Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 6.076 October 10, 1996 1) Universities with degree programs in Yiddish (Bruce Gale) 2) The Forward (Sylvia Schildt) 3) A Yiddish talk in Brookline (Shimen Kass) 4) Af and oyf (Hugh Denman) 5) The prefix "tse" (Zellig Bach) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 03 Oct 1996 08:29:44 -0400 From: vcimis@postoffice.worldnet.att.net Subject: Universities with degree programs in Yiddish In response to Shalom Goldberg's request for schools that offer degree programs in Yiddish, the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor offers degree programs. Their Graduate School library has a large collection of Yiddish books. Bruce Gale 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 4 Oct 1996 17:53:14 -0400 (EDT) From: creativa@charm.net Subject: The Forward Association -- let's bear witness I read Mirl's goldene verter and tears came into my eyes, and I once more heard the pulsing idealism of my yidishe lerer fun arbeter ring - un lerer seminar. Ikh gedenk azey klor aza mentshn vi yankev levin, vos hot fun undz talmidim gemakht a klub - riaran - red yidish oder red ingantzn nit - di greyse arbeter ring khorn in velkhe mir flegn zingen "mir hobn di heymishe flamen shoyn tzendlike yorn gehit" agev afile amol af WEVD - ikh gedenk minkoffn velkher hot nit nor gelernt mit undz in seminar vegn moderne yidishe poezie, nor eykh undz arayngefirt in der velt fun moderner kunst (constable un turner biz di impresionistn and expressionistn)k'dey mir zoln kenen beser opshatzn di lider fun dem nistern.) ikh dermon zikh on greyse farzamlungen in medison skver gardn iber vikhtike yidishe un sotzialistishe inyonim. protest marshirn mit gezang (s'marshirt in rey, s'marshirt in rey, di yunge shul, di shul armey.) a forvertz vos flegt b'emes firn dem folk forvertz. (forvertz, brider, in di reyen, di plakatn halt foroys) Un azey vayter. mentshn, vos iz fun dos altz gevorn? nit nor shayekh mame loshn, nor idealizm bikhlal. zikher iz yidish geven undzer religie (bay mir iz dos nokh altz a religie) un ikh derfrey zikh ven mentshn vayzn on tzu ot der religie derekh eretz un opshatzung vi es darf tzu zayn. ot di toyre iz undzer beste skhoyre -- nit shvartze tint. vu zaynen take undzere neviyim vos zoln arumleyfn in di gasn un shrayen tzu di mentshn -- genug mitn kremerishn psikhologie -- gelt iz kaylekhdik. gelt hot nor a vert ven es dint dem folk. vos far a tam hot "black ink" ven es drukt nisht kin yidish vort - ven es farshpreyt nit undzer folks toyre.un take vu zaynen di gevezene talmidim fun ot di rizn, di lerer vos hobn aza libe aroysgevizn tzum shprakh, folk un ideal? vos shvaygt ir, arbeter ringnikers, sholem aleykhemniks, farbandniks, un di andere. rirt zikh fun ort. shraybt protest briv -- leyent di yidishe zhurnaln - heybt on mitn abonirn dem forvertz. lozt hern ayer kol. un di vos veynen in nyu york, lozt zikh nit shpayen in kashe vegn yidishe programen af WEVD. Tzi men harget yidishe programen mit eyn klap, tzi men lozt zey shtarbn bislekhvays, vos iz der untersheyd?. es iz naye tzaytn, un mir hobn, borekh hashem, naye yunge talentn vi sapoznik un alpert un andere - farvos nit shafn nokh yidishe programen fun un far yungvarg? far di studentn (ikh red n.y. gufe) fun columbia un andere universitetn afn nayem streyger? nisht azey fil kukn tzurik vi kukn forvertz tzum yidishn renesans. tzum sof, a vort treyst. es zet zikh oys az yidish geyt af 2 shtromen - eyn shtrom iz a shtarbendiker - yidish fun di shtetlekh, ghetos un lagern un fun shvern svetshop imigrantn lebn. ober es kumt uf a tzveyter shtrum - yiddish by choice - vos lebt uf yidish af ale, ale ekn velt. in 2tn shtrom veln mir gefinen undzer hemshekh. s'iz nokh tzu fri tzu zogn kadish. sylvia schildt baltimore, maryland 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 05 Oct 1996 14:47:37 EST From: kass@umbsky.cc.umb.edu Subject: A Yiddish Talk in Brookline Sheva Zucker, of Duke University, author of "Yiddish: an introduction to the Language, Literature