Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 08.134 March 18, 1999 1) Snowball (Al Grand) 2) "Kumt Zu Gein" (Jacob Nussbaum) 3) a fishl, a vontzik, oyf shabes (Shimon Joffe) 4) Hebrew "khoyfen" and Yiddish "hoyfn" (Sholem Berger) 5) translation of menedzsher (Caraid O'Brien) 6) Henryk Lew (Dana Keren) 7) software for learning Yiddish (Charlotte Frajman) 8) Nozum/nozem, Amsterdam (Charles Jones) 9) Death of a legendary figure (Dan Leeson) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 19 Feb 1999 10:34:08 -0500 (EST) From: Savoyid@aol.com Subject: Snowball On page 176 of my 1947 edition of Immanuel Olsvanger's _Royte Pomerantsen_ , in his last folk tale (_Got un Motke_), a large crowd of thirsty revelers are gathered in a tavern. Nine lines from the top of the page is a line which reads "_Un glezlakh mit mashke zanen gefloygn fun eyn hant in di andere azoy vi alkes shney_." The word _alkes_ is defined in a footnote as "snowball." I'm unable to find _alkes_ in the Yiddish to English section of Weinreich and in the English to Yiddish section he has _shneykoyl_. My Hebrew dictionary lists "snowball" quite literally as _kadur sheleg_. My ancient Russian dictionary has _snyezhOK_ [my emphasis]. And the German word is simply _Schneeball_. I'd therefore be grateful if anyone can give me a brief gloss on _alkes_ in regard to its etymology. Al Grand 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 19 Feb 1999 19:24:34 -0500 (EST) From: Jacsyl1@aol.com Subject: "Kumt Zu Gein" The phrase "Kumt Zu Gein", which usually means "come and visit" but literally translates "come to go". I would appreciate some explanation of this phrase and its origin. a sheinem dank. Jacob Nussbaum, Margate Fl 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 20 Feb 1999 17:59:21 -0500 (EST) From: "Shimon Joffe" Subject: a fishl, a vontzik, oyf shabes I find difficulty in translating the following expression (the description is of shopping for the Sabbath) 'a fishl, a vontzik, oyf shabes' Harkavy says a vontze is a moustache which in this case is of no help at all. anyone with ideas ? thanks Shimon Joffe 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 22 Feb 1999 10:37:02 -0500 (EST) From: "Sholem Berger" Subject: "khoyfen" (Hebrew) and "hoyfn" (Yiddish) Epes mit a shaykhes tsu der frierdiker parshe: Is there any etymologic connection between Loshn-koydesh "khoyfen" handful and Yiddish "hoyfn" handful? I know, I know: Thou Shalt Not Assume Anything >From Phonetic Similarities, but the untutored mind still wonders (e.g. does "kh" ever become "h"?)... Sholem Berger 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 22 Feb 1999 17:10:12 -0500 (EST) From: caraid obrien Subject: translation of menedzsher I have a question. In Zylbercweig's Leksikon fun Yidishn Teater, he describes, l'moshl , Max R. Wilner as the "menedzsher fun Irving Place Theater." Would the correct translation of this be Producing Director or Executive Director? A theater manager, in the current sense of the word, as someone who deals with the daily operation of a theater, does not accurately describe Max R. Wilner. Or perhaps, we should attempt to reclaim the word manager (in English) as someone who runs the theater, books the space, brings in actors, fundraises, calls the shots and watches over the overall production. I noticed looking through old programs that Seymour Rexite called himself the manager (after the Yiddish term, I imagine) of Hard to be a Jew at the Eden Theater, a show that he organized. What do you think? Thanks - Caraid O'Brien. 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 22 Feb 1999 18:59:34 -0500 (EST) From: Dana Keren Subject: Henryk Lew A colleague is urgently seeking information about Heryk Lew, a Jewish ethnographer. He was also known as Henry Lew, and as Henry (Henryk) Lew-Landowski. Henryk Lew collected materials in Yiddish around the time of Y.L. Peretz and published in the periodical Wisla and Israelita ca. 1880-1890. I would be grateful for any information about him, or leads to information about him. Thank you, Dana Keren 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 23 Feb 1999 21:48:28 -0500 (EST) From: "Charlotte and Russell Frajman" Subject: SELF LEARNING COMPUTER SOFTWARE FOR YIDDISH Does anyone know of any "teach yourself" language software for Yiddish. I know of quite a few on the market for Hebrew, but I have never seen or heard of anything for Yiddish. Regards, Charlotte Frajman Melbourne, Australia 8)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 24 Feb 1999 09:46:11 -0500 (EST) From: Charles Jones Subject: Nozum/nozem, Amsterdam The following question has been passed on to me by a colleague, in the hope of finding an interested Amsterdamer Mendelyaner: "I'm writing something which includes the Amsterdamse term nozum. Amsterdam slang is full of Yiddish - mazzel, majem, gannef (gonif), ponem, jajem are all in daily use, and doubtless others. But in the fifties a class of pre-punks arose which were called nozems, and in the old (hardcover) Bob Evers from 1956 this is spelled nozum, which led me to think it just might be Yiddish. Anyone know?" Charles Jones Cambridge, Mass. 9)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 24 Feb 1999 12:49:39 -0500 (EST) From: "Dan Leeson: LEESON@admin.fhda.edu" Subject: Death of a legendary figure In 1911, within a day or two of the Triangle Shirtwaist fire, the Yiddish press was, as you would expect, full of stories and pictures of the event. One of the most important and tragic photos, was that of a young girl, named Bessie Cohen, who was swooning into the arms of her friends on seeing the bodies of some of her fellow workers. The photo has appeared in many anthologies dealing with labor issues, early Jewish sweatshops in NY, exploitation of female labor, etc. Yesterday, in Los Angeles and at the age of 107, Bessie Cohen passed away, until very recently still in good mental and physical health. There is still one survivor of that terrible event and she is now over 100. Dan Leeson, Los Altos, California ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 08.134 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