Mendele: Yiddish literature and language
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Contents of Vol. 6.293
April 30, 1997

1) YIVO transcription (Arn Abramson)
2) Corvol in Frankraykh (Hershl Hartman)

1)----------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Apr 1997 05:59:21 -0400
From: abramson@uconnvm.uconn.edu
Subject: YIVO transcription

When Fraydl [6.291] first posted her question about a system for
transcribing Yiddish in roman characters, I was sure that someone
would respond that we had gone through this in Mendele a long time ago
and that a couple of us had prepared a table of the YIVO system, which
is now, I believe, available at our web site.

Now Ruth Goodman says [6.292] she has been having trouble with that
YIVO system, saying that it is "time to cvonstruct a new code that
will conform more closely with English phonetics."

The point of such a system, whether it be for transcription or
transliteration, is not to make one that pleases the literate speakers
of any particular language, say English. Rather, the system should be
universally clear and useful. Thus, YIVO spellings are not meant to
represent the sounds of English or Polish or German, just to take more
or less at random three languages other than English that also use the
roman alphabet.

Admittedly, given the orthographic biases we bring from our various
native languages, one has to go to a little trouble to learn to write,
e.g., veynik for 'few' and vaynik for 'winy, juicy,' but it is not all
that hard to do.

Arn Abramson

2)----------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 30 Apr 1997 15:05:03 -0400 (EDT)
From: hershl@aol.com
Subject: Corvol in Frankraykh

A dank Jean Maslo'en far'n dertseyln vegn der Corvol kinder-kolonye in
frankraykh. S'klingt akurat vi di fir farsheydene yidishe
kinder-kolonyes (kemps) bay undz in di shtatn--kinderland baym amolikn
yidishn folks-ordn, kinder-ring baym arbeter ring, kindervelt baym
yidishn natsyonaln arbeter farband un boyberik baym sholem aleykhem
folks-institut--arayngerekhnt dem fakt vos a tsol kinder fun di
kolonyes hobn khasene gehat tsvishn zikh. dos iz geshen, tsum
bayshpil, mit mir un mayn farshtorbener froy, May Stein Hartman.

nokh mer: di kinder un eyniklekh fun azelkhe porlekh--punkt vi in
Corvol--forn in di farblibene kolonyes, kinderland un kinder-ring, un
di eltern un bobe-zeydes helfn in der onfirung. mit etlekhe vokhn
tsurik iz mir oysgekumen--vi a veltlekher
vegvayzer/madrikh--durkhtsufirn a khasene in san dyego, kalifornye, vu
der khosn iz mamesh oysgevoksn in kemp kinderland, punkt vi zayn mame,
mayne a kindhayt-fraynd. s'iz far mir geven a gor-groyse freyd zikh
tsu banutsn mit yidish-loshn in der khasene tseremonye--vi ikh tu dos
ale mol--visndik az dos mol farshteyt mir der khosn, zayn mame on a
tsol gest porlekh, oykh "produktn" fun kinderland, vi oykh
kinderland-fraynd fun'm yungn porl.

Thanks to Jean Maslo for telling us about the Corvol children's camp
in France. It sounds just like the four Yiddish children's camps that
once existed (two still do) in the States--Kinderland of the former
Jewish People's Fraternal Order, Kinder-Ring of the Workmen's
Circle/Arbeter Ring, Kindervelt of the Labor Zionist Alliance and
Boyberik of the Sholem Aleykhem Institute--including the fact that
some of the campers of earlier generations married each other. This
was the case with me and my late wife, May Stein Hartman.

Further: the children and grandchildren of such couples--just as in
Corvol--attend the surviving camps, Kinderland and Kinder-Ring, while
their parents and grandparents help to support and lead them. Just a
few weeks ago I was privileged, as a certified Secular Jewish
vegvayzer/madrikh/Leader, to perform a wedding in San Diego, Calif.;
the groom had virtually grown up in Camp Kinderland, just as did his
mother, a childhood friend of mine. It was a distinct pleasure for me
to use Yiddish in the ceremony, as I almost always do, this time
knowing that I was understood by the groom, by his mother and siblings
and by a number of the guest couples, also Kinderland alumni, as well
as Kinderland-friends of the young couple.

Hershl Hartman

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End of Mendele Vol. 6.293