and Culture", and a well-known lecturer , just back from teaching in Kishinev, will give a talk in Yiddish at Temple Beth Zion of Brookline, 1566 Beacon Street, on Monday, October 21, at 7.30 pm. Her title is "A Page Torn from a Holy Book: Women's Autobiographies in Yiddish". The talk is sponsored jointly by The Workmen's Circle/Arbeter Ring and Temple Beth Zion of Brookline Admission is free and all are welcome. Next Yiddish talk in this series: Dr. Michael Steinlauf, Senior Research Fellow at YIVO, Monday, December 16, 7.30 pm: "Poland and the Memory of the Holocaust". Location to be announced. Shimen Kass 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 07 Oct 1996 19:10:19 +0100 From: uclhhfd@ucl.ac.uk Subject: Af and oyf When we discuss romanisation problems, I believe we should make a clear distinction between phonetic transcription and transliteration. For purposes of broad phonetic transcription (preferably in square brackets, so that the reader is clear that this is what it is) we will for example write (if a klal-yidish pronunciation is intended): [af der gas], [ufheybn] and [lebn] but [lept]. In a trasliteration we will write: 'oyf der gas', 'oyfheybn', 'lebn', 'lebt', but 'af der gas' if the text we are transcribing was spelled pasekh-alef fey, e.g. by a Soviet Yiddish writer. The virtue of this practice is that it is reversible and this is of particular importance for the bibliographer. However, a curiosity of standard scientific practice is that for the sake of readability we do, in fact, insert phonetic transcription of loshn-koydesh items into our otherwise transliterated romanisations: 'loshn-koydesh' is a case in point. It is, of course, possible to follow Library of Congress practice and tranliterate these items also as if they were Hebrew/ Aramaic. It just looks a little awkward. Hugh Denman 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 7 Oct 1996 16:54:07 -0400 From: zellig@aol.com Subject: The prefix "tse" The prefixes "tse-" and "tsu-" are unfortunately often confused, although each serves a completely different and distinct function. The prefix "tsu-," among a number of other meanings, often carries the meaning of _to_ with the verb infinitive, for example: tsumakhn [to close], tsutulyen, or doubled tsutsutulyen [to cuddle], tsuzogn [to promise], tsureydn [to advise, urge]. Whereas the prefix "tse-" connotes splitting, taking apart, fragmentation, dispersion. Examples: tsebrekhn [break], tseglidern [dissect], tsevorfn [scatter], tseshoybert [disheveled] In his comment on the subject "s' hitset" (6.075,3), Rick Turkel is on the right track about the meaning of the "tse-" prefix, but when he adds an /r/ after it, even in parentheses., for example, "tse(r)brokhn," it becomes _Unyiddish_. The /r/ addition is strictly German, therefore totally superfluous in Yiddish. By the way, when he translates "tse(r)kokht" (sic) as "overkooked" he is not necessarily correct. "Tsekokht" is more likely to be a reference to someone's overheated temperament. The research, care, and deep love that Sol Steinmetz invested in his book _A Century of Yiddish in America: Yiddish and English_ are evident in every page. But notwithstanding an author's almost superhuman efforts, no book can totally escape the blemish of a typographical error. Thus, in his excellent Yiddish-English glossary, a very careful and responsible compendium of Yiddish words all properly romanized, one finds the following error (Appendix II, p. 146): "tsudreyt" [confused, unhinged], tsudreyter [mixed-up person]. These words should, of course, read "tsEdreyt," "tsEdreyter." This small finding does in no way diminish the value of the lovely book. The Glossary (pp. 114 - 148) consists of some twelve hundred Yiddish words, phrases, and idioms, and may well serve as a guide to proper romanization. Zellig Bach. Lakehurst, NJ ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 6.076 Mendele has 2 rules: 1. Provide a meaningful Subject: line 2. 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