Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 4.306 January 31, 1995 1) Introduction (Harold Boll) 2) Irving and Irwin; proverbs (Daniella HarPaz) 3) Kenen/konen; a personal note (Rick Gildemeister) 4) In der emesn (Morrie Feller) 5) In der emesn (Khayem Bochner) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 31 Jan 95 10:13:54 EST From: boll@keps.com Subject: Introduction Although I was born in Germany after the war, my formative years from the age of 2 were spent in Newark, N.J. in a 3-decker neighborhood not all that dissimilar to the descriptions provided by Philip Roth in some of his novels. In the 4th grade, the wooden desk that I sat at had the initials R.S. dug into its surface, which stood for our most famous graduate at the time - Rod Steiger. My parents are holocaust survivors from the town of Gombin in Poland and I grew up speaking a rich mixture of English & Yiddish and often not knowing the difference. This made kindergarten a somewhat traumatic experience for me since my young classmates would sometimes give me quizzical looks when I voiced words they didn't understand ("Give me a handtuch, please.") As the years passed my exposure to Yiddish only occurs on visits home to see family and relatives. My comprehension remains high, although when I try to speak I often revert to Deutsch due to many years of studying it in school. At a relatively recent Yiddish Film Festival sponsored by the Yiddish Film Institute at Brandeis University, I found that I could understand much of what was being said on screen without looking at the subtitles. I'm currently working my way through Weinreich's book on learning Yiddish. I get a lot of pleasure when visiting my parents in trying out my Yiddish or eavesdropping on conversations among the truly fluent at their condominium complex in Florida. I credit much of my renewed interest in Yiddish to Mendele. Thanks to one and all whose participation sustains this electronic journal. Harold Boll 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 30 Jan 1995 12:52:11 -0500 (EST) From: harpaz@binah.cc.brandeis.edu Subject: Irving and Irwin; proverbs 1. Does anyone know what Yiddish name (if there is a direct connection) is for "Irving"? or "Irwin"? 2. A colleague of mine is beginning work on Jewish proverbs (mostly Ladino) and would like to do *some* work with Yiddish proverbs. I gave him several references to consult, but it is not my forte'... Is there a quintessential work on Yiddish proverbs or list that he should consult above all others? a dank in faroys, Daniella HarPaz 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 31 Jan 95 09:25:51 EST From: eeglc%cunyvm.bitnet@yalevm.cis.yale.edu Subject: More on kenen/konen & a personal note I was out sick last week and had nothing to do but lie in bed and watch movies. Two I watched were "Mirele Efros" and "Der Dybuk". I was absolutely astonished; it was as if ear plugs had been taken out of my ears. I no longer depended on the subtitles; what once sounded like fonfevate nonsense (which I attributed to the particular movie print used and the conversion to video) was suddenly fresh and clear. I was able to detect lots of dialect variations to the point that the movies seemed artificial, but then I said to myself, Rick, people do move! OK, she's supposed to be from Grodne and she sounds like a Volinerke, but no one said where she was born. At any rate, what I'm trying to say is that the daily exposure to Yiddish through this list, and my forcing myself periodically to write my postings in Yiddish has resulted in a significant improvement in my facility for the language. I was so delighted I wanted to shout it from the rooftops! I cer- tainly couldn't have done it alone, and I want to give my most hartsikn dank to my Mendelyaner friends. Having just read Mikhl's posting on his underestimation of the spread of konen, everyone in both films said konen. I thought that that might be one area where the stage pronunciation may have had a normative influence and required konen; but, if so, why is everyone speaking in their own dialect? According to recent postings, I was led to believe konen was isolated to North-East Yiddish. Mikhl's most recent observation seems to make sense when applied to these movies as cases in point. Rick Gildemeister 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 31 Jan 1995 08:41:03 -0700 (MST) From: feller@pcef.pc.maricopa.edu Subject: Gender of _emes_ A possible answer to Zishe Carlow's question about the word _emes_. While Weinreich indicates that _emes_ is masculine gender, as a Hebrew word it is feminine gender. Why the change in gender when switching from Hebrew to Yiddish, I don't know. When all else fails, I usually pick up my telephone and call Mordkhe Schaechter. He always has a good answer! Morrie Feller Phoenix 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 31 Jan 95 10:47:39 -0500 From: bochner@das.harvard.edu Subject: "In der emesn" Sholem Aleykhem, Zishe! Mir zenen geven tsuzamen in zumer-program, '88. Ir fregt vegn "in der emesn". Bekitser, oyf loshn-koydesh iz dos vort "emes" loshn-nekeyve, un mistome iz es a mol geven loshn-nekeyve oyf yidish oykh. Hot men in der tsayt bashafn an oysdruk "in der emesn", mit "der", vi es past far a loshn-nekeyvedikn substantiv. Der nun baym sof, iz, vi ir shraybt, enlekh tsum nun in "tatn" oder "in der luftn"; in frierdike tsaytn hot men dos genitst mer vi inem hayntikn loshn. Shpeter iz dos vort "emes" gevorn loshn-zokher oyf yidish, un derfar, loyt der hayntiker gramatik, volt men gedarft zogn "in dem emes". Nor der oysdruk "in der emesn" iz undz farblibn, a zeykher fun frierdike doyres. ;-) Khayem Bochner ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 4.306 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. 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