Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 08.093 December 6, 1998 1) Rules (Miriam Halkin) 2) Rules (Mel Poretz) 3) Whither Mendele, or wither Mendele? (Louis Fridhandler) 4) Rules (Michael Shapiro) 5) Death Greatly Exaggerated (Fred Sherman) 6) Klinghofer's "logic" (Itsik Shteyn) 7) aza min onshikenish (shmuel batt) 8) University of Oxford M.A. in Yiddish (Bruce J. Mitchell) 9) Poems in Mendele (Herman Taube) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 29 Nov 1998 09:27:06 -0500 (EST) From: Miriam Halkin Subject: Rules I would like to take issue with Hugh Denman's assumption that "most readers of _Mendele_ may be assumed to read both languages with almost equal facility". Even if he is correct -- and without a proper survey, I can't see how he can possibly know -- there are still some who most definitely do NOT read both languages with equal facility. As one of the latter group, I am always most grateful for bilingual postings. Yiddish postings are wonderful teaching aids when accompanied by English translations. Otherwise, unless the posting is very short, the effort involved in plowing through it with a dictionary at hand is far more time-consuming than I can afford. I feel that _Mendele_ can (and should) fulfill an important function as a teaching aid, and the bilingual postings are invaluable for that purpose. Miriam Halkin 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 28 Nov 1998 19:40:41 -0500 (EST) From: EMPE@aol.com Subject: Rules First off, I am not a linguist. I am a writer who hears (and loves) the music of language and especially mameh-luhshn, athough I would not bet much on how accurately I remember the music of my parents' Yiddish, or the quality of their limited years in an Eishyshok "gihmnahsium." Some, many in fact, Mendelyaners appear to be making efforts to spell Yiddish words with orthographic/phonetic assists, particularly aimed at newcomers to Yiddish or to those whose vocabularies enable them to get by, but who might not be able to accurately visualize certain words. For example, the word for "face" when spelled "punem" misses the mark by permitting the new reader to sound it out like the word for "pun" with an "em" tagged on at the end. I've often seen it spelled as "poonem" and maybe some Yiddish, somewhere, was spoken that way. Introducing the letter "h" gives it the special resonance of "puhnem" where the first syllable sounds like "puff" as in taking (nishtduhgedokt) a drag on a stogie. The word for "all" when spelled "ale" rings true to Yiddishists who automatically sound it in their mind's ear the way it was spoken by our tateh- mamehs, regardless of how the word appears on a printed page or screen; but to the uninitiated, at any rate, it could sound like a bottle of ale. Finishing the word with the letter "h" gives it the Yiddish sound quality it needs, "aleh." When the word for "from" is used in the Yiddish, it could read to some like the English word for an enjoyable experience and not the Yiddish "fuhn." Again, experienced Yiddishists won't give these shortcuts a second thought. The more I've been reading the postings and realizing that there are many newcomers to the language, or people who have returned to it after lengthy hiatuses, the more I would encourage Mendele to offer some occasional visual aid to that class of readers on this subject and to encourage a higher degree of uniformity, as much as the diversity of our language's broad range of pronunciations will permit. The word "chutzpah" in the form internationalized by a lawyer's book, not to mention what Ed Koch's highly publicized name did to the "ch" v. "kh" issue, rendered the use of the latter instead of the former virtually unnecessary. I'd opt for it, anyway! I wonder if "ch" will assist in the proper way to pronounce "charedim" and "noch" ("notch"?) among a host of others. I keep "hearing" some probably small group of Mendelayners writing "gute" as rhyming with the English "cute" when what was meant was the Yiddish word for "good" as in "good boy." That would make it "guteh." The other "good" would still not be served by "gute," which would better be spelled as "guht" so it doesn't sound like the synonym for my inflated "boykh." (Even that doesn't exactly make it; I'll leave that to the legion of linguistic mayvuhnehm.) Influenced by the profusion of ponderous polemics on the subject of the future of Yiddish, it seems to follow, in my mind at least, that one way to assure its perpetuation is to instill a more cohesive orthographic/phonetic style in as many venues as we can. Obviously, this does not account for foreign readers who spellings and pronunciations might not fit within any such rubric. I'd settle, mit gelust, for an Americanized standardization. Vus zuhgst du? Mel Poretz 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 3 Dec 1998 15:41:55 -0500 (EST) From: Lfridhan@aol.com Subject: Whither Mendele, or wither Mendele? If I had to provide a title for this missive, I would call it "Whither Mendele? Scholarship vs. Scholasticism; Spontaneity vs. Strict Rules; Creativity vs. Dogma." If I read him correctly, Hugh Denman (8.090, 9) would advise that contributors to Mendele craft their contributions to comply with certain rules. He focuses on consistency, and urges adherence to YIVO standards of transcription. This latter issue has arisen in Mendele more than once before. There is much value in all that. I am in fundamental agreement with Hugh Denman. I wish I were a better Yiddish grammarian, etc. BUT! Caution! While a strict adherence to standards may keep workers sharply focused, it can stifle originality. It can also stifle lively and intimate discourse that make our Yiddish enterprise develop in worthwhile directions. If anyone asked my advice, I would say "Don't be deterred by the common academic charges of "NOSTALGIA," and "EMOTIONAL INVOLVEMENT PREVENTS OBJECTIVITY." That may promote dry rot (metaphorically). Feelings mobilize creative energy, while discipline harnesses the energy and directs it sensibly. Must have both. The meat and potatoes of this missive: Communication matters most. Rules aid, but are not the essence. Some academicians seem to lose sight of that when they tread beyond their academic community, and issue global pronouncements. It's tough being an academician. The work is hard, the rewards are distant, and may seem meager compared to the value of the products. Moreover, it is hard to keep in mind the narrow limits of one's influence and the even narrower limits of authority. Within one's academic community the academician has responsibilities and obligations which, if met, earn him or her a modicum of authority in a limited sphere. Beyond the academician's community, he or she still bears the same responsibilities and obligations, but earns no authority whatsoever. That is a simple fact sometimes forgotten. On Mendele, everyone, including the academician, has the privilege to learn and educate (e.g., to propose the clear advantages of certain rules), but has no mantle of authority to ordain anything. Huge Denman did NOT give the impression of ordering anything. He proposed. However, an occasional contributor to Mendele has gone beyond friendly suggestions, and asserted dogma, and arrogantly suggested that those who don't conform keep out. This is bound to inhibit worthy contributions. I also have in mind the stifling quality of pseudo-authoritarian pronouncements by academicians about the "irrelevance" and "death" of Yiddish. No one has that degree of authority or vision. No one can predict the future. Such arrogant pronouncements are foolish, destructive, and provide aid and comfort to right-wingers like David Klinghoffer (8.089, 1), et al. Communication from the heart, not a list of rules, endows our undertaking with the miracle of life. Louis Fridhandler 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 6 Dec 1998 14:19:14 -0500 (EST) From: Jostlasa@aol.com Subject: Rules As the number of yiddish speakers and writers continues to decrease and are not being replenished in any number, (other than the orthodox) it would be better to be more lax with the rules and encourage more participation. Since my Yiddish is extremely limited I would appreciate a translation accompaning all yiddish entries. This would help me expand my yiddish vocabulary and help others learn the language. When the world was full of Yiddish speakers we