Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 6.296 May 5, 1997 1) Don't forget Camp Hemshekh! (George Fogel) 2) The English _Forward_ maims Yiddish (Zellig Bach) 3) Bashert (Ray Clayton) 4) Forming diminutives (Sam Weiss) 5) Yidisher khreyn iz umatum biter (Leonard Prager) 1)---------------------------------------------------- From George.Fogel@fhwa.dot.gov Fri May 02 16:42:15 1997 Date: 01 May 1997 13:51:26 -0400 Subject: Don't forget Camp Hemshekh! In connection with Hershl Hartman's listing [6.293] of 4 Yiddish-speaking children's summer camps (Kinderland, Kinder-Ring, Kindervelt and Boyberik) I would be remiss if I didn't write in to mention another one (alas, no longer in existence) -- Hemshekh, sponsored by the Bund. Although my sister and I both attended Workmen's Circle elementary and high schools in New York, our connection with Hemshekh was closer than with the Workmen's Circle's own Kinder-Ring. A reunion of Hemshekh-ists was held several years ago, and although I was unable to attend, my sister reported that those who did attended still had the spirit of "Khavershaft".... and a (not too) surprisingly high number of them had made careers in the helping professions. George Fogel 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 4 May 1997 22:46:52 -0400 (EDT) From: zellig@aol.com Subject: The English _Forward_ maims Yiddish Forget correct romanization of Yiddish words in the English _Forward_. For instance, its heading design over the section of personal announcements reads "Meet a Meydl, Meet a mensch" (German spelling), instead of _mentsh_, the correct Yiddish pronunciation. I am certain that the woman who advertised herself (in a recent issue of the _Forward_) as "keeping a kosher home infused with yidishkayt" would rather marry a "mentsh," with all the ramifications that this Yiddish word implies. Similarly, several other women who referred in their Personals to old-fashioned yidishkayt values. Now, in its issue of May 2nd, 1997, p. 15, the _Forward_ carried the following heading: "Bubbe and Zayde Can Ride The Rapids to A Real Connection With The Kinderle [sic]. It is about the new trend in intergenerational camps for grand- children and grandparents. Of course, spelling "Bobe " un "Zeyde" would have been more in accordance with accepted romanized spelling. But "kinderle"? The maimed "kinderle," without the final khof [the lange-khof] was also found in the text proper, not just in the heading, and supposedly was meant for the plural _kinderleKH_. I would not hesitate to call it "decapitate," since to a word it does not matter whether there is deliberate cut-off of an initial letter or a last letter. . Can you imagine, even if only for a mili-second, how Bialik's famous and charming song, originally written in Yiddish, "Unter the grininine beymelekh" ['under the green-green small trees], about Jewish children would look, not to mention how it would sound, without the missing pluralizing lange-khofs? "Unter di grininke beymele-- shpiln zikh Meyshele--, shleymele--, tsitses, kapotkele--, peyele--, ---------------------------- nor eyn zakh farmogn zey eygele--" ... But never mind! The English _Forward_ is edited and published in the very same building where the Yiddish _Forverts_. is edited and published. This means that if the people in charge of the English _Forward_ truly cared, they have a ready access to checking the spelling and romanization of Yiddish words. If they only cared! Zellig Bach Lakehurst, NJ 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 5 May 1997 06:48:04 -0400 (EDT) From: RayFC@aol.com Subject: Bashert I'm interested in the entymology of "bashert" (fate). I have also seen it spelled "beshert," and my wife's bubbe pronounces it "bashect." Thank you. Ray Clayton 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 4 May 1997 23:56:37 -0400 (EDT) From: sweiss@mail.bcpl.lib.md.us Subject: Forming diminutives Zellig Bach in Mendele Vol. 6.295 asks about the reason for dropping the first syllables many diminutive name forms. The simplest explanation that comes to mind is that this represents typical mother-to-child ga-ga goo-goo baby talk. Sam Weiss Baltimore 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 05 May 1997 17:57:48 +0300 From: lprager@research.haifa.ac.il> Subject: Yidisher khreyn iz umatum biter* A friend who works in the Israeli Foreign Service told me this story and asked that I keep it secret. Dear Mendelists, if you pass the story on to your friends, please ask them to keep it secret, too -- in this world one can never be too careful (oznaim lakoysel - di vent hobn oyern). It seems that shortly before Passover leaders of the Spanish Jewish community learned that due to agricultural import restrictions and controlled agricultural policies there was practically no _chazeres_ (_morer_, horse-radish) in all of Spain. This information was relayed to the Israeli Embassy in Madrid, which wired the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem, which quickly contacted the Ministry of Agriculture, which mobilized a planeload of _chazeres_ (horse-radish) almost overnight and flew it to Spain. On arriving in Spain the shipment was immediately quarantined in keeping with Spanish protective policies against natural (not to mention unnatural) pests. The day before Passover the Spanish Jews, feeling a profound compulsion to celebrate the holiday kedin vekedas (vos farlangt nemen a kazis morer, es ayntunkn in khroyses un makhn di brokhe af achilas-morer), telegrammed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem to ask where is the _chazeres_. Fully cognizant of developments on the ground in the Iberian capital, the Ministry Communications Officer (who unfortunately happened to be an Ashkenazi, a condition which has been remedied by now) wired the Spanish Chief Rabbi (my informant saw the telegram!): "The khreyn in Spain is mainly on the plane!" * A well known parody on the expression "Yidishe kheyn iz umatum sheyn" (see Bernshteyn 1586:4). Leonard Prager ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 6.296 Mendele has 2 rules: 1. Provide a meaningful Subject: line 2. Sign your article (full name please) Send articles to: mendele@yalevm.cis.yale.edu Send change-of-status messages to: listserv@yalevm.cis.yale.edu a. For a temporary stop: set mendele nomail b. To resume delivery: set mendele mail c. To subscribe: sub mendele first_name last_name d. To unsubscribe kholile: unsub mendele Other business: nmiller@mail.trincoll.edu ****Getting back issues**** 1. Anonymous ftp archives are available. ftp ftp.mendele.trincoll.edu in the directory pub/mendele/files A table of contents is also available, along with weekly updates. 2. Mendele archives can also be reached as follows: via WWW: http://sunsite.unc.edu/yiddish/mewais.html via gopher: gopher://sunsite.unc.edu/11/../.pub/academic/languages/yiddish/mendele via ftp: ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/academic/languages/yiddish/mendele