Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 4.111 September 23, 1994 1) Introduction (Rivkah Hasman-Judd) 2) Calling the Workmen's Circle bookstore (David Sherman) 3) Kholeymes un kontroversies (Leybl Botvinik) 4) Paper bridges (Janice Hamer) 5) Hebraica Cataloging and Yiddish Romanization (Zachary Baker) 6) On Zellig's strictures (Beryl Steinberg) 7) A velt mit Mendelnikes (Noyekh Miller) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 23 Sep 1994 13:22:59 +1200 From: rhj@waikato.ac.nz Subject: Introduction I live in New Zealand where there are about 5,000 Jews. Not many are in Hamilton, where I live, but there are a few here at the University of Waikato. Two are north Americans who speak Yiddish. I was born in England and learned a lot of Yiddish words and phrases from my Lithuanian grandparents. Sadly I can't speak it fluently, and can understand transliterations up to a point and Yiddish in Hebrew characters with extreme difficulty. I would really like to be able to speak and read fluently. I belong to the National Yiddish Book Centre and enjoy der Pakntreger. Rivkah Hasman-Judd 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 22 Sep 94 2:36:35 EDT From: dave@cai.lsuc.on.ca Subject: Calling the Workmen's Circle bookstore > Book is available from the Jewish Book Center of The Workmen's > Circle (phone 800 922-2558 x285, fax 212 532-7518, ... That 800 number is more memorable as 1-800-WC-CALL-US. (All right, the 'S' is superfluous.) David Sherman 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 22 Sep 94 12:32:43 IST From: leybl@telecomm.tadiran.co.il Subject: Kholeymes un kontroversies sholem aleykhem, a gut yor un a gutn moy'd. ikh vil koydem zogn a por verter oyf yidish vegn der kontroversie iber transliteratzie un oykh vegn peter kluehs kholem (V-4.098). ikh halt, az es iz keynmol nit tzu shpet zikh tzu lernen, un az a sakh fun di mitglider fun mendele zaynen take do kdey zikh tzu lernen. ikh bin geven tzufridn tzu zen, az zelig bakh hot genumen oyf zikh tzu helfn undz mit undzer visn, un hot undz gegebn a kurtze lektzie, mit bayshpiln, vi tzu shraybn (Vol 4.102). in anander elektre-briv (i-briv) hot peter kluehs undz forgeleygt periodishe lektzies, --- un keyner (dakht zikh) hot zikh nit opgerufn. ikh shlog for dos vayterdike: 1. periodishe, formele tzi informele lektzies 2. yeder mitglid zol bakumen tzugeshikt di genoye yivo klolim. farshteyt zikh, az yeder vet ton mit dem vi er/zi meynt. And now, a few words in English: We try so hard when writing to avoid mistakes. Inevitably, errors creep in. Even automatic spelling and grammer checkers are imperfect (see review: "Grammatik 6.0 Misses as Many Errors as It Finds" PC Magazine, 13-9-94 p.50) But we do make the effort to try and make our texts/letters etc. clear and error free. There is no reason why we shouldn't make an effort in Yiddish. Mendele subscribers have been made two wonderful offers: periodic lessons (Peter Kluehs V4.098), and periodic instructional commentary (Zellig Bach V4.102). The price is quite steep: na'ase ve nishma ('we will do, and we will listen' said the Jewish people at mount Sinai when accepting the Torah). Are we ready to pay that price for Yiddish? I think we should. I suggest the following: 1. organize the periodic lessons; 2. Send out a copy of the YIVO rules to all Mendele subscribers. Include some 'classic' (or standard) sample words, and some 'exceptions' (or difficult ones. E.g. mekhaber or mehaber(?) oylem habe, un (not und) tzukunft or zukunft(?), yontef or yomtev (?). And what about dialect? In yiddish spelling we write tzadik-vov-vov-yud- yud (tzvey) for the number two. However, it is pronounced as "tzvey" in Lithuanian (litvish) Yiddish - as in the English "May", and tzvay in Polish (poylish) Yiddish - as in the English "eye". (- if we decide that it is ok to write either, then it should at least be consistent throughout the text. Beginners will need to be instructed. Here's an excellent topic for a future short lesson). - Let's see these rules, so that we can discuss them. Then, after a general consensus decide, by vote, to accept or reject the standard(s). Maybe with our own additions/modifications. Finally, the results will be reposted to all members as part of a 'welcome package', including some other nice things. (e.g. other rules - like about members changing their address; key addresses - Stephen Dowling / Workman's Circle Yiddish book