could afford to be more snobby, but this attitude could only by counter productive today. For Yiddish to survive it is crucial that yiddish speakers reach out and encourage the beginners. Its a shanda und a karpa that this narrow minded, high brow attitude pervails while Yiddish is becoming extinct. Gunnick mit these mishugna rules. Even a bissel yiddish is better than no Yiddish. I thought it was disgraceful that the movie about Jewish immigrants, Avalon, had practically had no Yiddish while shows like rugrats use yiddish words freely. Maybe we succeeded to well in our assimilation that we're afraid to use and pass down our mama loshen. Yiddish is not a language for the universities and libraries, it was always an everyday language. We need a break from the rules. Do you want Yiddish to be like the species that are threatened with extinction, to be preserved in zoos, or to regenerate an interest in Yiddish and keep it vibrant in the real world. Michael Shapiro 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 29 Nov 1998 14:04:23 -0500 (EST) From: Fred Sherman Subject: Death Greatly Exaggerated The last three issues of Mendele were great. Thanks so much to Mr Guzick for allowing Mr. Klinghoffer to inform us -- among other things -- that Yiddish is a gay language. I didn't know that. I suspect and hope that I will never know many of the things that Mr. K. "knows". Mr. Denman believes that "most readers of _Mendele_ may be assumed to read both languages with almost equal facility". Well, lots of things may be assumed, however incorrectly. I'd like to know how he reached that conclusion. Is there a survey among subscribers that I've missed? Mr D. also suggests that contributors should never translate their messages. Why not? Indeed, I don't understand Mr. Denman at all. Unless he really wants to kill Yiddish by driving people away from it. The Kurtzmans suggests Yiddish only, regardless of the writer's limitations in the language. Well,immersion is great when learning the language in a classroom, where you get immediate feedback and reinforcement, but when isolated at a keyboard one is over-conscious of Mr. Denman's admonition that "There is no virtue in filling _Mendele_ with Yiddish so agrammatical and unidiomatic that it makes the reader wince!" Who wants to be the cause of so much wincing? I used to get upset when people attacked each other in Mendele, feeling that the language was so fragile that we couldn't afford to alienate whatever remnant of Yiddish lovers existed. I was wrong. I conclude that things are just fine the way they are, "Two Jews, three opinions" rules, and that people should write whatever and however they want to. If you want decorum, go to church. Sincere thanks to Hershl Hartman for his insights. The supposed death of Yiddish and former death of Hebrew suggest that these "tsvey meyzim geyn tantzen". Fred Sherman 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 30 Nov 1998 18:33:11 -0500 (EST) From: shteyn@juno.com (Isak Shteyn) Subject: Klinghofer's "logic" It may be an amusing exercise to try to follow the logic of the WSJ article (08.089): 1. First, Mr.Klinghofer states that "there are reasons not to love Yiddish". 2. Then go the reasons: a) it sounds like German; b) some people add "a thick layer of cutesy-poo relish to its pronunciation", which "can be aesthetically problematic"; c) equating Yiddish with Jewish is regarded by Sefaradim as bigotry; 3. Then the statement that "what attracts in Yiddish is its very deadness" (no proof for this nonsense). 4. Now, the author opposes Yiddish to Jewishness, insinuating that Yiddish is the origin of antireligiousness of the Yiddishists (reinforced by the gays). 5. From the "lingua franca" of Eastern European Jews, Yiddish now becomes their "tribal language". 6. Consequently, we, Jews are only a tribe, who didn't grow up to the category of people or nation. Notorious kind of thinking! 