Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 3.115 October 4, 1993 1) Gut yontiff pontiff (Sholom Glouberman) 2) Pinchas vs. Pinkas (Moshe Waldoks) 3) Nazalised "ayin" (Tuvya-Moyshe Shtern) 4) "Smaykl/shmaykl" (Debra Halperin Biasca) 5) Introduction (Kiva Weidenbaum) 6) A shtikl nayes (Noyekh Miller) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu Sep 30 14:38:22 1993 From: GLOUBERMAN@medac.med.utoronto.ca Subject: Gut yontiff pontiff I am not sure of the date of the joke but I first heard it quite early as part of the double barrelled "Gut yontiff pontiff, vos is nayes Pius" so it comes before the recent spate of John's and Pauls. And gut yontif to all Sholom 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri Oct 1 10:57:47 1993 From: WALDOKS@BINAH.CC.BRANDEIS.EDU Subject: pinchas vs.pinkas Pinchas is a Hebrew name (perhaps of Egyptian origin). The most famous Pinchas has a portion of the Torah named for him, He was the zealous grandson of the first High Priest, Aharon. A pinkas is a Hebrew word for record book (or chronicle). These pinkasim are valuable records of communal affairs of many varied European Jewish communities. A yiddisih diminutive of the Hebrew "Pinchas" is Pinye or Pintche. mit kovid, Moshe Waldoks 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun Oct 3 15:13:36 1993 From: Jeremy Stern Subject: Nasalized "ayin" khaver Perets Mett fregt zikh tsi es zaynen faran nokh a bayshpil fun an "ayin" vos ret aroys vi a "nun" 1. me leygt oys dos vort "bansher," beyz, _alef_, shin, reysh, khotsh me ret aroys in an andern oyfn. In dem fal, vert alef nasalirt. 2. in Harshavs a bukh, se iz geshribn az Primo Levi dermont vi, in zayn gebirtig in pidmont, me flegt aroysredn a hebreyisn "ayin" vi a "nun." lmoshl, "to'eva," vert "toneva." Tsi iz do a farbindung? Tuvya-Moyshe Shtern 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun Oct 3 20:19:15 1993 From: BIASCA DEBRA HALPERIN Subject: re: Northern Exposure: "smaykl/shmaykl" Now that I've got Pinchas and pinkes straight (thanks, everyone), what about last week's Northern Exposure episode? It was about an apparent connection between Yiddish and the Native American language spoken by the Alaska natives on that program. The word which piqued the doctor's interest was "smaykle" which was supposed to be close to "coax" in Yiddish (maybe "shmaykle", but the Alaskans didn't have "shm. ." so it came out "smaykle") . Although there were some other Yiddish words involved (rather humorously, in fact--"halta coka as the Native "Old Venerable One", which the doctor implied was a near cognate!), I don't think this one was authentic. Would anyone correct me on this? With so many great Yiddish words to use, why would they make one up? Debra Halperin Biasca 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon Oct 4 12:04:42 1993 From: Kevin Weidenbaum Subject: Introduction I became aware of this list by seeing a mention of it in the recent issue of Lilith. I am not sure I should stay on it because my interest in Yiddish is in no way professional. But I am curious. I grew up with my grandmother who spoke tsebrohkene English. I was the only kid in my generation of cousins that understood the adults (mostly) when they spoke Yiddish so that the children wouldn't understand what they were saying. I enjoyed Yiddish jokes and the very infrequest Yiddish shows that would come through my home town (Columbus, Ohio). At graduate school (Northwestern Univ.), I attended a Yiddish class at Hillel taught by Jeff Mallow and there learned more about Yiddish and also enjoyed the songs. Jeff gave a lecture once on modern Physics in Yiddish (He's a physicist) and also took a group of us to a lecture by Isaac Bashevis Singer in Skokie. Since graduate school days, opportunities have not been many. About a dozen years ago, Oberlin College (where I work) brought in a Yiddish teacher for a Winter Term class. He stayed for semester and met with some faculty and staff members informally. I was in a small group that tried to do some readings of Yiddish authors. That's about it. I never have really learned to speak Yiddish, understand just some home-spoken language, and can read a bissel. Kevin (Akiva or Kiva, in Yiddish) Weidenbaum 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon Oct 4 From: nmiller@dot.trincoll.edu Subject: A sheyn shtikl nayes Mit amol hot zikh Mendele gelost vaksn. Mir hobn, kinenore, 301 abonantn! Ver volt zikh geveyn gerekhnt af aza numer? Noyekh ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 3.115