Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 6.068 September 25, 1996 1) Yiddish is going off the air! (Roland Millman) 2) Tsvey tikn-toesn (Joachim Neugroschel) 3) A hasty generalization (Zellig Bach) 4) Curriculum for children's Yiddish class (Libe Gritz un Mikhl Katz) 5) Yitskhok Goldkorn (Brukhe Lang) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 16:11:01 -0400 From: ruvn@aol.com Subject: Yiddish is going off the air! "Yiddish is going off the air!" There is a strong suspicion that radio station, WEVD intends to eliminate all of its Yiddish programming. If this news affects you in any way and you would like to make your voice heard, here is the contact information: Manager of the Forward Association Forward Association 45 East 33rd Street NY NY 10016 telephone: 212-889-8200 or 800-266-0773 (ask for the general manager of the Forward) email: newsdesk@forward.com ***Calls directly to WEVD will not help. They must be addressed directly to the Forward Association. They own and control WEVD and have the final say in whether or not Yiddish programming remains on the air. The decision in this matter is sure to be made in a timely fashion. If this concerns you, I recommend a fast response. Roland Millman 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 14:32:30 -0400 (EDT) From: achim1@cris.com Subject: Tsvey tikn-toesn Benegeye der letster notits beim Mendele, sholem-aleykhems bavuster roman vegn yidishn teater heyst "Blondzhende Shtern" un nisht "Vanderndike Shtern" Benegeye dem nekeyve-nomen, vos er vet geschribn reysh-vov-sof, der yidisher (un bkhlal ashkenazisher) aroysred iz "Rus" un nisht "Rut". Joachim Neugroschel 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 18:51:13 -0400 From: zellig@aol.com Subject: A hasty generalization In my recent post _Umbashri'en, another Verbal Superstition_ (6.064,4) I stated: "In nouns it [the prefix "um-"] means the opposite of the original meaning," and gave several examples. This was a hasty generalization. It is applicable only to possibly 50 to 60 percent of such substantives, but NOT to all. One of my own examples following the above quoted statement was the word "umkum" [holocaust]. This word has _no_ opposite of the original meaning of the base word, as is the case with the other several examples [umglik, umkoved, umru, ummentsh -- misfortune, disrespect, unrest, brute, respectively], and the generalization therefore does not apply to "umkum." This noun derives from the verb "umkumen, iz umgekumen" [died a violent death]. Note especially the _iz_ construction in this expression, meaning perished at the hands of others. Thus, this noun has no opposite _within itself_, as each of the other examples I enumerated has, and the generalization therefore does not apply to "umkum." Zellig Bach Lakehurst, NJ 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 24 Sep 96 21:08 EST From: 0007547315@mcimail.com Subject: Curriculum for children's Yiddish class The Workmen's Circle in Boston has just started a Family Yiddish Class. The focus is on the children but the parents are there to help as well as learn. The children that are currently enrolled range in age from 4 to 8 years old, and they vary in their knowledge of Yiddish. So it's a bit of a one-room schoolhouse. We're full of energy and enthusiasm but lacking in curriculum. We have some materials from The Workmen's Circle but not a lot that is appropriate for our program. The Arele series from Mexico looks useful for teaching writing the Alef-Beyz. We're looking for creative ways of teaching the older children who want to learn to read and write, and the younger ones who are more interested in playing games. Rather than re-invent the wheel, we thought there might be some Mendelistn our there who have developed curricula for a children's Yiddish class and who would be willing to share their efforts in order to pass Yiddish on to the next generation. Books, games (we have Yiddish Lotto and we've created a Yiddish version of a Hebrew board game called The Great Alef-Beyz Race; we're thinking of creating a Yiddish Scrabble Junior), physical/musical activities, and other ideas would be most welcome. A sheynem dank un a gute zise yor tsu alemen! Libe Gritz un Mikhl Katz Somerville, MA 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 25 Sep 1996 09:13:50 -0400 (EDT) From: bl67@columbia.edu Subject: Yitskhok Goldkorn I am trying to find out the year in which the Yiddish writer Yitskhok Goldkorn passed away. As far as I know, he lived in Canada. His death was relatively recent so the date is not in the standard reference works. New York libraries have not been able to supply this piece of information: can any reader of Mendele help? Many thanks, Beatrice (Brukhe) Lang ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 6.068