Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 2 no.05 May 31, 1992 1) Yiddish/Idish (Shloyme Axelrod) 2) Mazl-tov (Dovid Braun) 3) Introduction (Marganit Weinberger-Rotman) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 29 May 1992 12:43 EST From: Seymour Axelrod Subject: Yiddish vs Idish Nissan Leibovic, in introducing himself, notes that "Idish" (not "Yiddish" or "Yidish") is his mame-loshn. Like Nissan, my parents were Litvakes, and pronounced the words Id and Idish (though I don't recall whether there was an initial glottal stop.) Indeed, I was taught to spell the words with shtumer-alef/yud rather than yud/khirek-yud, and the printed materials that I remember uniformly used the former. Can the dialectologists among the MENDELE readership explain how "standard Yiddish" came down on the side of the latter? Note that there is actually a difference in pronunciation, so that the difference in spelling is not without effect, as it is, e.g., in ayz[e]n or kimpetor[i]n, where the bracketed letters are not pronounced even when used. Mit khavershe grusn, Shloyme Axelrod 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 29 May 92 13:02:35 -0400 From: David Braun Subject: mazl-tov, mit mazl zolt ir lebn! Just a note re _mazl-tov_: In Yiddish, _mazl-tov_ doesn't mean 'good luck'. (For that we have: zol zayn mit mazl, zol zayn mit mazl un glik, zol zayn in a mazldiker sho, ...in a guter sho, ...in a guter un a mazldiker sho, ...mit hatslokhe, zay(t) matsliekh, zol zayn mitn rekhtn fus [when moving into a new residence, or for any beginning], etc., often with the omission of the _zol zayn_ at the beginning). Its meaning in Yiddish usage is 'congratulations!' In Hebrew the meaning is 'good luck', and this greeting/blessing is not used in Modern Israeli Hebrew (instead: behatslakha, probably patterned on the Yiddish _[zol zayn mit] hatslokhe!, zay(t) matsliekh_). The traditional answer to mazl-tov in Yiddish is to repeat the word twice (mazl-tov, mazl-tov!) or: mit mazl zolstu/zolt ir (mir) lebn. At a wedding, if the greeter is unmarried or is the parent of an unmarried child, the greetee will answer with: mirtseshem ba dir/aykh. Ironic use of mazl-tov: I've noticed in the English of American Jews the use of an ironic mazl-tov, as when something breaks, when some other mishap occurs. This corresponds to the English 'wonderful!, great!' in the same situations, in which the speaker really means 'God damn it!' I used this mazl-tov in the presence of an Eastern European-born native Yiddish speaker who then asked me why I'd said _mazl-tov_ when my phone got cut off or my books fell or whatever the mishap was at the time. It didn't make sense to him. Do you think this is only in American usage, to correspond with the English ironic uses? (I've heard "Congratulations!" used ironically in English as well.) Although when something breaks/shatters, we (my family) say _a sheyne, reyne kapore_, I've often heard _mazl-tov_, but now I'm not sure whether that was from native E.Eur. Yiddish-speakers or American Jews. I always associated this particular _mazl-tov_ (i.e., upon something's breaking) with the _mazl-tov_ said at weddings right after the breaking of the glass. I figured that this was an extension of that situation, only ironic. vos iz der basheyd? Dovid Braun 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 30 May 1992 23:05:54 -0500 From: Joseph Rotman Subject: Introduction Sholom Aleichem, Ich bin a yidene fin Eretz Yisruel. I am a translator. I teach Hebrew Lit.at the Univ. of Illiois. I attend a Yiddish reading group that meets every 2 weeks. A kushere Sh'vues, Marganit Weinberger-Rotman ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol 2.05 If your message is intended for MENDELE, please write to: mendele@vax1.trincoll.edu If you want to discuss personal business or have a shmues with the shames, please write to: nmiller@vax1.trincoll.edu Please sign your articles.