Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 08.042 August 13, 1998 1) "folks-froi" (Jon Levitow) 2) On Birds and Flowers (Mikhl Herzog) 3) cross-language ambiguous sentences (David Sherman) [Moderator's note] 4) Nakhum/Nokhum/Nukhem (Beni Warshawsky) 5) rebe Peter (Peter Kluehs) 6) shvartse muzik (Norbert Reinhartz) 7) Yiddish in Israel (Yosef Gilboa) 8) yidish un yidishkayt (sylvia schildt) 9) etlekhe protim (sylvia schildt) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 7 Aug 1998 19:12:51 -0400 (EDT) From: JLevitow@aol.com Subject: "folks-froi" Teyere Mendelyanskis, A grus far ale. There don't seem to be tsu fil machaloykes (too many arguments) raging at the moment, so I thought I'd jump in with a couple questions. I wish I had some new pieces of information to trade, but I don't, so what to do? All are welcome to e-mail me directly. a) We have a brivele written in Yiddish by our Bube to her descendants about her early days in Ostrolenka, Poland, which she left in 1922. In it she describes her mother, saying she was a "folks-froi" -- semi-colon -- "zi hot gevust a zach vegn doktorye un men hot zich tsu ir gevendt in fal krankheit." (She knew a lot about medicine, and people turned to her when they were sick.) She goes on in the paragraph to describe how the children were kept up at night to help with all this doctoring. The father by the way was a Vurker Hasid. The kashye is, what might the expression "folks-froi" signify, precisely? Is it equivalent to, "proste yidne," i.e., a simple or uneducated person? The context suggests on the contrary that this was a woman who knew something by way of the "folk" tradition, but I wonder, would there have been a name for such a thing back then? b) Noch a kashye fun ibersetzung (another question about translation): Bube's sister fled Ostrolenka and wound up in a Byelorussian town called Stolin in 1940, and writes in a postcard, "Ich hob meine zachn aroisgenumen fun paner (faner?) un gevarfen in wasser." (I took my things out of the pan (?) and threw them in the water.) Is this an idiom meaning she had lost all her things? Again, that's what the context suggests, but I'd like to know for sure. c) Is anyone out there "bokye" (skilled) at deciphering Yiddish handwriting? We have two letters written by a member of this same family circa 1940, but the handwriting is not legible to me. The letters are not damaged; they're just not carefully written. We could send enlarged copies and would be happy to provide compensation. d) I would like to find the words to the song, "Ziben Gute Yor" (Seven Good Years), composed it appears by a person named "Rumszynski." I have it on a French 2 CD anthology called, "Yiddish -- New York Paris Varsovie 1910-1940," sung in Yiddish by Julius Guttman, recorded in Berlin in 1927. I can't make much of it out. e) Can anyone suggest an efficient way for me to locate the Ostrolenker "Yizkor Book?" I am writing to those Ostrolenkers whose addresses we still have, but I thought someone might have another suggestion. Any Ostrolenkers out there, by chance? S'iz genug fun mir. Zu ale a shaynem dank. Jon Levitow 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 7 Aug 1998 10:04:28 -0400 (EDT) From: "Mikhl Herzog" Subject: On Birds and Flowers. Marjorie Schonhaut Hirshan asks about the name _Feygl_. Here's the story, again, briefly: The name _Feygl_ is NOT the Yiddish plural _feygl_ 'birds' (an unlikely name for a child). It IS the correspondent of German _Voeglein_ a regional variant of the flower-name _Veilchen_ 'violet'. Presto! The girl's name VIOLET. Mikhl Herzog 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 09 Aug 1998 13:20:21 -0400 From: "David M. Sherman" Subject: summer musings: cross-language ambiguous sentences Living in a home where we use Yiddish with a lot of arayngemisht English vocabulary with our kids, there are a number of words which could be English or Yiddish with different meanings. Occasionally one find oneself using sentences where there's ambiguity depending on whether a vocabulary word is English or Yiddish. It's fun to list some of these. Note that our pronunciation is Polish Yiddish (i.e., "flaysh" instead of "fleysh"). "M'kon dikh hern durkh di vent" -- In our (noisy) household, sound travels through the heating vents between certain rooms. If this sentence is said to a kid in the basement playroom by someone who is in a particular upstairs bedroom, means (English) vent. But if the speaker is in the next room it means "walls". I know of no way of telling the difference. "Vish op dos tayl" -- said to someone who is wiping a spill off the kitchen floor. Are you asking them to clean this "part" of the floor, or a particular floor tile? I know no way of telling the difference. This one's more whimsical: You toss a crumpled piece of paper towards the garbage can and it doesn't go in. "Mist!" Are you referring to the garbage, or saying "[I] missed!"