Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ____________________________________________________
Contents of Vol. 18.015 December 23, 2008 1) Leonard Prager z'l (Leybl Botwinik) 2) pogrom? (Sonia Kovitz) 3) terminology for female genitalia (Bracha Weingrod) 4) terminology for female genitalia (Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett) 5) paskrevits (Veronica Belling) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: December 14, 2008 Subject: Leonard Prager z'l A shod, a shod. Er iz geven a guter mentsh un a guter yid. Koved zayn ondenk. Leybl Botwinik 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: December 10, 2008 Subject: pogrom? _Pogrom_ is of course a Slavic-based word. In a Yiddish text written in 1945 by a proponent of the phonetic spelling of Hebrew words that occur in Yiddish, I found the following strange word_pardes_: peh - aleph - resh - vov - ayin - samekh. Yes, the vov is very odd here for "o" but I've found that the writer is not always consistent re: phonetic Hebrew spelling. The context is _pardes_, shkhites_ un _harges_: pogroms (?), extortions and murders. Neither Weinreich nor Harkavy were of help so I went to the Hebrew dictionary and found the following plural form meaning pogrom: peh - resh - ayin - vov - sof. What do you think, did I figure this out correctly? a dank! Sonia Kovitz 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: December 16, 2008 Subject: terminology for female genitalia My mother would always shout upstairs to us (girls) whenever we were taking a bath, "Fargest nisht oystsuvashn di gantse mayse;" which became the euphemism for our "private parts." This expression has been handed down to all our daughters. So imagine the surprise when my eldest daughter overheard her kibbutz "father" on the phone to someone saying "Nakhon, bevaday, hu lakakh et di gantse mayse," referring to some matter of business. She rushed out of the room red-faced, and only later was I able to reassure her. Bracha Weingrod 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: December 18, 2008 Subject: terminology for female genitalia Mayer Kirshenblatt, born 1916 in Opatow (Apt), Poland, reports the following. (1) kote, from the Polish kot (cat), meaning pussy; (2) = shpalt (crack); (3) shmoysh for a woman, shmoysl for a girl. These terms were never used in his home or heard from his parents, but only among his friends. He recalls a girl who, experiencing genital pain, referred to her shmoysl. For more of Mayer's memories, check out "They Called Me Mayer July: Painted Memories of a Jewish Childhood in Poland before the Holocaust." http://www.mayerjuly.com. Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: December 19, 2008 Subject: paskrevits I am looking for the meaning of the word "paskrevits." It crops up in a satirical column in a South African Yiddish newspaper in 1912 that I am currently translating. I presume that it must be of Russian origin. Below is the context: "Who would ever have dreamt that Harris the Peddler would become famous all over Africa, and that his name would appear in print, in a newspaper. It is clear that I am no paskrevits and no messenger from the heavenly hosts." I would really appreciate some help. With thanks, Veronica Belling ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 18.015 Please do not use the "reply" key when writing to Mendele. Instead, direct your mail as follows: Material for Mendele Personal Notices & Announcements, i.e. announcements of events, commercial publications, etc., always in plain text (no HTML or the like) to: [email protected] (in the subject line write Mendele Personal) Material for postings to Mendele Yiddish literature and language, i.e. inquiries and comments of a non-commercial or publicity nature: [email protected] IMPORTANT: Please include your full name as you would like it to appear in your posting. No posting will appear without its author's name. Submissions to regular Mendele should not include personal email addresses, as responses will be posted for all to read. In order to spare the shamosim time and effort, we request that contributors adhere, when applicable, as closely as possible to standard English punctuation, grammar, etc. and to the YIVO rules of transliteration into Latin letters. All other messages should be sent to the shamosim at this address: [email protected] Mendele on the web: http://shakti.trincoll.edu/~mendele/index.htm To join or leave the list: http://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/mendele _______________________________________________ Mendele mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/mendele
