Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 2 no. 121 December 13, 1992 1) Shikse (Yankel Lantz) 2) o > u / tshak-tshakim (Moshe Taube) 3) Vowel shifts (Mikhl Herzog) 4) Pejoratives (Ellen Prince) 5) Nokhamol tsign (Elye/t Gertel) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 05 Dec 1992 21:24:24 -0500 (EST) From: STU_RWLANTZ%JMUVAX.bitnet@YaleVM.YCC.Yale.Edu Subject: shikse Political incorrectness of the word notwithstanding, I'd like to pass on an observation. I lived for a number of years in Germany, in a small village near Mainz. T Rheinhessian dialect has (for good reason) many similarities with Yiddish. The word "Schikse" is parof the local jive. . There it means "a woman of slightly loose morals." I guess it would be about the same as "tsatske." Yankel 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 10 Dec 92 14:38:41 EST From: Moshe Taube Subject: o > u For Mikhl Herzog No. It is not the usual Heb. a> Yid. o/u. The Hebrew is besorah, with a khoylem. Which means that we expect besoyre. Now this one seems to be isolated. tshak-tshakim The form is rather tshakh-tshakhim and is intended (or was intended at the beginning) to mimic the pronunciation of Morrocan jews, not distinguishing hissing from hushing sounds. It could be an arabic word, certainly no Yiddish connection this time. Moshe Taube 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 10 Dec 92 22:16 EST From: ZOGUR@CUVMB.Columbia.edu Subject: Vowel shifts To Payrets Mett: My grandfather was, of course, called Mekhl. In some areas, it even goes to Makhl, fem. Makhlye which, if I'm not mistaken is the source of the matronymic Machlis. How do you pronounce your first name (which you spell with ay)? To rhyme with English "may" or "my"? In any event, I was wrong to suggest Heb. besara, wasn't I? It's besura, no? And that would surely lead to Yiddish psure/psire. So where does Moshe Taube's "raising" problem come in? Mikhl. 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 11 Dec 92 01:58:31 EST From: "Ellen F. Prince" Subject: Pejoratives [Debra Halperin Biasca writes:] >To Ellen Prince, et ux: >If the term hurts, it must be pejorative. well, my spouse isn't thrilled with being called 'ux(or)', but that doesn't mean the term is pejorative... ellen prince 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 11 Dec 1992 13:02:10 -0800 (PST) From: EGERTEL@FULLERTON.EDU Subject: "Panyuh maruhvoy, duh mansuh iz uhzoy" Tsum khoshevn Reb Noyekhn lang un gezunt zol er nor lebn! Ayr mayse mitn tsig hob ikh gehert nisht bloyz eyn mol fun tate-mame. Nor shtendik farges ikh khotsh eyn teyl. Hob ikh gikh geklingen der mamen (neyn, nisht bloyz tsulib dem!) un vider a mol a freg getun, "Mamih, v'zoy iz duh mansuh mit 'Panyuh maruhvoy...?'" Hot zi mir geenfert beze-haloshn (un zayt zhe mir shoyn moykhl i dem oysleg i di transcriptsie nisht bloyz tsulib dem vos kh'ken nisht gut shraybn vos far a slavishe loshn [ukrayinish?] s'iz do do in di teyln vu s'iz do nor oykh vayl kh'pruv vayzn di geredte loshn): Panyuh maruhvoy, duh mansuh iz uhzoy: Yah mahyu shookhn Heyrsh Beyruhluh Tu vihn mayoot para izim. Tu shtikhum krikhum nah mayu dakh. Yah yeymu skazaluhm tu vihn shelakh. Taytsh (mer veyniker): Ayr koved, di mayse iz azoy: Mayn shokhn, Hersh-Berele r'hot a por tsign. Zenen zey gegangen un gekrokhn un gegesn mayn dakh. Hob ikh im gezogt, hot er gelakht. (Efsher hot der yid mitn farshlungenem dakh gevolt krign fargitikung...?) [The semi-Slavic/semi-Yiddish story about a man giving testimony in a court: Your honor, this is how it was: my neighbor, Hersh-Berele, he's got a pair of goats. Well, the goats crawled up on my roof and ate it. So I told him and he just laughed. (I suppose the witness was just trying to get compensation in small claims court which ironically I failed to do in small-claims court just two days ago -yet another reason to escape from behind "dem Oranzhenem Firhang"as I'm sure we'd have won our case in almost any other county!) {Noyekh, zayt azoy gut un korigirt dem toes oybn where "Slavik" should read "Slavic." A groysn dank!} Elyet Hersh Gertl a/k/a Elliot Hersch Gertel ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol 2.121 If your message is intended for MENDELE, please write to: mendele@vax1.trincoll.edu or mendele@yalevm.ycc.yale.edu If your node is Bitnet-only and is not connected to the Internet, please send your message to: mendele@trincc or mendele@yalevm If you want to discuss personal business or have a shmues with the shames, please write to: nmiller@vax1.trincoll.edu or nmiller@trincc Please sign your articles.