? The above are all real-life examples. I asked the kids to think of more, and Shoshana came up with "meyl", but it's a bit contrived to think of a sentence where it's actually ambiguous. I suppose "Di meyl iz ofn tish in di kekh" would qualify, What's on the table -- flour or the day's mail? Any others? (Note that "nayn" does NOT work in our dialect: if I ask Avraham oyb er iz akht yor alt and he responds "nayn!", that's "no", while "nahn" would be 9.) David Sherman Toronto [Moderator's note: Another interesting example for David's collection - Yiddish/English homonyms with the similar meaning - can be found in recent Forward (July 31, 1998). The key refrain of Yosef Kerler's poem "Khezhbn" (_Khezshbun_ in Forward's transliteration) "Mir zaynen kvit" (= we are even, _kvit_ is from Russ/Ukr/Pol word for ticket or receipt) translated by Betty Perlov as "We are quit". - i.v.] 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 9 Aug 1998 03:23:37 -0400 (EDT) From: "B&D Warshawsky" Subject: Nakhum/Nokhum/Nukhem In Michael Shimshoni's disagreement with Yosef Gilboa's explanation of the transformation of the patakh in the Hebrew name Nakhum to the kometz in the Yiddish name Nokhum, he tells a very clever story which I enjoyed a great deal. The story plays with the name Yiddish Nokhum and the verse in Exodus 13,17 "lo nokhom elokim." By way of the story, I don't think he is suggesting that the name Nokhum comes from the word nokhom because it doesn't explain the transformation of the second kometz in nokhom to a shuruk/milufum in Nokhum. If he is suggesting that the pronunciation change is due to sloppy speech patterns then it doesn=92t explain the consistent pronunciation of both the kometz and shuruk/milufum in Litvisch Yiddish Nokhum and the Poylish Yiddish Nukhem. Beni Warshawsky 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 9 Aug 1998 16:51:28 -0400 (EDT) From: pelokoha@t-online.de (Peter Kluehs) Subject: rebe Peter khosheve khaveyrim, hob ikh zikh gekhidusht un gefreyt oykhet, az a ponim hot amol gelebt a rebe mitn nomen Peter. ikh tsitir fun der mayse "di makhloykes mitn rambam" vos gefindt zikh inem mayse-bukh fun 1602: rebe Moyshe hot dernokh vayter mamshekh geven un gezogt: "du host oykh nisht gevolt trinken fun vayn, makhmes mayn meshores heyst Peter un host dir getrakht, az er iz an orl un derfar iz der vayn yayen-nesekh. vil ikh ober, du zolst visn, az hagam er heyst Peter, iz er ober a zeltn frumer, opgehitener yid, vi es iz shver aza eynem tsu gefinen, un heysn heyst er nokh a godl betoyre". azoy reydndik, hot er oyfge- misht a gemore un im gevizn a groysn mufleg betoyre, vos hot take geheysn rebe Peter. efsher kon emetser bahavnt in gemore mir moydie zayn vegn di biografye funem dozikn godl betoyre? a dank foroys! Peter Kluehs 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1998 19:44:10 -0400 (EDT) From: Norbert Reinhartz Subject: shvartse muzik Dear Mendelyaner, Yiddishland Cafe of the Workmen's Circle in Toronto is preparing an evening on the theme "Jewish and black music: from the roots up". We are struggling with the translation into Yiddish of the term "black music". "Shvartse muzic" does not sound right; "negerishe muzik" might not be politically correct. Any suggestions? Henia Reinhartz 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 12 Aug 1998 03:12:32 -0400 (EDT) From: AJ Gilboa Subject: Yiddish in Israel David Herskovics wrote about the lack of Hebrew poetry on the Web in his tirade against the perceived anti-Yiddishism in Israel. This only proves that one cannot depend on the web for everything! What about good old-fashioned books!? There are exceptionally good anthologies of Hebrew poetry, from biblical to modern, including many examples of medieval poetry and much much more. Some of these have benefitted from excellent translations into English, e.g., an anthology by the late T. Carmi, an immigrant from North