Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 7.052 August 19, 1997 1) kumer (Irving Korr) 2) Az me lebt and terms of endearment (Ellen Prince) 3) "Yoyl-lid" oder "Anniversary Song" (Bob Rothstein) 4) Yoyvl-lid (Stanley Levine) 5) Dictionary of Hebrew words (Mendy Fliegler) 6) prittadrincha (sylvia schildt) 7) Verlaine in Yiddish (Esther Goffstein) 8) Anniversary waltz (Chana Mlotek) 9) Yiddish, litvish and poylish (David Herskovic) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 17 Aug 1997 19:18:43 -0700 From: korr Subject: kumer The word "kumer" is of German origin and means grief. Irving Korr 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 17 Aug 1997 22:49:20 EDT From: "Ellen F. Prince" Subject: Az me lebt and terms of endearment Az me lebt: What we said in our Yinglish subculture back in Brooklyn in the '40s-'50s was 'You live long enough, you see everything.' And I recall it being used only for an unexpected GOOD turn of events. Thus, this was NOT an equivalent of 'Live and learn' and certainly not 'You make your bed, you lie in it' (both of which were also quite frequent in their own right). Terms of endearment: my recollection is that the original query (don't still have it, sorry) was for terms of endearment for a significant other, not for children. One that hasn't been mentioned that I think has a nice yiddish flavor is _basherte(r)_. And of course there's _gelibte(r)_, which I also don't think has been mentioned. I'm beginning to think the problem may be that many Mendelniks are not familiar with the term 'significant other'! It means 'SEXUAL partner' -- spouse, lover, POSSLQ, mate, partner, mistress, main man -- whoever one beds down with on a regular basis, regardless of legal status or sexual orientation. I'm finding all these endearing names for children that are being suggested really quite kinky for Mendele... ;) (I can hear Freud saying 'I told you so!' ;) ) ellen prince 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 17 Aug 1997 23:19:27 -0400 (EDT) From: ROBERT A ROTHSTEIN Subject: "Yoyl-lid" oder "Anniversary Song" Mendele 3.134 contained my approximate transcription of Chaim Tauber's Yiddish text of "Anniversary Song," as sung in a recording by Jan Peerce. It was similar to the text quoted in 7.050 by Elliot Gertel. I can now cite sheet music of "Der khasene valts," published by Metro Music and Hensley Music Co. as "Der chasene waltz (The Wedding Waltz)" with a copyright date of 1963. (The original copyright was granted to the arranger, Henry Lefkowitch, in 1947.) Tauber's text (including an additional verse that may or may not be his) is as follows: Akh, yene nakht, yene gliklikhe nakht hot freyd on a shir far undz beyde gebrakht. Tsum ershtn mol ven ikh hob dikh gezen [gezeyn], geshpilt hot dan di muzik azoy sheyn. Tsvey yunge hertser mir zenen geven [geveyn], libes gefiln umshuldik un reyn. Gedrikt hob ikh dir azoy tsertlikh tsu mir, zikh ayngelibt bald in dir. Koym zikh dervart, fun der shul nor aroys, gefayert a khasene, glik azoy groys. Gedenkstu di nakht, s'hot geshpilt di muzik, dem zelbn valts fun glik. Kum, tants mit mir undzer valts fun amol, Gehat nor mit dir hob ikh glik on a tsol. Biz in mayn toyt blaybt mir liber fun alts fun yener nakht undzer khasene valts. Tsugegebener ferz: Lebt nokh di nakht azoy frish vi amol, freyd un layd durkhgemakht hobn mir on a tsol. Khotsh zilber di hor un di fis oykh shoyn mid, In harts klingt gor klor fun dem tants undzer lid. In 3.134 I pointed out that the original music was from an instrumental piece called "Valurile Dunari" ("Waves of the Danube") by the Romanian composer Ion Ivanovici, first published in 1880 in Bucharest, and later popular throughout Europe. According to James J. Fuld's _The Book of World-Famous Music: Classical, Popular and Folk_, the English text of "Anniversary Song" was written by Al Jolson and Saul Chaplin for "The Jolson Story" in 1943, but Ron Robboy's citation of 1946 (7.050) and attribution to Chaplin alone may well be more accurate. Incidentally, the sheet music of "Der chasene waltz" also contains an English reworking of Tauber's Yiddish text by Stanley Lionel. Bob Rothstein 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 18 Aug 1997 20:56:33 -0400 From: "Stanley F. (Shimke) Levine" Subject: Yoyvl-lid Elliot Gertel asks for clarification of the text he transcribed from a recording of Yoyvl-lid. Although I do not know this piece, I believe I can help with one line: > _libes_gefiln_ un _shildet_ (?) un _reyn_, is doubtless "libes-gefiln, unshuldik [pron: --shildik] un reyn," i.e. "feelings of love, innocent and pure" > _gedrikt_ hob ikh dir azoy tsertlekh tsu mir, sounds like good Yiddish: "I pressed you so tenderly to me" (i.e. I embraced you so tenderly) > zikh _eybelekh_faln_ in dir. this line remains a mystery to me. Stanley F. "Shimke" Levine Aiken, SC 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 19 Aug 1997 13:06:16 -0100 From: emenems@juno.com Subject: Dictionary of Hebrew words Marion Aptroot hot uns gezogt in Mendele, Vol. 7.042, az men ken koyfn dem dozikn verterbukh: "Verterbukh fun Loshn-Koydesh-shtamike verter..." gedrukt in Paris...