9. Once we are a tribe, the imagination of Mr.Klinghofer takes off without any limits: a) Rabbis confirm that our "religion was grafted (dishonestly) onto a tribe"; b) This tribe possessed "zero intrinsic importance", and c) "The tribal secular view of Jewishness really is a slur". And this article appeared anno 1998 in the "Wall Street Journal". Inscrutable Thy paths, Almighty! Itsik Shteyn 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 2 Dec 1998 13:58:18 -0500 (EST) From: samuel batt Subject: aza min onshikenish... Tayere Mendelianer! in mayn alter tate-mame heym, vos di nazis hobn khorev gemakht, az s'hot zikh getrofn etvos vos m'hot nit dervart un nit angenems, a bitere shlekhte zakh, flegt men dos onrufn an onshikenish. mayn mame o'h flegt etlekhe mol a shpay tun un zogn: "zol dos oyslozn zikh tsu unzere sonims kep!" ot epes azoyns hot getrofn mit mir ven kh'hob ibergeleyent dos shraybekhts fun epes a parshoyndl. kh'meyn az fun eyn zayt is undzer Iosif Vaisman geven gerekht opleygndik dos farefentlekhn dem dozign shmutzikn un ameratzishn onfal vos dos dozige kleyne parshoyndl hot gevagt tsu makhn oyf undzer filgelitn folk un oyf der vundershprakh fun azelkhe gigantn vi Mendele Moykher Sforim, Sholem Aleykhem, Sholem Ash, Itzkhok Leybush Peretz, Der Nistor, Dovid Bergelson, Dovid Hofshteyn, Bas Shevis Zinger un toyzenter andere groyse un klenere shafer. Fun der tzweyter zayt hot Iosif Vaisman getun zeyer gut vos er hot undz gelozt visn az tzvishn Yidn zenen, tsum groysn badoyern, nokh faran eyntzige bashefenishn, vos meynen az zey zenen take Yidn un derloybn zikh umgelumperte ameratzishkayt un mise rederayen vegn dem az mir zenen nit kayn folk nor a sheyvet (tribe), a religie (religion) makhmes azoy meynen gevise rabonim (vegn vos ikh tzveyfl zeyer, epes hot es tzunoygemisht, nit farshtanen, dos parshoyndl). Mayn foter o'h flegt amol zogn az "a Yid a nar iz erger fun a meshimed". er der doziger "gelernter" zhurnalistl vos pruvt redn in nomen fun undz Yidn, lebt nokh, vi s'vajst oys inem fintztern mitlalter ven dos Yiddishe folk hot men take geroydeft un gebrent oyf auto-da-fes take derfar vayl zayne katoylishe sonim hobn gehaltn es far a religie un nit mer. meyle, er der mr."shrayber" hot faynt Yiddish, far im is es nit kayn shprakh nor epes a mish-mash "nit sheyn un nit mis". vayst oys epes azoyns vus m'ken nit lib hobn. avade ken men nit lib hobn a shprakh vos men veyst nor az s'hot in zikh azelkhe umfarshtendlekhe verter vi "mensh" (gemeynt MENTSH), vos m'hot keynmol nit gefilt ir tam, nit dem zisn, nit dem bitern. in 1958 oder 1959 (zoln mikh di Mendelianer koregirn) hot di UNESCO fun di fareynikte felker proklamirt dos Yor fun Sholem Aleykhem vos m'hot opgemerkr in der gantzer velt. Dos is geven a groyser triumf, a groyse anerkenung far der yiddiser literatur un kultur. un far Yiddish. ober bay dem oybn dermontn parshoyndl is bikhlal nit faran etvos azoyns vi Yiddishe kultur, er nemt es, dos vort in " " (gendznfislekh). un Yiddishkayt, vi er, m'shteyns gezogt, batzeykhnt es is a shvotimdike, veltlekhe meynung (view) oder oysblik. un Yiddish iz (geven) a shvotim shprakh fun di mizrekh europeyishe yidn. far im is Yiddishkayt un Yudaizm an objekt fun muzeyen un altertimlekhkaytn vos rufn nit aroys kayn "getlekhn fargenign". er veyst nit oder makht zikh nit visndik az di dozike "shvotim shprakh" hot zikh farshpreyt oyf ale kontinentn, az s'iz - mit an erekh 90 yor tzurik, nokh der Tshernovitzer konferentz, - gevorn a nationale shprakh fun der grester merhayt funem Yiddish folk (arum 80 - 85%); az di dozige "shvotim " shprakh di "nit sheyne un nit mise" hot farkisheft un halt in eyn farkishefn zeyer a sakh zin un tekhter fun andere felker vi lemoshl Alexander Belousovn dem ekhtn Rus, vos voynt itzt in Yerusholayim, geyt davenen in a pravoslavne tzerkve (kirkhe) ober er hot azoy lib bakumen Yiddish, azoy eyngezapt in zikh di Yiddishe kultur az r'iz gevorn eyner fun di populerste un beste Yiddishe dikhters vos undzer folk hot aroysgegebn shoyn nokhn groylikn khurbn. vos ken men un darf entfern aza min hofnunglozn am-he'oretz? Ven er volt gevust vegn vos er tayenet oyf di shpaltn fun aza tzaytung vi WSJ; ven er volt zikh a bisl bakent mitn Yiddishn folk fun velkhn es iz aroysgekumen un take mit der Yiddisher Kultur i literatur; ven er zol farzukhn dem tam fun Yiddish; ver veyst efsher volt er mit der tyzayt oykhet gevorn a MENTSH.. Itzt vil ikh fregn dem mr. "zhurnalist" velkher ruft undz, di gelitene funem khurbn, tsu nit zayn "obsessive" mit "Holocaust veneration": vet er gefinen in der geshikhte fun der velt (oyb er hot amol gelernt geshikhte) a folk vos hot gelebt fridlekh oyf zayne erter un mit keynem nit gehaltn milkhome, a folk vos hot baraykhert mit zayn gayst un kultur di kulturn un visnshaftn fun andere felker mit di greste dergreykhungen, az aza folk zol farlirn in meshekh fun etlrkhe yor fun gettos un oswentzims, maydaneks un tremlinkes un andere merderioshe aktn a drit teyl (1/3) fun zayne zin un tekhter nor derfar vos zey zenen geven vos zey zenen geven. un fun vanet kumt tzu dem parshoyndl di groyse khutzpe un aoze tzu fodern oder efsher "lernen" undz tsu fargesn? undzere noente un tayere, undzere kdoyshim un martirers? undzere farbrente heymen un institutzyes, shiln un shules? undzere heylike un vokhike sfiorim, zeyere shraybers, di dikhters,artistn un aktiorn, di undermidlekhe gezelshaftlekhe tuers? di groyse folks-masn, di leres un talmidim' di varbrente un fargazevete in di nazishe krematories? tsi solidarizirt zikh dos dozike parshoyndl davke mit yene vos hobn durkhgefirt di groylike shkhite iber undzer folk, mit di farsholtene nazis? is take bay him faran nor a "fantom" fun antisemitizm? iz efsher hot er perzenlekh absolut gornit gemeynzams mit der "obsessivee ethnic Jewishness"? efsher filt er zikh nit far kayn Yid? oyb s'iz take azoy - is borekh shepoturani.. mir'n zikh bageyn on im.. shmuel batt 8)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 29 Nov 1998 19:29:11 -0500 (EST) From: Bruce Mitchell Subject: University of Oxford M.A. in Yiddish With effect from the first of October, 1998, the University of Oxford's Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages will offer a Master's degree in Yiddish Studies. Interested parties should write to the following address for more information and/or application materials: University of Oxford Modern Languages Graduates Office 37 Wellington Square Oxford, U.K. For more detailed information concerning the courses listed above, please contact University fellows Dov-Ber Kerler and Joel Berkowitz. Sincerely, Bruce J. Mitchell Oxford 9)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 1 Dec 1998 16:35:45 -0500 (EST) From: HTaube218@aol.com Subject: Poems in Mendele I appreciate the service Mendele lists provides, I read all the comments, excellent suggestions by our Yiddish lovers. What is missing and I feel is much needed, are letters and poems, (and short stories) for school age children. I read full pages about important conferences in all parts of the globe, I am delighted to read that Yiddish is a living lingo, but, almost nothing is done for our youth. I wonder if it is worth to try, to include in our daily Mendele Review, a poem by Peretz, Raizen, Broderson, Katzenelson, Grade ot Tzaitlin? While some teachers and professors find poetry a dauting subject for internet publication, I think that it is worth trying to print some poems by Manger, Sutzkever, Rokhl Korn, Kadie Molodowska and others, and see the reaction of our Mendele friends....As we face the end of this century, you look back on the last 50 years and you see that we neglected and underappreciated our talented Yiddish poets of this century. The shelves of our Yiddish libraries a paved with books no one reads... Instead of sitting in front of the computer and gazing on long reports of bygone conferences, I'd rather read a poem by Leivck or Mani-Leib.... Maybe, my suggestion is only a dream of an old man, who sees in Mendele a newfound power to a return to the treasures of our past...An icebreaker for Yiddish readers, who are passive-frozen-stiff when it comes to read Yiddish poetry. Still, I think it's worth a try. While roaming the Internet and Mendele, ask your daughter or son, to join you and read one of the poems..... What is your opinion? Herman Taube [Moderator's note: While ocasional quote from a poem or even a whole poem in Mendele is OK (especially in the context of a discussion), we cannot do it on a regular basis without permission from copyright holders. - i.v.] ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol.08.093 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://metalab.unc.edu/yiddish/mendele.html