America, himself a modern Hebrew poet. As far as I am aware, the Israeli school curriculum is quite even-handed in selection of our literary heritage. One must be aware that, "official" anti-Yiddish pronouncements notwithstanding, until quite recently (with the advent of non-Yiddish-speakers into Israeli politics), all important cabinet meetings were conducted in Yiddish. I also think you may be missing an important point about Hebrew vs. Yiddish. For a nation regathering its fragments from the corners of the earth, the one language we all have in common is Hebrew - the natural choice for our lingua franca. This should not preclude ethnic pluralism as regards all aspects of our mulifaceted cultural roots - language, food, dress, music, etc... as indeed it does not. Just listen to the babel of tongues in any public place in Israel and you will understand what I mean. As for the "new Jew" cut off from his golus past - this misguided ideal has been scrapped long ago along with the Rock Ivrit movement. I think you are beating a dead horse. Yosef Gilboa 8)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 12 Aug 1998 13:45:24 -0400 (EDT) From: Pcreativa@charm.net (Sylvia Schildt) Subject: yidish un yidishkayt Oy, di hartzike verter fun Feygelen un Dovidn bavayzen vider az es brent nokh a shtarker flam fun yidish un yidishkayt. Tzudertzu vil ikh betn az di baamte vos vel firn dem Yidish Klub Konferentz (in Oygust) in Los Angeles (Fish Kutner un azey vayter) veln informirn zeyere konferentn, un ikh hof az di khevre veln informirn zeyere mitglider. Un azey vet zikh boyen a dringndn koyekh oystzuleyzn dem dozikn problem. In dem Spolsky/Shomany Abstrakt shteyt eykh geshribn, un ikh tzitir: "The cultural institutes and attaches of the various countries involved also provide varying amounts of support. " Mir, di libhobers fun Yidish in di tfutzes, mir darfn shtitzn Yidish in Yisroyl - un mit dem vos mir lozn visn di shprakh instantzn in Yisroyl az mir kukn zikh tzu tzu zeyere shtik, iz dos an aktzie vos iz zeyer k'day. We, the lovers of Yiddish in the various coutries outside Israel, must support Yiddish in Israel. And by letting the appropriate language entities in Israel know that we are on the watch, we are performing an appropriate act. sylvia schildt baltimore, maryland 9)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 12 Aug 1998 13:45:23 -0400 (EDT) From: Pcreativa@charm.net (Sylvia Schildt) Subject: etlekhe protim Tayere Mendelyaner: mayn kompyuter iz haynt ufgeshtanen tkhiyes ha-meysim, nokh 4-5 teg "tzvishn 2 veltn" un ikh hob oysgenutzt dem gelegnheyt oystzuforshn etlekhe vikhtike protim far di vos viln epes ufton lteyves dem inyen "yidish in yisroyl." di ershte un dringnste frage iz -- ver iz der minister vos hot di makht iber dertziyung ? -- ta-da! ikh hob ongeklungen in yisroyl ambasade in vashington un ot iz zeyer entfer: der minister fun dertziyung, kultur un sport iz: Yitchak Levy Minister of Education, Culture & Sport 34 Shivtei Israel Jerusalem Israel 91911 Phone: 972-2-560-222 Fax: 972-2-560-2752 url: www.education.gov.il Di froy mitn amt fun Inspectorke fun Yidish Limud is Vered Koppel. (Agev, zi hot gezolt onteyl nemen in veltrat konferentz, nor zi hot nit gekent bayzayn vayl zi hot ersht geboyrn a kind.) Ikh hob gefunen zeyer a vikhtik abstrakt fun Bernard Spolsky un Elana Shohamy untern nomen "National Profiles of Languages in Education: Israel: Language Policy. Es iz k'day dos durkhtzuleyenen in gantzn. Deb veb-adres iz: www.biu.ac.il/hu/prcmult.htm Di 2 shrayber zaynen: Dr. Bernard Spolsky, Director of Research Staff, Language Policy Research Center vi eykh Professor, Dept. of English, Bar-Ilan University. Co-Director: Elana Shohamy, Schol of Education, Tel Aviv University. Ikh tzitir etlekhe oystzugn vos hobn a shaykhes tzu undzer inyen. "While Israel is highly multilingual, with a 20% Arabic-speaking minority and large number of languages used by its enormous immigrant population - such as the 600,000 Russian speakers and the 50,000 Ethiopians ,,, Hebrew is the dominant language for official, public and private use of the 5,500,citizens. One of the concomitants of this secular Zionist ideology has been the strong encouragement of Hebrew learning and use by immigrants, and the active discouragement of public (or even private use) of the other languages known by the population. .... The national language is Hebrew, but only 60% of the Jewish