Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 4.319 February 8, 1995 1) Frage, shayle un kashe (Yude Rozof) 2) Frage, shayle un kashe (Yale J. Reisner) 3) Why Study Yiddish? (Matt Dailey) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 8 Feb 1995 00:26:17 -0500 (EST) From: jrosof@sas.upenn.edu Subject: Some notes on shayle, kashe, etc. Dr. Mordkhe Schaechter treats the Yiddish names for "question" in his book, Laytish Mame-loshn. There are four words in Yiddish for question, as listed by Uriel Weinreich's dictionary: di shayle--s, di frage--s, di kashe--s, der freg--n. As I recall from Dr. Schaechter's book, shayle was most common historically; its use was far from restricted to the religious shayles vetshuves of rabinnic discourse, as some have here suggested. Frage is perhaps today more common, having been adopted into Yiddish from German around the haskole period. Note that the standard plural ending is --s in Yiddish, rather than --n, as in German. The authentic Eastern Yiddish Germanic-derived word for question is freg (the verb to ask is fregn). In modern standard Yiddish, freg is rarely used, except in the formula /ton a freg--er hot a freg geton/. Western Yiddish, I believe Dr. Schaechter remarks, had a noun /frog/, but this word did not enter the literary language of today. Another word for question in Yiddish is kashe, derived, not from Hebrew, but from Aramaic (Targem-loshn). The root means hard or difficult. Thus a kashe tends to denote a harder or more weighty question. The toughest questions of all, the "million dollar question," is called a /klots-kashe/, which Weinreich defines as a perplexing question. A klots-kashe may also refer to a foolish question. "klots" is Yiddish for a log or wooden beam--perhaps the alternative meanings for klots-kashe derive from the different meanings of klots. A klotz (English klutz borrowed from Yiddish) is something of a clumsy buffoon (a _foolish_ question), whereas a wooden beam is a central supporting structure of hard wood, explaining a _hard central_ question. Hope this helps. Yude Rozof 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 08 Feb 95 10:18:22 CET From: reisner%plearn.bitnet@yalevm.cis.yale.edu Subject: Kashe Harvey Spiro states (4.315) that "kashe" stems from the Hebrew adjective ka-SHEH ›hard, difficultº. While that relationship might exist linguistically, the more direct source for thhe Yiddish word is the Aramaic Kushia, meaning "question." The Four Questions on Passover (in Yiddish: fir kashes) are known in Hebrew\Aramaic as arba` kushiyyot. Yale J. Reisner Warsaw, Poland 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 8 Feb 1995 16:00:34 -0500 (EST) From: mdailey@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu Subject: Why Study Yiddish? Dear Dr. Sherman, I have spent the past week since reading your request attempting to discern my own motives for studying Yiddish. I have several reasons for studying Yiddish, ranging from a sense of historical moral imperative to personal pleasure, but through them all runs a thread of personal identity and belonging. I am in awe, that today, fifty years after the Holocaust, Yiddish not only survives but flourishes, albeit mainly in religious and academic enclaves and not the greater populace. I take great pleasure in the realization that here I am, a gentile in Columbus, Ohio, at the Ohio State University, studying and teaching Yiddish. This is a triumph of the human spirit, a living memorial to the victims of the Holocaust, and a celebration on the graves of those murderers who would have destroyed all traces of Yiddishkeyt from the world. I am a student of languages; Yiddish, Hebrew, Aramaic, Spanish, German, French, and English; and with the exception of English which is my native tongue, I have not found such joy or life in any language but Yiddish. English is my native tongue, but Yiddish is my Mame Loshn. I guess I am less a student of Yiddish than an adopted son. Yiddish is the language of a people, of a folk, not of a state or country. It has been said that this has been one of Yiddish's shortcomings, but I submit that it is one of Yiddish's strengths. One can study German, French, or Spanish, and then go to a specific geographic locale where the inhabitants speak that language. Yiddish however, is a beautiful disembodied spirit which possesses you, and makes you its own. Wherever Yiddish is spoken there is Ashkenaz. Yiddish is a language which defines its own boundaries, while all other languages are defined by their boundaries. Why should one study Yiddish? First, we must obey the 614th Mitzvah and remember the Holocaust. Yiddish is more than a living memorial, it is a bridge to the past which allows us to revisit that world which has ceased to exist. The most important motive which I can offer up is that most personal and perhaps even selfish. Yiddish is life, it is a living, breathing entity, of countless age and boundless wisdom, which, when embraced takes one in her arms as a wise old grandmother, and with infinite love and patience passes on to us her wisdom, experience and sense of humor. This is the language I love, and my purpose is to know her better. Matt Dailey ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 4.319 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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