Mendele: Yiddish literature and language --------------------------------------------------- Contents of Vol. 1 no. 13 June , 1991 1) Word borrowing (David Sherman) 2) Usage (Len Alshan) 1)------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 30 May 1991 20:43:06 -0400 From: David Sherman Subject: Curious example of word borrowing In our house, Simone (my wife) and I use almost exclu- sively English between ourselves. (Periodically we tell each other that we "should" use Yiddish, but it's too easy to lapse into English.) However, we use 100% Yiddish to the kids (aged 7, 5, 2 and 4 months). Because it's a 100% rule, there's no lapsing into English. The result is that certain words that we most often use with or relative to the kids have migrated into our vocabulary between ourselves, to the point where we rarely or never use the English equivalent. Examples: We have to buy vindlekh. Put that on the balaygntish. Can you go get me a shpilke from the drawer, please? ("Balaygn" is Simone's parents' [Stashiv, Poland] word for change (a baby), so the balaygntish is the change- table. We use shpilke and gumme solely to mean things that go in/on the kids' hair. Though shpilke is, technically, a pin, we use it to describe a plastic hairclip.) There are other words that are more or less half-and- half -- when speaking English between ourselves, we'll use "family room" and "mishpokhe-shtib" interchange- ably. I presume that it's simply that the more we use a word with the kids, the more the Yiddish version of the word becomes ingrained in our minds and thus comes to mind when we're speaking English. Comments from the linguists? David Sherman Toronto 2)------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 04 Jun 91 17:04:00 EDT From: Len Alshan Subject: in-laws Just what is the difference in meaning between the terms 'shviger/shviger mutter' and 'machetayneste'? Although my Yiddish is very weak, it was inly spoken when we were not to know what was going on, it was always my understanding that 'shviger' for which I don't know the masculine form was used for one's mother in law, while 'machetayneste/machutin/machetunim' all meant virtually any relative by marriage. Would appre- ciate some clarification. In addition -- any suggestions for really good self- study Yiddish programs?