Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 07.102 November 14, 1997 1) Yiddish and the Virtual Zionist Congress (Sholem Berger) 2) A plea for more on Yiddish literature in Mendele (Louis Fridhandler) 3) ba(g)leytn (Andrey Bredstein) 4) A passage in the night (Charles W. Jones) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 11 Nov 1997 22:33:22 -0500 From: "Zackary Berger" Subject: Yiddish and the Virtual Zionist Congress Tayere yidishistn: Ikh hob voluntirt ontsufirn mit a tsugreyt-komitet fun dem hayyorikn "virtualn tsienistishn kongres" (Virtual Zionist Congress)--dos heyst a min farzamlung fun vebpletser un post-reshimes, vos zol arumredn potentsiele proyektn letoyves yidish, say mitsad klal-yisroel, say mitsad der yisroel-regirung. Tsulib tsayt-oysfeln hob ikh glaykh tsugeshikt dem baygeleygtn tekst--a min araynfir--af aroyfgeleygt tsu vern afn vebplats vos baym "virtualn kongres." Ikh vil ober shtark hobn ayere komentarn--tsi felt epes an iker, oder a vebplats fun der reshime? Git oykh a batrakht afn farlang funem sekretar: "It would be good if you start developing the main decisions/recommendations you would like your committee to endorse and bring to the Zionist Congress (the non-virtual one)." Dear Yiddishists: I've volunteered to lead a preparatory committee for this year's Virtual Zionist Congress ("virtual" meaning Web-based) which would discuss and present proposals for concrete plans for the benefit of Yiddish on the part of both world Jewry and the Israeli government. Because time is short I've already sent the attached text, but I need your comments. In addition, please consider what sorts of recommendations such a committee should bring to the Congress. Problem to be debated: How can the State of Israel and the world Jewish community most effectively and concretely promote the use of the Yiddish language in speech and writing? In particular, how can the Israeli government be convinced to use its Diaspora educational network to promote and institute, not block, Yiddish-language education? In addition, how can the government be induced to implement the recent law passed by the Knesset mandating the promotion of Yiddish? Hoyptfrage Vi azoy kenen medines-yisroel un klal-yisroel protezhirn di yidishe reyd- un kulturshprakh af an efektivn un mamoshesdikn oyfn? Un deriker vi azoy ken men poyeln bay der yisroel-regirung, zi zol mit ire tefutsesdike shuln un lernanshtaltn nisht farshtern, nor shtistn un take aynfirn dertsiung af yidish? Vi azoy ken men brengen di yisroel-regirung mekayem tsu zayn di hiskhayevesn, vos vern ongegebn inem "yidish-gezets", nor vos ongenumen durkhn kneset? Name for the committee Concrete Steps for Yiddish: The Role of World Jewry and of the Israeli Government Nomen: Mamoshesdike plener letoyves yidish: di role fun klal-yisroel un medines-yisroel Relevant weblinks / Shaykhesdike vebpletser http://www.columbia.edu/cu/cria/Current-projects/Yiddish/list.html A list of Yiddish-related sites/ a reshime fun yidishe vebbleter http://world.std.com/~yv/ Dos Yidishe Kol: Yiddish radio station and extensive list of Yiddish sites dos yidishe kol: radio-stantsye un groyse reshime fun vebbleter http://www2.trincoll.edu/~mendele/ Mendele, a forum for discussions in and about Yiddish/ mendele, reshime far yidisher literatur un shprakh http://www.circle.org/public/default.htm The Workmen's Circle/ der arbeter-ring http://www.ozemail.com.au/~mzylberm/ The J. Waks Cultural Center/ yidish in oystralye http://sunsite.unc.edu/yiddish/ The Virtual Shtetl/ dos virtuale shtetl http://www.col.fr/tamtam/ The Yiddish Tam-Tam [Yiddish journal from France]/ der yidisher tam-tam (fun frankraykh) http://www.cs.uky.edu/~raphael/bavebter Der Bavebter Yid (Yiddish Web journal)/ der bavebter yid, a vebzhurnal http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/yivo/ YIVO/ der yivo http://library.pace.edu/~viswanat/yiddish/yugntruf.html Yugntruf--Youth for Yiddish/ yugntruf--yugnt far yidish http://www.cs.uky.edu/~raphael/yiddish.html Yiddish texts and utilities/ yidishe tekstn un makhshirem Sholem Berger New York 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 12 Nov 1997 15:30:22 -0500 (EST) From: Lfridhan@aol.com Subject: A plea for more on Yiddish literature in Mendele I can understand the sensitivity of Alexis Manaster Ramer (7.099, 4). If I detected the slightest hint that research in biochemistry (my former incarnation), or into the life, times and works of Sholem Aleichem was dismissed as worthless, I would bristle immediately. Still, I wonder if it was necessary to defend against dismissal of linguistics as a professional discipline. Of course, linguistics is a worthy profession. My reading of Beni Warshawsky's comments (7.097, 3) does not persuade me that he meant to dismiss a whole discipline. But Warshawsky can speak for himself. Scientists make valuable, enriching discoveries through "uncommon" sense. Common