Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ____________________________________________________
Contents of Vol. 18.016 January 5, 2009 1) yolop (Al Grand) 2) Yankev (Paul Ilie) 3) pogrom (Norman Buder) 4) pogrom/terminology for female genitalia (Zev Kesselman) 5) Gershon Freidlin 6) S'a lign (Miriam Stein) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: December 26, 2008 Subject: yolop Every so often a Yiddish word or expression that I hadn't heard since childhood suddenly begins to gyrate within my brain. I was startled when the word "yolop" suddenly appeared. I hadn't heard that word nor thought of it for the past six or seven decades (I am seventy-eight). I'm sure that my mother used that word to refer to anyone who she considered to be a blockhead. Does anyone else remember hearing it? It has a sort of Slavic ring to it so I assume it's from Polish or Russian. I can't find it in Weinreich. I'd be supremely grateful to anyone who can provide a gloss. Al Grand 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: December 24, 2008 Subject: Yankev Can anyone explain how the "n" sound entered the Yiddish "Yankev" from the Hebrew Yaakov? A sheynem dank. Paul Ilie [Moderator's note: since this issue - and the related one of "may(n)se" - has already been discussed at some length on Mendele, readers may wish to consult the Mendele archives at http://www2.trincoll.edu/~mendele/] 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: December 24, 2008 Subject: pogrom In view of the spelling given by Sonia Kovitz, it is not clear to me whether the author she cites meant to write "Pares, shkhites, un hariges" or "Proes, shkhites, un hariges." The first means "Pharaohs, slaughters, and massacres." The second means "Pogroms, slaughters, and massacres." Only the context can help determine with certainty whether he meant "Pharaohs" or "Pogroms." "Pare" [Pharaoh], "Shkhite," and "Harige" are all found in Weinreich's dictionary in their standard Yiddish, i.e. Hebrew, spelling. "Proe" [pogrom] is not found in Weinreich and is probably very rare in Yiddish. Norman Buder 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: December 25, 2008 Subject: pogrom/terminology for female genitalia I think the word is pra'ot = the Hebrew word for riots, uprising, etc. That's peh-resh-ayin-vav-tav. Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett's reference to "shmoysl" reminded me that my family used something like "shmitsikl." I'd always considered that to be a euphemism using the word "shmutzik" but maybe there was something more to it. Zev Kesselman 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: December 24, 2008 Subject: terminology for female genitalia Forget not, from "Call It Sleep," "knish," or the Talmudic "oyse-mokem" (oto makom), sometimes used in translation as "yener ort".......I think we now have enough terms to fill a harem. Gershon Freidlin 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: December 28, 2008 Subject: S'a lign Does anyone know where I can get the written words to Sholem Aleichem's story "S'a Lign, "or in English "It's a Lie." I have the story being read on CD, but I need the written words, any way. I can get them, in Yiddish, in transliterated Yiddish, or in English. The librarians at my library exhausted every search and can't find the written words. Many thanks, Miriam Stein ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 18.016 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
