Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ____________________________________________________
Contents of Vol. 20.011 November 18, 2010 1) New digitized Yiddish books in JNL (Josh Cappell) 2) befoyr (Marc Caplan) 3) befoyr (Leyzer Gillig) 4) befoyr (Hershl Hartman) 5) "Internatsyonal" (Nikolai (Kolya) Borodulin) 6) kushers (Sema Chaimovitz Menora) 7) horse thief (Evan Fishman) 8) Contemporary Jewish writers from Central, Eastern Europe (Gerben Zaagsma) 9 Local expressions Aubrey Jacobus 1)---------------------------------------------------- Subject: December 7 Date: New digitized books in JNL The National Library of Israel (NLA, until recently the Jewish National and University Library or JNUL) has, at my request, added several more Yiddish books to their on-line digitized book collection. The most recent additions are translations of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories into Yiddish. These may be suitable for older children or students learning Yiddish looking for practice material. (Incidentally, IB Singer mentioned them as among his earliest sources of literary inspiration). They are also among the few famous literary works that Haredi Yiddish readers may find acceptable. (I am a pediatrician with many exclusively Yiddish-speaking patients and was looking for material I can share with them). They had earlier included two translations of Twain's "The Prince and the Pauper," one heavily abridged (good for younger children), the other full length (by Zalman Reyzen, no less). These are distinct from the one NYBC posted at archive.org (which was by Wendroff, also a major figure in Yiddish, of course). These were also not among those included in the online Yiddish children's library of Florida Atlantic University nor of YIVO. Please spread word among anyone who may be interested. Obviously, the more downloads there are, the more they will feel it was the right decision to include secular Yiddish works as well (most of the digital library is religious material in Hebrew). The more popular it is, the more apt they are to add other Yiddish titles. My hope is that in the future they will include all Yiddish books of which they have copies but NYBC doesn't. Also, hopefully, they will similarly expand the collection of online-available digitized "historic Jewish press," which currently includes several languages but Yiddish itself is not among them. zay azoy gut mefarsem tsu zayn di folgende: di national-bibliotek fun yisroel (bakant mit di roshe-teyves NLA, nor vos getoysht funem frierdiken nomen yidishe natsionale un universitat-bibliotek oder JNUL) hot letstns, af mayn bite, tsugeleygt nokh etlekhe yidishe bikher tsu zeyer internets-zamlung. di anumlt ongeshlisne bikher zaynen yidishe iberztsungen fun Arthur Conan Doyles mayses vegn Sherlock Holmes. ken zayn az zey zaynen pasik far gresere kinder oder far talmidim vos lernen zikh yidish un zukhn materiel far praktik. (agev, Bashevis hot dermont di dozike tsvishn zayne frierste literarishe inspiratsyes). zey zaynen oykh fun di veynik algemeyne literarishe verk vos zaynen pasik farn khareydishn yidish- redendikn tsiber. (ikh aleyn bin a kinder-doktor mit a sakh patsienten vos redn nor yiidish, hob ikh gezukht azelkhe materiel). di bibiotek hat frier tsugegebn (oykh af mayn bite) tsvey iberzetsungen fun Twains "prints un betler," eyne zeyer gekirtst (gut far kleyne kinder), di tsveyte a fule oysgabe (ibergezetst durkh zalmen reyzen!). beyde zaynen andersh fun di vos NYBC hot geshtelt af archive.org (un vos iz fun Vendroff, oykh a barimter yidishist). zey zaynen oykh nisht in di "online" zamlungen fun kinder-bikher fun FAU oder funem YIVO. Bite dersteyl yeder vos zol zikh farinterisirn mit dem. berov am hadres meylekh vayl vos mer me nutst es, alts mer vet es barekhtikn dem bashlus ayntsushlisn yidishe bikher un zey veln moysef zayn nokh merer (atsind zaynen kimat ale andere bikher in der zamlung sforim). Ikh hof az in der tsukunft veln zey araynnemen ale bikher vos zey hobn yo ober NYBC hot zey nisht un oykh ale historishe yidishe tsaytungen. (zey hobn shoyn an "online"- zamlung fun historishe "yidishe" tsaytshriftn ober biz yetst keyn eyn yidish-shprakhike tsaytung iz tsvishn zey nisht faran, mishteyns gezogt). A freylekhn khanuke, hag hanuka sameah, Josh Cappell 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: November 20 Subject: befoyr Noyekh Miller questions the usage of "befoyr" (more likely "befor"?) in the 1932 novel Yoshe Kalb, stating "the novel was published in 1932, some years before Singer came to America." Leaving aside the uncomfortable fact that it was Israel Joseph Singer, not Isaac Bashevis Singer, who wrote the novel, the