sense tells us a lot about the Yiddish language, but clearly not enough, and without the corrections that come from critical examination based on the best knowledge available. Having said that, I now make a plea for more discussion on the fruits of the _use_ of the Yiddish language. I mean its employment for art, amusement, jokes, discussion of philosophical issues; that is every kind of communication. That is, I plea for more emphasis on Yiddish literature at all levels in Mendele. However, I don't want to see _less_ about the fruits of scientific language investigation. Yiddish language and literature are both necessary components of Mendele. There is no more than a trickle of new Yiddish literature, and it is hard to obtain. But there is a massive amount of older Yiddish literature worthy of attention and study. For sources of material there are the National Yiddish Book Center, the Workmen's Circle and possibly others. There is much to be mined. A short piece like Sholem Aleichem's Dos Porfolk drew a few commentators who, I think, discovered more than is perceptible by a quick reading. Sholem Aleichem is still not a fully understood author. Perhaps no artist can ever be "fully" understood, but we can always learn more, and that is very worthwhile. Louis Fridhandler 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 14 Nov 1997 02:14:42 +0300 From: "Andrey Bredstein" Subject: ba(g)leytn Khoshever fraynt Hugh Denman (07.099:6) halt mayn hashore (vegn Uriel Vaynraykh: er flegt zikh avekzetsn ba zayn shraybtish un oystrakhtn naye yidishe verter) far an oysterlishe un modne. Mir vilt zikh a bisl derklern dem inyen, kedey me zol beser farshteyn vos ikh meyn. Uriel Vaynraykh iz on keyn shim sofek an oysgetseykhnter leksikograf, un zayn verterbukh iz (oykh bli-sofek) a glentsndiker baytrog in der yidisher filologie. Ikh gloyb, az di dozike arbet (tsunoyfshteln a verterbukh) fodert gikher a sheferishn, eyder a tekhnishn tsugang: yeder kompyuter iz mesugl tsu makhn a verter-reshime, ober me darf tsugebn a hipsh bisl lebedike makhshoves, araynblozn a shtikl neshome, azoy tsu zogn, in toyte shpaltn, ot di reshime zol vern a verterbukh. A leksikograf iz nisht keyn politsyant vos shraybt zayn protokol punkt azoy, vi alts iz geshen, neyn, un dray mol neyn - er trakht oys epes nays loyt zayn tsvek un farshtand. Avade! Un bazunders Uriel Vaynraykh mit zayn lingvistisher bildung un litvishn opshtam. Ershtns, dos opklayb fun di verter. Es shteyt, tsum bayshpil, ba im aza litvish vort, vi "brik" (inem batayt fun "podloge"), ober s'iz nito keyn poylishn "ok(o)vit"... Tsveytns kumt zayn bager tsu farfestikn di YIVO-dergreykhungen afn shprakh-front. Un dritns, lomir zayn ernst: ver vet oysnitsn azelkhe verter vi "tsu friik" oder "naytsaytish"? Ikh hob arumgegan mit der-o shayle a por tsendliker mentshn, un ale hobn mir gezogt dos zelbe: "fritsaytik" un "modern" onshtot oybndermonte "neologizmen". Vu kon men derhern dos azoy gerufene "yidishe" vort "bizar"? In Amerike? Un af vos badarfn mir dan di klal-shprakh, mit velkher agev, barimt zikh YIVO? Mit eyn vort: Uriel Vaynraykh hot yo oysgetrakht (oder geshafn, oyb me vil) naye verter, un es iz gor nit shlekht, nor punkt farkert. Haynt mikoyekh "ba(g)leytn". Mordkhe Schaechter shraybt (0.7097:7) az er hot fartseykhnt di forme "baleytn" fun mer vi 30 bavuste yidishe shrayber. A shod, vos er zogt gornisht vegn di oysgabes, vayl dos iz bashaymperlekh - in farsheydene farlagn zetst men oys nit glaykh; di ortografies hobn mir, nit tsu farzindikn, oykh genug... Un es dakht zikh, az "bagleytn" mit giml iz take beser. Farvos? Iber tsvey sibes: 1) "baleytn" on giml klingt noent tsum vort "baleydikn", un dos iz nit keyn groyse mayle; 2) me zogt nit poshet azoy, lekholhapokhes in mayn svive, un fun statistishn shtandpunkt iz dos shoyn a bavayz: oyb 20-25 mentshn (mit farsheydene dialektn, d.h. fun Moldavie, Ukraine, afile fun Vaysrusland) zogn "shiker", darfn zikh di iberike leygn shlofn... Efsher zoln mir dos shteln tsum opshtimen in Mendele? A gut shabes alemen! Andrey Bredstein. 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 14 Nov 1997 09:41:22 -0500 (EST) From: Charles Jones Subject: A passage in the night Being a little behind in reading Mendele, I've just come across the question of Marjorie Schonhaut Hirshan about a work by Sholem Asch (07.099). Our library catalog here at Harvard lists a 1953 English edition of A passage in the night and a 1954 Yiddish edition of Grosman un zun. The record for the latter has a note that reads "First published in English under title: A passage in the night." Charles W. Jones Cambridge, Mass. ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 07.102 Address for the postings to Mendele: mendele@lists.yale.edu Address for the list commands: listproc@lists.yale.edu Mendele on the Web: http://www2.trincoll.edu/~mendele http://sunsite.unc.edu/yiddish/mendele.html