Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 3.189 December 28, 1993 1) Yiddish-Vietnamese Connection (Bob Rothstein) 2) Shakspeare farbesert (Shleyme Axelrod) 3) Jewish languages (Sheldon Benjamin) 4) I. B. Singer Papers to Texas (Robert D. King) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat Dec 25 17:15:17 1993 From: ROBERT A ROTHSTEIN Subject: Yiddish-Vietnamese Connection Was that song perhaps Nellie Casman's "Yosl?" My wife remembers hearing a radio commentary (NPR?) a couple of years ago about a popular Chinese singer who was touring the West. Her repertoire included a Chinese version of "Yosl," which was apparently also popular in Japanese karaoke bars. Bob Rothstein 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun Dec 26 13:02:56 1993 From: Seymour Axelrod Subject: Shakspeare farbesert I am trying to get information on a line supposed to have appeared either on a theater program or on the title page of a Yiddish version of a Shakspeare play. The line is something like "Sheykspir's Otelo, ibergezetst, fartaytsht un farbesert ..." I can't find it either in David Lifson's "The Yiddish Theater in America" or Nahma Sandrow's "Vagabond Stars", but I have seen it somewhere. Can someone help me? And is there any difference in meaning or nuance between "ibergezetst" and "fartaytsht"? Is "ibergezetst" daytshmerish [taytshmerish!]? A sheynem dank. --Shleyme Axelrod 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue Dec 28 00:14:56 1993 From: sbenj@MIT.EDU Subject: Jewish languages In response to: L Leavitt's query regarding non-Yiddish Jewish languages... I'm sure he will find references to Ladino (Judeo-Espagnol is a bit more of an appropriate term I am told) but what about Crimchak--the language of the mountain Jews of the Crimea. I don't have a reference, but I have a friend who once worked on the compiling of a Turkish-Crimchak dictionary (alas-never published the work) and traveled around collecting tapes of Crimchak folk songs and melodies for the holidays, etc. He is not on the internet but if you are interested in more info on this language, contact me directly via email and I'll put you in touch with him. He may well be able to provide additional information on other obscure Jewish tongues as well (though I would guess that Crimchak may be as obscure as one can get already). Sheldon Benjamin 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue Dec 28 15:59:39 1993 From: Bob King Subject: I. B. Singer Papers to Texas It seems these days that almost anything one sends to MENDELE ends up in the wildest controversy, and I shouldn't imagine it will be any different with this. But here goes. I am very happy to announce to the readership of MENDELE that the University of Texas at Austin has acquired the literary archive of Isaac Bashevis Singer. I quote from the official announcement: The University of Texas at Austin has received the papers of Nobel prize-winning author, Isaac Bashevis Singer. The material is a gift of Mrs. Alma Singer, the author's widow, and group of individual Texas donors. The archive contains manuscripts of all of Singer's published works as well as several unpublished and untranslated manuscripts of Singer's fiction and manuscripts of some unpublished plays. Correspondence, photographs, clippings, notes and other materials are also included in the archive. The material is not catalogued, and it is clear from my inspection of the papers that it is going to take some time indeed to catalogue the contents of the archive. Robert D. King ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 3.189 Mendele has 2 rules: 1. Provide a Subject: line. 2. Sign your article. Send submissions/responses to: mendele@yalevm.ycc.yale.edu Other business: nmiller@starbase.trincoll.edu Anonymous ftp archives available on: ftp.mendele.trincoll.edu in the directory pub/mendele/files