Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 5.099 August 30, 1995 1) Introduction (Sven Vahlne) 2) Getting interested in Yiddish (Sam Abrash) 3) Gesosn (Leo Kanowitz) 4) Gesosn (Gaston L. Schmir) 5) Yiddish for beginners (Arthur Sheppard) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 29 Aug 1995 20:44:40 +0200 From: svahlne@algonet.se Subject: Introduction I am a translator and writer living near the small town of Kungalv, just north of Gothenburg, Sweden. My interest in Yiddish was aroused in the beginning of the seventies, when I happened to listen to a radio program about writers in New York. Among the authors mentioned was a Yiddish writer by the name of Isaac B. Singer. This was before the Prize. Somehow this radio program fueled my imagination and made me want to know more about Singer and about Yiddish. I went to the municipal library and found ca. 20 Yiddish books. But I hadn't realized that Yiddish is written with Hebrew characters! I couldn't even begin to read them. So I went looking for a textbook, and found Salcia Landsmann's "Jiddisch: Die Abenteuer einer Sprache". When I started perusing this rather nice book, I soon came upon the next hurdle: many words were of Hebrew and Aramaic origin and followed a quite different system of spelling than those of Germanic or Slavonic origin. It was deeply unsatisfactory not to be able to make out a words pronunciation from its spelling. I had to learn Hebrew! So I did that. :-) When I became "wired" to the Internet I checked out for Hebrew and Yiddish newsgroups and mailgroups, and I was very happy when I discovered Mendele. So far I have been kind of lurking in the doorway, listening in on the conversation, not knowing if I dare step in and introduce myself. Now I have. Mendele is a pure delight. I have downloaded a lot of the back issues and started reading them. Thank you Noyekh Miller and all of you other mendelyaner! You have already taught me a lot. Sven Vahlne 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 29 Aug 1995 09:48:15 -0400 (EDT) From: abrash@urvax.urich.edu Subject: Genesis of Yiddish interest In Mendele 5.078 Hershl Hartman continues the discussion of whether Yiddish in translation, and Yiddish culture in general engenders interest in Yiddish itself. I am a novice Yiddishist recently come to the list, and I have had four influences which have led to my interest. 1. Reading the Joys of Yiddish as a child. 2. My grandmother telling stories in which Yiddish words played a part. I remember one (true) story about a thoroughbred race horse named visgemirgedakh (please don't yell at me for the spelling. I am completely ignorant of YIVO standards. (What is Yiddish for mea culpa, mea culpa, mea mea culpa?)). 3. Reading the stories of Aleykhem and Singer (esp. Satan in Goray, Gimpel the Fool, and In My Father's Court) in translation, and being trained to believe that translation improves almost nothing (the Rubaiyat being a notable exception.) 4. Finally, I needed to hear the lovely Yiddish songs that are part of every recording made by the Klezmer Conservatory Band. I hope that this is a useful contribution to the discussion. Sam Abrash 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon Aug 28 16:26:48 1995 From: kanowitz@uchastings.edu Subject: "Cease fire!" & Lithuanian yidish In Mendele 5.098, Sam Abrash asks for the meaning of the punch line in the joke submitted by Rick Gildmeister in Mendele 5.077. In that joke, a Litvak fires a rifle after a sergeant shouts "Cease fire!" explaining that he did so precisely because of the sergeant's command. As I understand it, the joke is based on the litvish-yiddish pronunciation of the "sh" sound which is a simple "s". Thus the Litvak misunderstood the word "Cease" to mean "Shies" (i.e., "shoot" or "fire") and thought he'd heard the sergeant order him to "Shoot, fire!" Have I got it right, Rick? Leo Kanowitz 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 28 Aug 1995 18:15:49 -0400 (EDT) From: glschm@minerva.cis.yale.edu Subject: Gesosn To Sam Abrash: From one novice to another, I believe I can explain the punch line of the joke. It seems that many Litvaks were constitutionally incapable of pronouncing the sound /sh/. Ths /shabbes/ would come out /sabes/. The joke (a translingual one) follows from this Litvak peculiarity. When the officer shouted /cease fire/, our innocent Litvak interpreted the command as /shies fire/, or, in other words, as /fire! fire!/ since [shiesen=fire or shoot]. Nu, hot er gesosn [=geshosen]. Gaston L. Schmir 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 28 Aug 1995 16:41:52 -0701 From: spaceman@gn2.getnet.com Subject: Yiddish for beginners For those of us who are still novices and beginners, it would be wonderful if those who write complete messages in yiddish would also supply a translation so that we, too, can better understand the language. Thank you. Arthur Sheppard ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 5.099