population were born is Israel, so that for about half of the Jewish population, Hebrew is not the mother tongue .... for about 5% of the population ... the native language was Yiddish. Language Education Over the past few years, a number of fundamental changes have been taking place in a piecemeal fashion in the policy concerning the place of languages in Israeli education. These have now been crystallized in the first formal statemtn of a Policy for Language Education in Israel, a document issued in the Ministry of Education Director-General's Circular dated June 1, 1995, re-isued 15 April 1996. The policy, its new features to take effect in September 1996 covers mother tongue teaching, and second and foreign language education. Foreign Language Education " [ My comment: Yiddish is dealt with as a foreign tongue ... the mame loshn of Ashkenazi Jewry is not dealt wity under the rubric of "Mother Tongue Education" -- what is wrong with this picture? ] "... The policy encourages students to also study a third foreign language. Languages in which there exist programs are Yiddish (also used as the language of instruction in the independent ultra-orthodox schools), Ladino, Spanish and German ... The new policy also encourages the development of special language schools. THE LANGUAGE EDUCATION SYSTEM Organization of language education The new policy rationalizes and modifies existing policies and practices, and in particular sets general goals and lays down funding mechanisms for the teaching of languages in the schools. Within the Ministry of Education, responsibilities are shared by the Chief Inspectors for the various languages (under the authority of the Pedagogical secretariat), the directors of the various levels of education, and the curriculum division. Furthersupervision and direction is provided by local education districts. FInal policy decisions are made at the individual school level. The results therefore vary.... other languages for which there are significant numbers of students are French, Russian and Yiddish. For each language, there is a curriculum drawn up by the chief inspector with the advice of a national professional committee, and approved by the Ministry. The curriculum also serves as the basis for the school leaving examinations. Ministry policy provides a basis of optional and required teaching hours for each language, but these hours may be supplemented by local educational districts and by schools for their own resources. Teacher qualification and support As a general rule, elementary school teahers are trained in teachers' college and high school teachers in universities. The supply of trained teachers varies by subject. ..... Language teachers are supported by Ministry and local education inspectors and advisors, ...(many have only part-time positions). The cultural institutes and attaches of the various countries involved also provide varying amounts of support. TRENDS IN LANGUAGE EDUCATION A major strengthening of languageeducation programs is under way. There is a gradual move from the traditional monolingual (Hebrew) plus English program and philosophy to a more open acceptance of multilingualism and language maintenance. Increasing programs are leading to a growing professionalization of the fields. Within the Ministry, the new policy has led to steps to bring language inspectors together for the first time. The Ministry is funding a three-year study by a university-based Language Policy Research Center. The full potential for developing language capacity is hardly realized. The new Ministry policy acknowledges the unfortunate loss of the potential of early immigrant languages (especially French and Arabic) and call to correct this especially in the case of Russian..... ...the new emphasis on language education and the new policy provide an atmosphere in which these questions can be raised and discussed. "( www.biu.ac.il/hu/prcmult.htm ) Sof tzitatziye. In di ramen fun azelkhe enderungen, un dem fakt fun a gezetz vos derklert az Yidish un Ladino darfn beyde bakumen a milyon un a halb shekel af tzu antviklen ot di arbet, un zeyendik az Ladino hot shoyn bakumen ire gelter, fregt zikh nokhamol di zelbe kashe ... vu zaynen di onderhalben milyon shekel vos balangt tzu Yidish limud???? sylvia schildt baltimore, maryland ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 08.042 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