Date: February 16, 2014 From: Victor Bers Subject: Dina Levias Several members have sent word of the recent death in Geneva of Dina Levias, a frequent contributor to MENDELE.
This posting from 2008 seems an especially fine example of her enthusiasm for Yiddish, her style, and the breadth of her knowledge: ...................................................................................... [Concerning a word for "spoiled"] The word comes from the Russian verb balovat' meaning "to spoil (someone)." In Yiddish it is probably "tserbalevet," the suffix "tser" stemming from the German. "zer" (zer-reissen, zer-brechen, etc..) indicates an action that is negative and also total. A "tserbaleveter yingl" is a child spoiled through and through! As for "tatele," I find Sylvan Beer's explanation less credible than the simpler one, i.e. both "tatele" and "mamele" are terms of endearment stemming from the love we bear our fathers and mothers: as a matter of fact, I have heard "mamele" addressed to people other than children! Romanians use the word "mamica" (mommy) as a term of endearment, and will even use it for boys (or adult men!) in the masculinized form "mamicule"! I have not heard them use the word for father "taticu" in the same manner. Dina Levias (From Vol. 18. 007) _______________________________________________ Mendele mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/mendele