centre; - Fishl Kutner / Yiddish information Network; - Reyzl K-W / Kultur Kongres, Int'l events/classes info; - myself (Leybl) / Hemshekh Dor in Israel; - etc. a nice humourous anecdote or two; a classic poem or two; a few idioms; a short list of useful text books, etc). Additions / modifications can be sent out periodically, maybe once a year before "rosh hashone". I have one other suggestion, vis-a-vis 'macaronism' (there, I did it myself: "vis-a-vis"...). We should as much as possible avoid writing Yinglish: English mixed with Yiddish. We should make an effort of either placing the Yiddish in quotes, or somehow seperating it in a different line. I recently saw a sentence made up of 4 Yiddish words, followed by 6 English words, 2 more Yiddish and ending with 2 more in English. And finally, I'd like to end this mailing with an interesting item I discovered in the monthly bulletin of the Netanya AACI (Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel): " Innocent Slurs 'Kike', an insulting term for a Jew, made its bow during the 19th and 20th century immigration of Jews from Europe to North America. When they had to sign papers, Jews who could not write, were ordered to sign with a cross which they refused to do for religious reasons. They signed with a circle, a Kikel or Kaikel ["kaykl"-L.B.] in Yiddish and a shortened form of the word was immediately hung on them. " (Netanya AACI Bulletin, May? 1994) zayt ale gezunt, leybl botvinik 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 22 Sep 94 12:07:13 est From: Janice Hamer Subject: Paper bridges I am a composer, proud to be a new member of Mendele, and currently working on a commission for a choral piece for a professional choir in Minneapolis. It uses two Yiddish poems and one by a modern American poet that share the image of an old Jewish messianic legend, that at the end of time the people (different versions say the Jews, or the tsaddikim) will cross over to Eretz Yisroel on bridges made of paper. (Some versions have the wicked attempting to cross on iron bridges that fall into the sea.) I'd like to trace the legend, and have collected several references already--personal recollections, two songs, an old joke. I'd love to hear from further informants. Janice Hamer 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 22 Sep 94 09:31:24 PDT From: BM.YIB@RLG.Stanford.EDU Subject: Hebraica Cataloging and Yiddish Romanization For those who wish to educate themselves in the arcane matter of ALA/LC Romanization of Yiddish, I refer you to the cataloger's "Bible" for this subject: Hebraica Cataloging: A Guide to ALA/LC Romanization and Descriptive Cataloging, prepared by Paul Maher (Senior Descriptive Cataloger, Library of Congress). Washington, DC: Cataloging Distribution Service, Library of Congress, 1987. See especially pages 8-11 (Hebrew and Yiddish Romanization -- The ALA/LC Hebraica Romanization Tables; Historical Note on ALA/LC Romanization), and 22-24 (Yiddish Romanization). I erroneously called this publication "Hebraica Cataloging Manual" in my last posting and pass this correction along in the interests of bibliographical accuracy. Movie rights are pending. Zachary Baker 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 23 Sep 94 09:23:38 EDT From: Mate1920@aol.com Subject: On Zellig's strictures Gut gezogt, Schleyme (4.108). Efsher veln a par fuhn di 534 mendeleniks yetzt epes zogen vegn derein. Beryl Steinberg 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 23 Sep 94 14:31 From: nmiller@trincoll.edu Subject: A velt mit Mendelnikes And now 558. Here is the latest tally by country: * Country Subscribers * ------- ----------- * Australia 7 * Belgium 1 * Brazil 1 * Canada 25 * Finland 1 * France 3 * Germany 13 * Great Britain 5 * Hongkong 1 * Israel 22 * Italy 2 * Japan 1 * Netherlands 2 * New Zealand 1 * Poland 3 * South Africa 2 * Spain 1 * Switzerland 3 * Turkey 1 * USA 453 * ??? 4 * * other 6 Total 558 Noyekh Miller ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 4.111 Mendele has 2 rules: 1. Provide a meaningful Subject: line 2. Sign your article (full name please) A Table of Contents is now available via anonymous ftp, along with weekly updates. Anonymous ftp archives available on: ftp.mendele.trincoll.edu in the directory pub/mendele/files Archives available via gopher on: gopher.cic.net Send articles to: mendele@yalevm.ycc.yale.edu Other business: nmiller@mail.trincoll.edu