel ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 6.273