Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 6.134 December 12, 1996 1) Introduction (Stanley Wernick) 2) Tautology/pleonasms (Joachim Neugroschel) 3) Tautologies (Mechl Asheri) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 11 Dec 1996 12:19:43 EST From: stantheman4@juno.com Subject: Introduction I am very new to Mendele and I cannot tell you how happy I am to have accidentally run into this mailing through a good friend in Australia, Marvin Feldman. I have read with great interest, a letter from Jeff Neiman of Toronto, Canada, for I too, am the child of immigrants who spoke only Yiddish in the home and also their native Russiaqn to each other. I grew up in Los Angeles, California speaking Yiddish as my primary language at home. However, as years went by and I left home, I lost the use of the Mother Lanuguge as did Mr. Neiman. Now, thanks to Mendele, which I am using as a re-learning tool, I am beginning to recall words and phrases that have long been forgotten and it warms my heart to read things that have so long been stored away in the far distant recesses of my memories. I regret that I have no contribution to make to the many brilliant writings that I have read in Mendele, but I am reading them all with great enthusiasm and really appreciate having the use of this wonderful service. Here in Albuquerque, we have a new organization which is called the Yiddish Cultural Association of which I am a member. We strive to keep the old traditions alive with promoting the use of Yiddish. Mendele has proven a valuable addition to this cause, as I have been sharing it with all of them. I am 66 years old and a retired electrical engineer. My parents were from Russia and came here to the USA in the late 1920's to escape the pogroms. Thank you again, for giving me the opportunity to participate, even if only in a simple way. Stanley Wernick [Omar hashames, zogt der shames: tsvey zelbstbakentmakhungen in tsvey teg! Efsher veln shoyn andere nokhfolgn? nm] 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 11 Dec 1996 11:59:10 -0500 (EST) From: achim1@cris.com Subject: Tautology/pleonasms tautology or pleonasm? I wonder if yiddish has a word like german "doppelgemoppel" How about "topl-shmopl" or "topl-tepl"--unless the elements add up to three or more? regarding pleonasms in yiddish, there are the double synonym names like "ari-leyb" or "tsvi-hersh"--if I recall correctly, weinreich lists a few of them in his history. ultimately, however, there are the intrinsic structural pleonasms that most languages use to reenforce grammar. e.g. in italian: "la bella rosa" (the beautiful rose), the "a"-ending keeps confirming the fact that this is a feminine singular--not necessary but required (like cases and genders altogether). similarly the double negative in the romance and slavic languages (and viennese german) and in yiddish is generally unnessary but required. it is as pleonastic as what is called a pleonastic "non-negating negative" (french: "j'attends qu'il ne vienne" (i'm waiting till he comes"--the "ne" is no negation" (yiddish has a similar usage) in regard to case endings yiddish employs some pleonasms, e.g. "der guter shrayber": the "er" endings of the article and the adjective are "unnecessary but required"; same in "di gute mame". one major difference between english and a host of other european languages including yiddish is that english hates plurals and tries to avoid them where possible, especially in a noun modifying another word: "ten feet long" but "a ten-_foot_-pole" a "bookcase" (i'm sure the case has more than one book) a "letter carrier" (i'm sure he carries more than one letter) (but: "schools chancellor") in yiddish, however, as often in german, the modifying noun is in the plural: "der bikhershank"--and even "der brivn-treger": even though the plural of "briv" is "briv" (a null plural) yiddish speakers felt obligated to create a new plural for the compound. depending on a linguist's approach, such plurals might be deemed "unnecessary but required." I notice that many recent yidish neologisms that may have been coined under english influence likewise keep the modifying noun in the singular: "klang-bavornt" (sound-proof)--i'm sure that something that's sound-proof keeps out more than one sound or "klang". but then again, we're faced with the following traditional yiddish synonyms for "childhood": "di kindshaft" (perhaps because it refers to only a single life) but "mayne kinderyorn"--even though it definitely refers to a single life, unless you use some plural context: "zeyre kinderyorn". the reverse is true of, say, body parts in english and yiddish: yiddish: ale hobn zikh geribn di noz (singular: one to a customer) but english: they all rubbed their noses. should we call the english plural in this usage "pleonastic" since it's unnecessary but required? my point is that the concept of "pleonastic" is buried deep within the gestalt of any language and may not even feel tautological. yiddish takes over hebrew/aramaic words with the article and then adds the yiddish article.... and words going way back to arabic are taken over by various languages, whose speakers don't realize that "al" is the definite article: the alchemy of medieval italy, but "the chemistry of their first meeting" (same root), the alcohol content, the algebra lesson, etc..... (dont forget alcatraz and alhambra). and by the way, speaking of Arabic, English usage prefers "the Sahara" to "the Sahara Desert"since "Sahara" means "desert" in Arabic. what is the standard usage in Yiddish? Joachim Neugroschel p.s. my favorite yiddish pleonasm: "avade un avade". 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 12 Dec 1996 08:24:00 +0200 From: donnom@netvision.net.il Subject: Tautologies My thanks to all the Mendelnikes who sent in items to add to my collection. My special thanks to Reb Refoyl Finkel, who sent me direct the best one of all: "k'doyme azelkhe". As to whether it's tautology or pleonasm, well, actually it's mamesh a six of one and half dozen of another memoneshekh; makhtese whatever turns you on. All right, those don't count, but I have remembered a couple of others: "finster khoyshekh" is one and "grober yungatsh" which I have heard exactly twice, both times from women (not to me, khas v'sholom), another. Finally, on Simkhes Toyre when everyone gets an aliya, I have heard the guy calling us all up give one to himself, not as Ployni ben Ployni" but as "Ikh mikh alayn". Nokhemol a groysn dank, Mechl Asheri ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 6.134