Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 3.298 March 23, 1994 1) Nit vs. nisht (Ruth Minden) 2) Brooklyn (David Neal Miller) 3) Bubbis and Zedas (Mark Flumerfelt) 4) Translation help needed (Andrew Cassel) 5) Introduction (Henri Begleiter) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue Mar 22 18:53:19 1994 From: R_MINDEN@oise.on.ca Subject: Nit vs. Nisht Maybe this has already been discussed before I joined mendele, or maybe this is a question with an obvious answer that I am not aware of: what are the geographical parameters, or other parameters, governing the use of "nit" as opposed to "nisht"? I find myself using them interchangeably, without any awareness of where my influences have come from. Being neither milkhik nor fleishik (mother's side Litvak, father's Romanian), with a Yivo-style education to make things worse, it's hard to know where I picked up this or that. Ruth Minden 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue Mar 22 23:26:22 1994 From: Subject: Brooklyn For an interdisciplinary/interdepartmental course on "Brooklyn: The Poetics of Place," I would welcome suggestions for works in Yiddish in which Brooklyn plays a central role--either works explicitly about Brooklyn, works set in Brooklyn in which Brooklyn-ness is foregrounded, works with Brooklyn/Bruklin (also: Flatbush, Williamsburgh, Brownsville, etc.) in their titles, or works otherwise connected with the Brooklyn of today, of our memories, of our longing. (What is it about Brooklyn which leads one to overwriting, as Alfred Kazin should have asked?) "Works" may certainly include music and film, high culture and low. Though there's certainly no dearth of bibliographical tools addressing works in English, it might also be of interest to hear suggestions from mendelistn regarding Brooklynalia in languages other than Yiddish and, if this doesn't stretch the bounds of MENDELE beyond the breaking point, cultures other than Ashkenazic. David Neal Miller 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue Mar 22 23:32:04 1994 From: Subject: Bubbis and Zedas I would like to thank Zachary Baker for his thorough response to my question about the pronunciation of Bubbi and Zeda in Montreal and Toronto. In response to his question: I would say that Montreal Jews that have migrated to Toronto have maintained their cultural specificity. First, it is easy to detect a Jewish Montreal accent. I can even tell the difference between Jews from Hampstead and Cote St. Luc (in central Montreal) and Jews from Chomeday (in northern Montreal). Second, Montreal Jews tend to settle in certain parts of Toronto. This is also true of South African and Russian Jews. The chain migration theory must be correct. Finally, Montreal Jews tend to distinguish between themselves and native Torontonians. My friends from Montreal constantly lament the fact that Montreal bagels, smoke meat, and Van Houte's coffee are not readily available in Toronto. Generally, they portray the city as a cultural backwater (they may be right). I would be interested in hearing what people think about the cultural differences between the Jewish communities in Toronto and Montreal (although this is probably outside the scope of Mendele). Mark Flumerfelt [Vi zogt men af Idish: Judaeus sum; Judeaicus nil a me alienum puto?] 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed Mar 23 07:35:45 1994 From: acassel@philly.cerf.fred.org Subject: Translation help needed I am trying to translate some zikhroines fun mayn zeyde, in which he described his youth in the town of Keidan (Lite). As an elementary Yiddish student I'm relying almost exclusively on Weinreich and Harkavy, and I've found a couple of terms where they don't give me a clue. One is "gloksne-boymer" which zeyde describes as something that grew all around the area in spring, and which he and other kids used to clip to makhn fiflech. Anybody know what a "gloksne-boym" might be? The other term I'm stuck on is "salte-noses" which is something that was apparently stuffed with cheese and fried in butter, but I don't think is a blintz because he mentions blintzes as yet another item on the same Shavues milkhedik'n menu ... Sound familiar to anyone? Andrew Cassel 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed Mar 23 11:13:38 1994 From: Subject: Introduction I am a professor at a medical school quite interested in Yiddish culture. I speak Yiddish fluently as I was born in France just before WWll. My parents spoke Yiddish at home, and taught me to appreciate this wonderful language. Is there a compendium of jokes in yiddish available? Henri Begleiter ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 3.298 To subscribe, send SUB MENDELE FIRSTNAME LASTNAME to: LISTSERV@YALEVM.YCC.YALE.EDU Mendele has 2 rules: 1. Provide a Subject: line. 2. Sign your article. Send submissions/responses to: mendele@yalevm.ycc.yale.edu Other business: nmiller@starbase.trincoll.edu Anonymous ftp archives available on: ftp.mendele.trincoll.edu in the directory pub/mendele/files Archives available via gopher on: gopher.cic.net