(words of Hebrew and Aramaic origins.) Nu, vi azoy ken men dos koyfn, vi fil kost dus, un vu ken men dos krign??? Mendy Fliegler 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 19 Aug 1997 14:17:52 +0100 From: creativa@charm.net (sylvia schildt) Subject: prittadrincha mayner a gor tayerer khaver (nebekh nit kin mendelyaner) fregt tzi ikh ken a vort "prittadrincha" oder "prittadinsa" vi er zogt "uttered with flourishes of contempt". Zayn vayb maynt az efsher iz dos a vort vos badayt "princess." Voltn zey beyde gevolt visn vos dos vort badayt. Doz vort iz mir umbakant. Loyt mayn farshtand iz dos mestame an oysgetrakhte meshpokhe vort, efsher fun "pritzte" di vayb fun a poretz. Nu, raboysay???? sylvia schildt 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 19 Aug 1997 16:43:56 -0400 (EDT) From: Esterel@aol.com Subject: Verlaine in Yiddish Al Grand writes that he would welcome additional translations for the Verlaine poem "II pleure dans mon coeur." My translations: Al Grand shraybt az er volt geven dankbar far nokh iberzetsungen fun der Verlaine poeme "Il pleure dans mon coeur." Mayne iberzetsungen: Es khlipet in harts Vi es dripet in shtot. Vos iz di shmakht Vos ikh fil in mayn harts? un: Es veynt in mayn harts Vi es gist oyf der gas. Vos iz di umru Vos dergeyt mir tsum harts? "Di umru," the universal anxiety at this period, [19th cent.] was called in French "mal du siecle" and in German "weltschmerz". However, Verlaine had his own particular troubles. In a poem , from the collection "Sagesse" first published in 1881, Verlaine is in jail for having shot and wounded his best friend, for whom he had left his wife. He looks out from the high window of his little prison cell and sees a small patch of sky--'so blue, so calm.' The last stanza sums up his feeling. The poet asks himself: "Di umru," di universale melankholie in der tsayt [19tn y.h.] hot men gerufn in frantsoyzish "le mal du siecle," un in daytsh, "weltschmerz." Ober Verlaine hot gehat zayne eygene tsores. In a poeme fun der zamlung "Sagesse," aroysgegebn in 1881, Verlaine iz in tfise vayl er hot geshosn un gevundet zayn noentstn fraynd, far vemen er hot ibergelozt zayn vayb. Er kukt aroys fun'm hoykhn fentster in zayn tfise kemerl, un zet a kleyn shtikele himl, 'azoy bloy, azoy ruik..' Der letster ferz sumirt zayn gefil. Der poet fregt zikh aleyn: Qu'as tu fait, o toi que voila Pleurant sans cesse, Dis, qu'as tu fait, toi que voila, De ta jeunesse? In Yidish: Vos hostu geton, vos bist do, Veynendik on oyfher... Zog, vos hostu geton, vos bist do .... Mit dayne yunge yorn? un Vos hostu geton,az bist do, Veynendik keseyder, Zog, vos hostu gemakht, do tsu zayn Fun dayne yunge yorn? Esther Goffstein 8)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 19 Aug 1997 16:47:11 -0400 (EDT) From: EMlotek@aol.com Subject: Anniversary waltz The Anniversary Waltz is printed in sheet music under the title "Khasene valts" words by Chaim Tauber and music by Ivanovici. A copy can be obtained by contacting Leo Greenbaum or Gunner at the YIVO Archives (RG 212-Sheetmusic Fl67) or Chana Mlotek, music archivist, upon her return from Klezkanada on Monday. I also went to Maud's Summer Ray with my parents when I was a child and have very warm memories of it. I remember the artist Zuni and his sister Bessie Maud, the proprietress of the hotel, the dancers Katya Delakova and Fred Berk who performed there. I know that the great folklorist Y. L. Cahan and the eminent linguist and literary historian Zalmen Reisen were also guests (Reisen was possibly a guest of Cahan's then). Cahan collected songs from the Muldovan family, who lived down the road - their names occur among his informants. What was your [Goldberg's] father's name? It's like hearing from a landsman. Greetings! Chana Mlotek 9)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 03 Aug 1997 22:46:14 +0100 From: David Herskovic Subject: Yiddish, litvish and poylish The following is an excerpt of a letter in last Friday's edition of the UK's Jewish Chronicle. I'm sure one of our learned friends will provide an answer. "Greater Lithuania... absorbed large chunks of Russia and Poland until it went into decline in the 16th century, and was itself absorbed by Poland in 1569. "This raises an interesting point for Yiddish. "There are recognised Lithuanian and Polish pronunciations in Yiddish but, as far as I know, no Lithuanian words in Yiddish. There are, however, a number of Polish words in Yiddish - shmutter (rag) from the Polish szmata; shpilkes (nervy, tenterhooks) from the Polish szpilka. "I write subject to correction, but why is it that there appear to be no Lithuanian words in Yiddish? David Herskovic ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 7.052