Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 1 no. 200 March 29, 1992 1) Daitsherish (Moishe-Nussen Eytan) 2) Bialik (Dan Breslauer) 3) A query (Yude-Leyb Proger) 4) Varshever (Noyekh Miller) 5) Daytsh (Yude Leyb Proger) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 29 Mar 92 11:10:11 +0100 From: me%suzuka.u-strasbg.fr@YALEVM.YCC.Yale.Edu Subject: RE: Mendele Vol 1.198 1), 4) Sorry Dave, I sent the message incomplete. Although I said: "I would say they *are* exclusive" I should have added: "... and conversely." Meaning that never had I heard a 'sefer' being referred to as a 'bukh'. Ad Dovid's story: My Mum, who speaks what I usually call "Daitsherish" (but no French) was asked once for directions to get to a street here in Strasbourg. She said: "bitte sprechen Sie Deutsch, ich verstehe kein Franzo"sisch"; whereupon she got the prompt response: "Deutsch sprechen sind Sie auch nicht". Another (true) story in the same vein: I had a friend in the Lycee from a native Yiddish-speaking family. Once we were asked by the teacher "Qui sait comment on dit 'oignon` en Allemand?" Whereupon he jumped up and shouted gleefully: ""Moi, Monsieur, moi! C'est 'tsibbelekh`". ==m-n 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 29 Mar 1992 08:44 CST From: Dan Breslauer Subject: Bialik and Breslauer Alas, I do not claim to be "an authority" on anything! Not only should I know Yiddish for Bialik but for Heschel as well! Yes, I know that he composed several Yiddish poems. I also know that he *translated* poems like "In the City of Slaughter" into Yiddish himself. As for Ben Ammi, it is Hayyim Mordecai, I see now that he wrote in both Yiddish and Russian and that Bialik translated some of his Russian stories into Hebrew. My field, primarily, is "Jewish Thought." Thus whatever I read--in English, Hebrew, French, primarily--gets filtered into that. Thanks for the advice to learn Yiddish!!! Dan 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 24 Mar 92 22:59:56 IST From: LEN Subject: A query I would like some one to send me death dates (if they are dead) of Sholem Shtern (Montreal), Ben Green (NY) both b. 1901, Binem Heler (1908-?), all Yiddish poets and the Y. actress, Dine Blumenfeld (1903- 19??). I would also like to know when the Forvertsstopped appearing in Yiddish and what was the last issue of Idisher kemfer? Yude-Leyb Proger 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 28 Mar 92 11:35:46 EST From: nmiller%starbase.trincoll.edu@YALEVM.YCC.Yale.Edu Subject: Varshever Mikhl Herzog's story of the instant linguist reminds me of the first time I ever heard a Varshever. At least I've come to believe he was. At age 14 or 15 I attended a Zionist meeting; I remember only that the room was hot and full of what Moishe-Nussen's landsman Emile Durkheim called moral density. And the principal speaker who said: atsindertobYAKHgevoltzugnDESto. That's what it sounded like to my innocent Ukrainian ears and it was many years before I doped it out. Noyekh 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 30 Mar 92 16:02:22 IST From: "Leonard Prager (Yude-Leyb Proger)" Subject: Daytsh Eyner a yunger-man a zhulik hot baleydikt dem -rov- in shul. R'hot geshrign af em, gemakht gevaldn. R'hot azoy gevaldevet, as s'iz gekumen a politseyske un hot em arestirt. -Meyle-, shpeter hobn zikh di yidn arumgezen, s'iz a -rakhmones- afn yungn-man, me darf geyn tsum polits-mayster un betn, er zol aroyslozn dem yungn-man. M'iz gekumen tsum polits-mayster. Zogt er, az er't nor demolt aroyslozn dem yungn-man ven der -rov- vet em aleyn zogn, az r'iz em -moykhl-. Hot der -rov- gezogt, az er volt geyn, ober er ken ka rusish nit reydn. Zogt der polits-mayster, az ven der -rov- farshteyt daytsh, vet er oykh farshteyn. "-Meyle-, daytsh," zogt der -rov-, az er farshteyt. "Voser yid ken dos ka daytsh nit?" Iz der -rov- gekumen tsum polits-mayster. Fregt em der polits-mayster: "Nun, wollen Sie dem jungen Mann verzeihen?" Zogt der -rov- azoy tsu zogn: "-Lekhatkhile- bin ikh af em geven -mole-kaas-. Aza -sheygets-, -mekhutsef-ponim-, iz zikh -meyashev-, -shabes-, -beshas- -kries-hatoyre-, -bifney-kol-am-veeyde-, un iz -mekharef- a -more-dasre-! Nor -bedieved- bin ikh em -moykl- -mekhile-gmure-." Der polits-mayster hot ka vort fun dem "daytsh" nit gekent farshteyn. Zogt er, "Das ist bestimmt kein Deutsch!" Makht der -rov-, "er lernt mikh daytsh?" (Cited in -Jewish Language Review- 6 (1986), 281, and somewhat differently in Immanuel Olsvanger's -Royte Pomerantsn-. I use this passage in an article on the H-A. component which will appear in a volume of papers on Jewish languages given at a conference at Haifa Univ. a few years ago. Yude-Leyb Prager ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol 1.200 Submissions: mendele@vax1.trincoll.edu Business: nmiller@vax1.trincoll.edu Please sign your articles.