Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 07.192 May 5, 1998 1) "Yiddishland" Request (Malkeh Bachman) 2) haytukhn (Harvey Spiro) 3) a lid (Dobe Wasserman) 4) "Hesse Bed" (pe'rets mett) 5) -te feminine suffix (Alex Manaster Ramer) 6) the -te suffix (Mikhl Herzog) 7) The suffix -nitse (Arnie Kuzmack) 8) Difference between "poylish" and "paylish" (Bob Werman) 9) new web site (Joel Rubin & Rita Ottens) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 26 Apr 1998 20:59:04 EDT From: Batshyra Subject: "Yiddishland" Request Tayere Fraynd, I am a graduate student in English, with some Yiddish background, doing research on the concept of "Yiddishland," of which Harshav writes in his anthology, American Yiddish Poetry: "Literature was 'everything.' It was a substitute for religion and statehood, it was a state in itself, 'Yiddishland'; to abandon it was to abandon the whole culture" (22). I imagine there must be many references to "Yiddishland" in a variety of Yiddish and English texts (and in a variety of registers). If any of you could point me to some of these references (or to any essays that might actually deal with the concept, in whatever way), I would be very grateful. Please feel free to write me directly, if you would prefer. A sheyem dank. Ayer, Malkeh Bachman 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 28 Apr 1998 12:10:25 -0400 From: Harvey Spiro Subject: haytukhn In 07.189, Isak Shteyn asked about the word "haytukhn." It stems directly from Hebrew. The form "yitakhen" in modern Hebrew is a rather formal way of saying "it is possible." The more colloquial form in Hebrew is "yakhol li'hyot." The letter he at the beginning of the word is the "he-ha'sh'ela," a particle that transforms the following word or phrase into a question, much like the word tsi in yiddish (or czy in Polish, I believe). Thus, haytukhn, or its Hebrew ancestor hayitakhen, means:"Is it possible? Could it be?" Harvey Spiro Vienna, Virginia 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 29 Apr 1998 18:56:21 -0500 From: "Stanley N. Werbow" Subject: a lid Efsher kent ir mir aroyshelfn. Ikh gedenk nor di ershte fir shures fun a lid vos mir hobn gezungn in di yidishe shuln in New York. arum dem feyer mir zingen lider di nakht iz tayer mir vern nit mider Vos kumt nokh dem. Dobe Wasserman Austin, TX 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 30 Apr 1998 17:49:26 +0100 From: Percy Mett Subject: "Hesse Bed" J. Nussbaum asked about the origin of "Hesse Bed" [07.181]. I have just seen this query, but no posting answering it. zayt mir moykhl if I've missed the response. The expression is actually *hesv bet* hesv is the Hebrew for reclining, the prefered mode of seating at the seyder. bet because reclining normally takes place on a couch. Indeed it was the custom gfor the head of the family to use some form of couch (the hesv bet) for conducting the seyder. pe'rets mett 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 30 Apr 1998 16:14:37 -0400 (EDT) From: manaster@umich.edu Subject: -te feminine suffix Harvey Spiro asked about the Aramaic-origin words in Yiddish that maintain the "tov-alef" suffix It is a general rule of Yiddish that unstressed final vowels in words of any origin whatever (except some very recent ones) change those vowels to schwa. This is true of Hebrew words and Aramaic and Slavic and other ones. This schwa is written ayin ('e' in transliteration) in words of non-Semitic origin and in those few cases where a word of Semitic origin is nevertheless written "phonetically" (as we know, words of Semtiic origin are usually written accordinmg to the spelling rules of the language of their origin, Hebrw or Aramaic). This is why there are not more examples of a Hebrew or Aramaic alef being replaced by the Yiddish ayin (which isbeing used "phonetically" to represent the schwa sound). Most Hebrew or Aramaic words are written etymologically in Yiddish. But if they were written "phonetically" (as was done for a long time in the former USSR), then all their final unstressed vowels would be written with an ayin. For example, adrabe is written with a final alef, just as in Aramaic, but it is proncounced with the same schwa vowel as in the suffix -te, and if Yiddish were written "phonetically", then this word would also get a final ayin. Alex Manaster Ramer P.S. I put "phonetically" in quotes because in modern linguistics (since the turn of the century roughly) this term has acquired a different meaning than it has in normal usage (which was current in linguistic itself before the turn of the century or so). What I mean by this word here is what it means in normal usage in English, not the technical usage in modern linguistics, which is not relevant here. 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 30 Apr 1998 18:43:25 -0400 From: "Mikhl Herzog" Subject: the -te suffix Of course, Mordkhe Schaechter and Harvey Spiro were right to point out that I misspoke in claiming (so confidently) that the suffix -te occurs ONLY with words of Hebrew origin. _poyerte_, for example, was staring me right in the face. It was proof enough. Mikhl Herzog 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 30 Apr 1998 22:44:29 -0400 From: Arnie Kuzmack Subject: The suffix -nitse Harvey Spiro's statement about the Slavic origin of the feminine suffix -itse is 90% right. It is of Slavic origin, but it's -nitse, which is the feminine of -nik. For example, nudnik/nudnitse. B'sholem, Arnie Kuzmack 8)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 01 May 1998 09:35:08 +0300 From: Robert Werman Subject: Difference between "poylish" and "paylish" What are the main differences in pronounciation between those people who say they are "poylish" and those who refer to themselves as "paylish?" [Has this been discussed before?] And are there other differences in custom and behavior? __Bob Werman Jerusalem 9)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 3 May 1998 10:37:18 -0400 From: Joel Rubin/Rita Ottens Subject: new web site joel rubin & rita ottens Dear friends and colleagues, We are pleased to announce the web site for Joel Rubin, Rita Ottens and Jewish Cultural Programming and Research (JCPR). Here you can find out information about the various projects and publications of JCPR; including: * Joel Rubin Jewish Music Ensemble * Schott Wergo's Jewish Music Series * Trikont's Klezmer Trilogy * Commercial and scholarly publications of Rita Ottens and Joel Rubin Our URL is http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/simontov Best wishes, Joel Rubin & Rita Ottens ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 07.192 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