Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 3.090 August 23, 1993 1) Beheyme (Amitai Halevi) 2) Call for papers (Harriet J. Ottenheimer) 3) Uses of *haynt* (Shleyme Axelrod) 4) Help for a Yiddishist (Pierre P. Lewis) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon Aug 23 13:22:56 1993 From: AMITAI HALEVI Subject: Beheyme Having just waded through a three-week accrual of messages after getting home from a short trip abroad, I would like to enter a brief, if belated, comment on this topic. I was intrigued by the Arnold Kuzmack's question as to when the Hebrew term "b'hemah" was first taken out of its literal sense of "beast, most usually a herbivorous domesticated animal" and applied figuratively to a stupid human being. What I came up with was an injuction in the Talmud (Pesakhim 49b) against marrying the daughter of an ignoramus (`am ha'aretz), citing Deuteronomy 27,21: "Arur shokhev `im kol b'hemah (Cursed be he who lieth with any manner of beast)". Rashi explains: `Since they are like a "b'hemah" in that they have no understanding'. Amitai Halevi 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon Aug 23 13:57:32 1993 From: Subject: reminder Call for papers National Association for Ethnic Studies 1994 Annual Conference March 16-20. 1994 Kansas City, MO ETHNICITY: GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES The National Association for Ethnic Studies, meeting concurrently with the Central States Anthropological Society, invites interested persons to present papers, panels, or media productions on the national and international implications of ethnicity. Proposals from all disciplines and areas of enquiry are welcome: arts, humanities, social and behavioral sciences, natural sciences, education, public policy, law, and politics. The conference will create a forum for creative interaction on such issues as migration, immigration, the crossing of geographic and cultural borders, the development of ethnic identity, the establishment of ethnic boundaries and the resolution of ethnic conflict. Abstracts will be published as part of the NAES conference proceedings. To submit an abstract for consideration, request information from: Professor Otis L. Scott, Director Ethnic Studies Center California State University Sacramento, CA 95819 (916) 278-6645 FAX (916) 278-5787 E-mail: scottol@ccvax.ccs.csus.edu To serve as a panel chair or respondent send a copy of your vita and a cover letter to the above address. Abstracts, proposals and requests to serve as panel chair or respondent are DUE OCTOBER 1, 1993 For all other information about the conference, contact: Professor Harriet J. Ottenheimer, Director American Ethnic Studies Program Leasure Hall Kansas State University Manhattan, KS 66506 (913) 532-6934 FAX (913) 532-6978 E-mail: mahafan@ksuvm.ksu.edu 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon Aug 23 14:26:00 1993 From: Seymour Axelrod Subject: Uses of *haynt* The usual meaning of the Yiddish word *haynt* is "today". But there is another usage, in which *haynt* is a kind of transition word, something like the English "now" in "Now, [given what has already been said,] imagine what would happen if ..." A Yiddish speaker might say *Haynt shtelt zikh for vos volt geven az ...* Another usage implying a type of transition is given in _Yidish Tsvey_ by Mordkhe Schaechter, who translates *haynt* in a poem by Kh. N. Bialik as "furthermore, moreover". Neither of these definitions is given by Harkavy or Weinreich. My question: Is either usage related to the *haynt* meaning "today"? The first has at least some possible temporal sense, but the second, none. --Shleyme Axelrod 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon Aug 23 17:20:38 1993 From: "Pierre (P.) Lewis" Subject: Help for a Yiddishist Ikh lern zikh tsur tsayt yidish, un I was thinking of asking thru MENDELE for someone who might be willing to help me with questions. The post would - explain what I expect: answers to questions about grammar, sentence structure, vocabulary, context, ...; a few a week; I was thinking of including a few questions I currently have as examples of the sort of tortuous questions I might have - explain what level I'm at (I can read YKg and understand 80% of it without a dictionary); add that I speak German fluently, a great help I'm looking for someone fluent in Yiddish of course. German skills would also be welcome. I would [try and] write the post in Yiddish of course! A groysn dank, Pierre[le] ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 3.090