Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 4.270 January 9, 1995 1) Improving Mendele (Arnie Kuzmack) 2) Improving Mendele (David Brenner) 3) Improving Mendele (Leybl Botvinik) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 8 Jan 1995 22:00:27 -0500 (EST) From: kuzmack@umbc.edu Subject: Not about splitting the list One thought that I had while reading this discussion: I have an amateur interest in Yiddish linguistics, but I can't follow some of the more technical discussion due to very technical terms. It would be easier to follow them if the linguists would keep in mind that others are lurking and explain their more esoteric terms. Arnie Kuzmack 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 9 Jan 1995 00:44:21 -0700 (MST) From: brenner@spot.colorado.edu Subject: Splitting the list and a research query Before I make my research query, a brief comment on Dovid Braun's and Kathryn Hellerstein's comments on splitting the list. I am a tenure-track asst. prof in a Germanic/Slavic dept. at a large state university. My research is on the cultural and literary history of German-speaking Jewry since 1700. I am not a professional Yiddishist, though much of my research deals with the experiences of East European Jews in Imperial and Weimar Germany, as well as attitudes toward the so-called Ostjuden on the part of West/Central European Jews. I read Yiddish with proficiency and speak it proficiently for a person who is near-native-fluent in German. Enough about me, although I felt it was to reiterate my institutional, sociocultural positions before I proceed (something few people who contribute to Mendele ever reveal/show self-awareness of except perhaps in initial introductions!). My colleagues and acquaintances in Jewish studies, German studies, and Yiddish often regard "Mendele" as not "serious" not "scholarly" enough--a charge most of you have heard a thousand times. This prejudice is a prejudice, no doubt, but I would like, for a moment, to explore it empathetically to see if it has any grounds. While Dovid Braun is on target that prejudices abound with respect to linguistics, Yiddish culture, galitsyaners vs. litvaks, undundund, my colleagues and acquaintances, right or wrong, rational or irrational, feel that "Mendele" doesn't "speak" to them, that is, to their concerns as scholars/teachers. Let me try to help the rest of you understand where I am (and they might be) coming from: 1. Speaking for myself, a young, tenure-track professor: there is little incentive to contribute to/ read /"Mendele" on purely professional (kholile!) criteria. (These criteria are subject to criticism, but as standards for hiring, promotion, etc. they have been/and will be difficult to change immediately.) At best, "Mendele" may indirectly, in a mediated fashion, help my research and my teaching. (No doubt it comprises "service" to the broader community.) Like anything else, certain people are real interested/engaged in "Mendele", others less so; human scholars, moreover, do not share the same priorities. I should add at this point: I believe that any person researching/teaching Yiddish/Ashk. Studies is doing themselves a disservice by NOT reading Mendele. 2. I quote Braun: "Halevay -- would that a professional (Yiddish) folklorist would pipe up on this network, or a historian or a literary scholar/theorist or a sociologist or a musicologist -- with material that s/he would normally discuss in a serious forum with his/her colleagues -- or with lay people." While I don't precisely fit into one of the above categories, let me offer one possible explanation for the behavior of such folks, again, speaking ultimately only for myself. I, for one, get little if any resonance from Mendeleniks when I make a research query. I repeat: I get few responses, if any, most of them (pardon my netiquette, Daniella!) "uninformed." Over the years (someone check the archives), I have made the 5 or 6 odd queries with similar results. This point won't surprise most of you: obviously the people I talk with/would like to talk with in my interdisciplines (why scholars talk to each other so little is worth exploring!) aren't replying, indeed aren't participating in "Mendele." All of which begs the question: why then even think of publishing more substantial contributions on "Mendele" (aside from the copyright questions and the (probably unjustified) fear of plagiarism?) In one respect, however, the lack of response is rewarding: it confirms for me that I may be doing original research on neglected topics. To close: kvetching about _Mendele_ is to me tantamount to loshn hore (which is perhaps makes griping about it so much fun for so many of us!). There are a thousand good things to say, and it is my favorite _discussion list_ of the several I subscribe to. Finally, as an anthropologically-minded cultural historian, I am envious of my colleagues who will have "Mendele"'s archives to consult as a prooftext for their histories of late 20th-century (primarily) American Jewry Having talked your ears off, here's a research query for an article I would like to write: "For an article on precursors/antecedents in Central and East European Jewish culture to the "Jazz Singer" character/narrative (remember the 1929 film with Al Jolson, based on 1923 story by Raphaelson?) , I would appreciate