novel was written in and of Eastern Europe, and the borrowing of "befor" most likely comes not from English, but German, "bevor," which indeed is used similar to the Yiddish "eyder." So the usage is neither in error nor an appeal to an American readership, but good, not-yet old-fashioned Daytshmerizm. Marc Caplan 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: November 20 Subject: befoyr "bevor" (pron. Before) is a kosher German word. I know an old woman in Hungary who speaks only Hungarian and Yiddish, and is thus not influenced by English, who uses the word "Befor" (she pronounces it be-FUR - but not befoyr) instead of "eyder." I used to hear Hungarian Holocaust survivors use "beFUR" as well, but I had thought at the time (the 1970-s and 80-s) that they were using an Americanism. We "Galitsyaners" said "eyder." I think it is probably a dialectical variation. Leyzer Gillig 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: November 20 Subject: befoyr While I cannot provide a definitive answer to Noyekh Miller's inquiry about Bashevis' use of "befoyr," I would submit that its use in the 1932 novel --before Bashevis' immigration-- does not, in itself, foreclose the possibility that is was "a gelumpert transcription." In my many translations of handwritten letters from der alter heym, dating as far back as the very early 1900s, I have often encountered words apparently learned from letters received from here (or, perhaps, from returnees). Among them: "piktshe," "miting," "strayk," etc. Also, in my childhood I noticed that many conscientious Yiddish speakers would, inexplicably, use "befor" rather than "eyder." It's not too much of a stretch to expect that U.S.-based letter writers had written some variant of "befor" so often to their relatives that it entered some level of discourse in Bashevis' varshe. Hershl Hartman 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: November 24 Subject: "Internatsyonal" This is in response to Gilda Brodsky's request: Di dozike tsvey shures zaynen fun "Nayland himn" - der himn fun yidishn kemp "Kinderland", vos zey hobn gezungen in 1920er loyt der melodye funem "Internatsyonal": Der arbet iz dem togs gezangen Der ru, di troymen fun der nakht. Gebentsht di zun, vos bakt di zangen, Gebentsht di levones shtile prakht. O, Nayland, land fun glaykhe brider Fun frayhayt, libe, freyd un glik. Tsu arbet shpanen mir mit lider, Mit lider geyen mir tsurik. Oyf zayn plats yeder eyner Un far alemen plats. Di erd halt greyt far ale Ir brokhe un ir shats. Al dos guts! Nikolai (Kolya) Borodulin 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: November 21 Subject: kushers Martin Jacobs asks about the orgins of the word "kushers" used in the Tarnogrod Memorial book to describe those who gather and bind wood bundles. Could "kushers" possibly come from the Hebrew "Likshor," to bind, to tie together? Sema Chaimovitz Menora 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: December 15 Subject: Horse thief Hi, Is there a specific, one-word term in Yiddish for "horse thief"? Thanks. Evan Fishman 8)---------------------------------------------------- Date: November 30 Subject: Contemporary Yiddish writers from Central, Eastern Europe Dear Mendelyaner, I received the following question from a colleague of mine: "we are preparing an anthology of contemporary writers from Central, Eastern Europe. We wonder whether you would know contemporary writers writing in Yiddish and living in Eastern Europe?" Any suggestions would be much appreciated, best wishes, Gerben Zaagsma 9)---------------------------------------------------- Date: December 18, 2010 Subject: Local expressions My father was from Skierniewice near Lodz, Poland. Some of his especially odd Yiddish expressions were If someone thought he or she was clever, he would say "klug vi Rokhes ferd" or if someone made a poor deal, he would say "Toyteles geshaft" Were these shtetl characters ? Also, all the well known characters in the our area (London) were never referred to by their known real names but by a soubriquet, e.g. The baker was "Der grula" (Gorilla ?) swarthy complexion and the waiscot maker (male) was "Di madona"!! My sisters also had unflattering nicknames (never used to their face) but cruelly fitting to their characters. Di Jubba ( Frog ? ) - ready to jump down one's throat Di Shlung ( Snake ?) - very secretive Can't vouch now for the grammar. Most amusing was the name given to a workman with a thick brogue. He was called Yarragey Farragey." Aubrey Jacobus ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 20.011 Please do not use the "reply" key when writing to Mendele. 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