Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 08.110 January 20, 1999 1) zidlen (Mordkhe Schaechter) 2) eysex; nitl (Mikhl Herzog) 3) nitl (Yosef Gilboa) 4) Yiddish music of Birobidzhan (Jeffrey Veidlinger) 5) Poems by Itzik Fefer (Josh Rubenstein) 6) Di Lererin Mira (Rokhl (Rhoda) Bernard) 7) Yidishe verter fun Laaz/Loez (Miki Safadi) 8) Joseph Roth et al. in Yiddish (Abraham Brumberg) 9) finstere gelechter (Bruce Rosenstock) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1999 00:22:32 -0500 (EST) From: MSchaecht@aol.com Subject: zidlen Libe khaveyrim, Der substantiv funem verb zidlen (in litvishn yidish: zidlen zakh) iz der substantivirter infinitiv dos/dus zidlen. Keyn vort zidlung far 'emetsn zidlen' iz in yidish nishto. Voden? Dos daytshishe vort Siedlung iz arayn inem loshn fun 2 nisht yunge zhurnalistn (s'iz nisht keday do poyresh-beshmoy / -beshmom tsu zayn). Vozhet iz taytsh ot dos daytshmerishe zidlung? Poshet: yishev, af English: settlement. Un di zidlers - an (um)geshmaker daytshmerizm - iz dos vos Yidish-reders/-shraybers mit a shtikl shprakh-khush rufn: bazetsers. In di yishuvim afn Mayrev-breg voynen kakh-vekakh bazetsers (settlements, settlers). Di eltere terminen zenen: kolonye un kolonistn. Kolonyes un kolonistn hot men genitsn vegn di amolike erdarbeterishe yishuvim in: Ukraine (Khersoner gubernye, Podolye vekedoyme), Basarabye, Raysn/Vaysrusland, Krim, Argentine, Brazil, Urugvay, Fareynikte Shtatn, Kanade (Idnbridzh), Birebidzhan un dos langstike Ertsisrol (beys der ershter un tsveyter aliye). A klal: zidlung un zidler (Siedlung, Siedler) zenen fremdizmen. Afn amolikn Yidish - kolonyes/yishuvim un kolonistn; afn hayntikn - yishuvim un bazetsers. Mordkhe Schaechter 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 10 Jan 1999 18:05:44 -0500 (EST) From: "Mikhl Herzog" Subject: eysex; nitl Re Mendele 08.106: _eysex_ is, decidedly _veys ikh_. It's the only case I know of in which word-initial [-v] is dropped. Intervocalically, [-v-] loss is frequent in Southeastern Yiddish in words like _keyvero'(v)es_, _malekhamo'(v)es_, _gutno(v)nt_; interconsonantally, in _ts(v)ishn_, _ts(v)ogn_; _tsishn_ occurs throughout Central Yiddish, as well. (Atlas, Volume I: Map 75.) The emergence of a non-etymological [v] (i.e., prevocalic fricativization] is frequent in SEY and in southern NEY: _novnt/nuvnt_ 'near', _nevnter/neyvnter/nivnter_ 'nearer', _tuves_ 'error', _blov/bluv_ 'blue', _zaver/zover_ 'sour'. Exclusively SEY: _boven_ 'to build'; Almost exclusively NEY: _ever_ 'ear', _tever_ 'gate'. And more. (Atlas, Volume I, Maps 20, 26, 31, 40, 41). _nitl_(-nakht) is the most frequent Yiddish word for 'Christmas (eve)'; [definitely NOT Easter!!]. _nitl_ has been variously derived from Latin (_dies) natalis_ (M. Weinreich 1973, Volume III, p. 204), and from Italian _Natale_ "reformed in Yiddish under the influence of Hebrew _nitlah_ '(the one who was) hanged'" (Wexler 1988:125). Western Yiddish _tole-nakht_ (_tole_ 'image of the crucifixion') seems to favor the latter interpretation. Map 118, Atlas, Volume III (in press) lists more than 15 designations for Christmas. Mikhl Herzog 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1999 04:16:11 -0500 (EST) From: AJ Gilboa Subject: nitl Interesting. I always (?) thought nitl was derived from natal=birth. Nitl-nacht being the night of the birth of Jesus. Can one of our professional linguists shed some light on this? Yosef Gilboa 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1999 11:59:17 -0500 (EST) From: "Jeffrey Veidlinger" Subject: Yiddish music of Birobidzhan There are several collections of Soviet Yiddish folk songs, all of which have substantial sections on songs of Birobidzhan. The best of these (and I believe the collection in which "Dortn in sovyetnland" can be found) is "Yidishe folks-lider" by Moshe Beregovskii and Itsik Fefer (Kiev: 1938). I would also recommend "Yidishe folks-lider" by Yehezkel Dobrushin and A. Yuditsky (Moscow: 1940); and "Yidishe folkslider" by Moisei Khashchevatskii and Der Nister (Odessa: 1940). Ruth Rubin's "Voices of a People" (New York: 1963) also has a small section on songs of Birobidzhan. Jeffrey Veidlinger 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1999 16:33:56 -0500 (EST) From: "Josh Rubenstein" Subject: Poems by Itzik Fefer I am currently preparing the American edition of Nepravedny Sud (An Unjust Trial), a volume for Yale University Press' Annals of Communism Series that will feature the transcript of the secret 1952 Moscow trial of fifteen Jewish figures, including five prominent Yiddish writers. Itzik Fefer was one of the defendants; 13 were executed on August 12, 1952. I am looking for the texts of two of his poems; I have come across references to them in secondary literature, but have yet to find direct references to where they were published or where I could find them now. The two poems are: 1) "A Bullet in Your Head, Sholem Asch," which I believe Fefer wrote after Asch received an award from the Pilsudski government. 