Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 4.343 February 27, 1995 1) Yiddish and Ashkenaz conference (Lisa-leah Jenschke) 2) History of Yiddish (Mikhl Herzog) 3) Skotsl kumt (Mikhl Herzog) 4) Skotsl kumt (Rick Gildemeister) 5) Kibitz, shemhitl (Bob Rothstein) 6) Kizshina [sic] diadi Toma (Bob Rothstein) 7) Setting up a Yiddish class (Neil Baker) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 26 Feb 95 15:36:13 EST From: ljenschk@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu Subject: Yiddish and Ashkenaz conference To graduate students who hope to attend the upcoming Yiddish and Ashkenaz conference in Columbus, Ohio: As a grad student here at Ohio State University, I know that many of you may be suffering from lack of funds, but would still like to attend what promises to be a very exciting grad student conference. I would like to offer a few inexpensive alternatives to the official ones for transportation and accomodation. A couple of grad students here have volunteered to pick people up from the airport on the Friday and Saturday before the airport. It's a relatively quick drive, but an expensive taxi ride. If you're not sure that you can afford the hotel, there is also a youth hostel located conveniently next to campus and within walking distance of all events. In the event that even the youth hostel will stretch your budget, a few people can stay with grad students here who have graciously offered to put people up. If these alternatives sound enticing, please contact me at: ljenschk@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu or feel free to call (614) 297-0253. We're very excited about the conference and are really looking forward to meeting everyone. Lisa-leah Jenschke 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 26 Feb 95 18:53 EST From: zogur@cuvmb.columbia.edu Subject: History of Yiddish With respect to Shimen Kass's queries about the History of Yiddish, the answers can be found, not surprisingly, in Max Weinreich' _History of the Yiddish Language_, Chicago, 1980. Mikhl Herzog 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 26 Feb 95 18:53 EST From: zogur@cuvmb.columbia.edu Subject: Skotsl kumt Yude Rosof asks about _skotsl kumt_: A delicious expression which, in Eastern Yiddish, is generally an expression of surprise (and welcome) when an unexpected guest appears. Speakers rarely perceive it's probable origin, and often reinterpret it in an effort to to make it more intelligible. To wit: "O, zey nor ver si du:, skotsl kint; khob im shoyn azoy lang nish gezeyn." "skotsl kind kimt", and the like. (From Southeastern Yiddish [kots] 'cat': "_sketsl kimt_". Folk etymologies include _gots tsel_ 'God's shadow'. Don't believe it! In Western Yiddish, the expression _gotl_ or _kotl kum_ is said only by women. Men say _sholem aleykhem_. Etymology? A reasonable suuggestion is a medieval German expression, something like _bis got willkommen_. Are there German sources to support this? Another proposal (whose proponent will be named, if he concurs) is a possible Northern German form, more or less like _kohsl_. I've never pursued this suggestion and would be grateful for any light that can be shed on it. Mikhl Herzog 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 27 Feb 95 08:59:07 EST From: eeglc%cunyvm.bitnet@yalevm.cis.yale.edu Subject: Skotsl kumt I'm afraid I don't have more to add for Yude Rozof's question about Skotsl. The way I've heard it, the phrase is "Skotsl kumt a gast iz do". And the way it was told to me, was that one said this derogatorily when a woman walked into a room. I'm as puzzled as Yude, and would like to hear, especially from the native speakers (native speakers taught me the phrase and tried to convey the sense of it, which I never quite grasped). Rick Gildemeister 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 26 Feb 1995 23:10:09 -0500 (EST) From: rar@slavic.umass.edu Subject: Kibitz, shemhitl In 4.341 Paul Pascal replied to inquiries by Berel Leiser (4.332) about the word _kibitz_ and by Kalman Weiser (4.333) about the expression _oyston dem shem-hitl_. I would offer the following additions. In 2.057 I provided a commentary on _kibitz_ (based largely on H. L. Mencken), tracing the word back to the name of an Austrian general's dog. As for _shem(-)hitl_, Leibush Lehrer includes it in a list of rare words from Polish Yiddish in a 1942 note in _Yidishe shprakh_ (v. 2, no. 2, p. 48). He gives _kharpe_ as a synonym, and provides the following example: "Ven er zol kenen aropvarfn fun zikh zayn shemnitl un zogn khotati, volt a sakh beser geven." Fraynd Pascal suggests a connection with the proverb "afn ganef brent dos hitl," which has parallels in both Russian ("na vore shapka gorit") and Polish ("na zlodzieju czapka gore"--attested since the 17th century). In both languages too the proverb is usually explained as being connected with an anecdote about a thief whose guilt gives him away when someone yells "The thief's hat is on fire!" There's also a lovely Yiddish variant: "Afn ganef in tsilinder brent dos hitl nit" (i.e., if the thief is rich enough to wear a top hat, he probably doesn't feel guilty). Bob Rothstein 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 26 Feb 1995 23:12:46 -0500 (EST) From: rar@slavic.umass.edu Subject: Kizshina [sic] diadi Toma Larry Rosenwald asked about a reference by Yankev Glatshteyn to _Kizshina diadi Toma_ (4.280). This is a slight distortion of the Russian title of _Uncle Tom's Cabin_, namely, _Khizhina diadi Toma_. Bob Rothstein 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 27 Feb 95 11:02:00 PST From: bakern@dbisna.com Subject: Setting up a Yiddish class At our local temple, we have a few people relatively fluent in mama loshen Yiddish. The Second and third generation American members are so fascinated to hear the few speak in the language of their parents and grandparents. They have been begging for a class to be set up at the temple. We have 4-5 Yiddish speakers willing to give it a try but have no experience in teaching a language. Are there any good literature, primers, methods, etc.. available to assist these "teachers"? Once we get them started, the next step will be to introduce them to Mendele. Thanks for any help you may be able to provide. Neil Baker ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 4.343 Mendele has 2 rules: 1. 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