reading suggestions, comments, ideas, etc. Jazz singers, opera singers, actors--entertainers of every stripe-- are of particular interest, especially those who emerged from a "shtetl" environment into a more "assimilated" milieu. Any genre (novel, story, theater, film, memoir, autobiography) is fair game, especially if authored in Yiddish, Hebrew, or German. al dos guts, David Brenner 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 9 Jan 95 15:06:42 IST From: leybl@telecomm.tadiran.co.il Subject: zikh teyln - ye! zikh tseteyln (nokh) nit! tayere khaveyrim, undzer guter shames, reb noyekh, hot in a frierdikn numer mendele [V4.267] gegebn tzu hern, az er meynt az der inyen 'splitting mendele' iz oysgeshept. er halt azoy, vayl keyner iz nit geven far dem (akhutz di froy Patty Becker V4.256). ikh hob ersht nekhtn, leynendik di korespondentz fun di letzte tzvey vokhn (V4.251-V4.268), zikh dervust fun der makhloykes. vil ikh oykhet zogn a por verter vegn dem, ober koydem kol, muz ikh moyde zayn, az ikh bin letztns nit geven genug aktiv oyf der linye tzulib kame taymim (=farsheydene sibes). ikh bin ober ye geven shriftlekh in kontakt mit mentshn vos ikh hob zikh bakent mit zey adank der mendele reshime. ikh bin zikh meshayer (=ikh bin zikher), az a hipsh' bisl korespondents vert adurkhgefirt fun mendelyaner hinter di kulisn. dos iz gut. es iz ober oykh gevuntshn, vi men hot es etlekhe mol meramez geven (=fun 'RMZ' oyf hebreyish, "hint" oyf english) az vos merer mentshn zoln onteylnemen in di diskusyes, un aroysvayzn an interes say in fregn, say in entfern. ay, dos vos mendele iz a reshime far akademikers, vil ikh zogn, az oyb mir veln ale asakh leynen (un a bisl shraybn) veln mir ale vern 'akademish'. ikh hob zikh a sakh gelernt leynendik di mendele korespondentz, un ikh hof oykh tzu kenen bayshtayern di andere mendelyaner mit dos bisl vos ikh ken. oyf yidish "to split[eng.]" heyst "tseteyln". in dem fal, "zikh tzeteyln". a "teyl" iz oykh "part/piece[eng.]"; dakegn, "teyln zikh" meynt "to share [eng.]". der banutz iz folgnd: -- P.B. leygt for, az di mendele reshime zol zikh tzeteyln ("split[eng.]"). -- andere viln nit, az di reshime zol men tzeteyln, nor az zi zol blaybn gantz. -- in etlekhe faln, hot men oysgeteylt ("hand out/distribute[eng.]") shvokhim ("praise[eng.]"), in andere faln - nit oyf undz gedakht - a bisl sharfere reyd... -- farsheydene mentshn leygn for, merere zoln zikh aktivirn un onteylnemen ("participate[eng.]"), zikh teyln ("share[eng.]") mit zeyer visn, un oykh farkert, mit dem visn fun andere. -- di greste teyl ("part[eng.]- in this case, majority] ober, fun di vos hobn geteylt ["shared[eng.]") mit undz zeyer meynung, vil haltn di reshime vi zi iz. [es ekzistirn nokh kombinatzies: opteyln, farteyln, tzuteyln ... ober dos, a tzveytn mol] un itzt, mayn meynung: ikh meyn, az der gedank iz nit keyn krumer. nor vos, er kumt ersht tzu fri. ven mir voltn gehat 10000 (tzen toyznt) korespondentn volt geven an ander mayse. ven ikh bin arayn in der reshime hob ikh zikh gefreyt, az khvel hobn mit vemen zikh durktzushraybn, fun vemen tzu lernen, mit vemen zikh teyln mit gedanken, tzi a vitz oder tzvey. un dos hob ikh take gefunen, un kh'kuk foroys yedn tog, far di sheyne briv oyf mendele. ikh hob ober oykh getrakht, az mit der tzayt, ven mir veln vern mer, un shtarker un es veln zikh antviklen tzvaygn fun undzer mendele boym, veln mir shepn fun andere reshimes oyf mer spetsifishe temes. Lemoshl (un ikh gib do oykh on di 'nemen' fun etlekh tzukunftike reshimes) : a reshime bloyz far humor (DZIGAN); a reshime far eltern fun kinder (AKHT AZEYGER), vos bay zey redt men yidish in der heym (oder vos viln dos); a lider/muzik-reshime (GEBIRTIG); a poezie reshime (NAYDUS); vegn khurbn (KHURBN); un azoy vayter. es vet nokh kumen a tzayt, ven undzere kinder veln shafn an eygene reshime un veln oyf yidish korespondirn mekhutz di ramen fun mendele. der yontev tu-bishvat iz kumendikn montik (dem 16tn), lomir zikh nit nor teyln boks(er) un faygn -- dos darf men oykh amol -- nor lomir take flantzn, farflantszn, un iberflantzn naye baymer inem sod fun yidish, un zey hitn un hodeven. leybl botvinik P.S. iker shokhokti. peter kluehs shraybt (V4.267): > s'volt gevolt zayn an emesdike hanoe far mir, az ale mendelnik(e)s vos > kenen shraybn yidish voltn banutst mameloshn un nisht english far zeyer > brivn. zayt azoy gut un mutsht aykh a bisl mer tsulib di nayen yidish- > lerner ;B-). > in letstn yor hob ikh gefunen nor an erekh 6 protsent yidishe tekstn in > der gantser mendele post. fraynt P.K. iz gerekht, mir muzn shraybn mer yidish. far dem zaynen mir dokh ale do. es tut mir bang (s'fardrist mir zeyer) vos a teyl fun undzere beste yidish keners hobn zikh azoy fartift in zeyere (interesante) diskusyes, az zey hobn gor fargesn zikh tzu banutzn mit undzer sheynem mame loshn. hot zhe mir un zayt zhe mir (==> hot zhe mir ale a gutn tog, un zayt zhe mir ale gezunt). [l.b.] ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 4.270 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 Send change-of-status messages to: listserv@yalevm.ycc.yale.edu a. For a temporary stop: set mendele nomail b. To resume delivery: set mendele mail c. To subscribe: sub mendele first_name last_name d. To unsubscribe kholile: unsub mendele Other business: nmiller@mail.trincoll.edu