2) A poem in honor of the Mufti of Jerusalem, presumably written after the 1936 riots in Palestine. Joshua Rubenstein 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1999 16:55:28 -0500 (EST) From: "Rhoda Bernard" Subject: Di Lererin Mira I just wanted to thank those Mendelyaners who suggested that I set Sutzkever's "Di Lererin Mira" to music for my project a few months ago. I did set the poem, and I recorded it with a guitarist and performed it live for the event. It was a big success. Now my band (Klezamir) has slated it for our next recording project. A sheynem dank! Rokhl (Rhoda) Bernard 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1999 18:30:23 -0500 (EST) From: michaela safadi Subject: Yidishe verter fun Laaz/Loez In Mendele Vol. 08.106, Keyle Goodman hot gefregt vegn Yidishe verter vos shtamen op fun Laaz (oykh Loez). Weinreich git undzn shul, leyenen, tetshn un etlekhe andere verter un geshikhte fun ot der hashpoe (ze Max Weinreich, History of the Yiddish Language (af english)). Miki Safadi 8)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1999 11:43:02 -0500 (EST) From: abraham brumberg <102142.2545@compuserve.com> Subject: Joseph Roth et al. in Yiddish Re Noyekh Miller's question on translaitons (08.107): I am afraid I have no references on hand, but I am willing to bet that Zweign, Heinrich Mann, and possibly some of Musil's books were tgranslated into Yiddish. There was a hunger for translations into Yidfdish of European masters, and it was one one isure way for some people (e.g., Bashevis) to make an extra zloty. Some Yiddish libraries ought to have those books. A. Brumberg [Moderator's note: few references for Yiddish translations: Heinrich Mann, Pippo Spana un andere ertsehlungen, Varshe : Farlag progres, 1913 Heinrich Mann, Die Schauspilerin, Varshe : Farlag A. Gitlin, 1924 Stefan Zweig, Dervahung, Varshe : Wyd. Brzoza, 1928 Stefan Zweig, Yirmeyahu: dramatishe dikhtung in nayn bilder, Varshe : Turem, 1929 Stefan Zweig, Romen Rolan : der mentsh un dos verk, Varshe : Kooperativ "Bikher", 1929. Tr. by I. B. Singer Stefan Zweig, Amok : novel fun a layndshaft, Varshe : Turem, 1929 Tr. by Chaim Brakarz Stefan Zweig, Der plonter fun gefiln : dray noveln. Buenos Ayres : Y. Girshfeld, 1942. Tr. by Chaim Brakarz Stefan Zweig, Di velt fun nekhtn : zikhroynes fun an Eyropeer, Buenos-Ayres : Yidbukh, 1959 Jakob Wassermann, Di Iden fun Tsirendorf, Nyu York : Yidish, 1918. Tr. by Leon Bassein Jakob Wassermann, Di maskes fun Ervin Reyner, Varshe : Kosmos, 1928 Jakob Wassermann, Shklafn fun lebn. Varshe : Sz. Goldfarb, 1930. Jakob Wassermann, Peruaner gold, Varshe : Kinder fraynd, 1934 Tr. by Moyshe Taykhman -iosif vaisman] 9)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1999 22:51:22 -0500 (EST) From: bbrosenstock@ucdavis.edu Subject: finstere gelechter Dear list, A friend of mine writes to me the following: May I ask you a favor? I need to know the Yiddish words for the kind of laughter one has because if one weren't laughing, one would have to cry -- as I was doing when telling people about having a kid in a nursing home in Seattle and a parent in a nursing home in Indianapolis, a sister with pneumonia, etc., etc, that ironic, rueful laughter, because life's too absurd. Candidates are belacht mit yashikes (that source thought yashikes were prickles or thistles) and a finstere gelechter. One person suggested, "In my family a circumstance such as you describe would use the expression 'a fin-ster-eh gelechter,' literally a laughter of darkness or 'zie lacht mit yash-chert-kes' -- literally she laughs with lizards." Can someone help out? If you could post your responses both to this list, and cc fordham@geology.ucdavis.edu (Evelyn Verosub), I would be very grateful. (Evelyn is seeking a title to a book of poetry she is finishing; she would like to use "A finster gelechter," but worries that it is not authentic/ appropriate. Bruce Rosenstock ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 08.110 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