Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 4.001 May 15, 1994 1) Tsum dritten geburtstog (Noyekh Miller) 2) Russian Yiddish Writer Query (Howard Gershen) 3) Oyverbotl, oyver un eyver (Elye/t Hersh Gertl) 4) Source of Dzhudezmoanecdote (Rick Gildemeister) 5) Friddish for Jewish mothers (Dan Leeson) 6) Preglen (Bob Rothstein) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun May 15 10:07:38 1994 From: nmiller@mail.trincoll.edu Subject: Tsum dritten geburtstog Mendele begins its fourth year today. From a nucleus of 22 we are now close to 500. From a hand-stitched mailing list that came out of Trinity's old VAX we now, thanks to Victor Bers, conduct business via Yale's Listserver. For the shames it's been pure pleasure the whole time, since all the hard work has been done by those who do the writing. And the product is just what it ought to be: rarely heavy, usually serious, always intelligent. Many thanks. There are of course deficiencies that can and ought to be corrected. One is that far too few few readers take advantage of Mendele's standing offer to publish notices of lectures, concerts, plays, classes, etc. The fact that such events are always "local" should not dissuade readers from posting them for the Yiddish world to know about. And there's even less reason why books and articles, old and new, that deal with our concerns should not as a matter of course be mentioned, better yet reviewed, best yet discussed by khevre Mendele. Azoy zogt der shames. More important, what say you? What needs doing or changing? Please write. Either directly to Mendele or, if you prefer, to me at nmiller@mail.trincoll.edu and I can summarize for the list. One last item. It's now possible for most readers to download Mendele's archives in a number of ways and I'm writing a new moreh nevuchim in that regard. However, for those who can't or who are still computer-shy, it may be possible to receive the archives on floppies via ordinary mail (U.S. only). I'm looking into it now and will let you know soon. A gut yontef aykh, tayere fraynt. Zayt mir alle gezunt un shtark. Noyekh Miller 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu May 12 18:32:32 1994 From: howard@boxhill.com Subject: Russian Yiddish Writer Query Last night, while browsing through the library shelves, I found the book _Russian Jewry 1917-1967_ (ed. by Gregor Aronson, Jacob Frumkin, ALexis Goldenweiser, and Joseph Lewitan; translated by Joel Carmichael; c. 1969 by A.S. Barnes and Co., Inc.). In a chapter titled "Yiddish Literature in Soviet Russia" I found the following passage: ...A great many Yiddish writers who were over-age for the draft volunteered for the Army (Ezra Fininberg, Meir Wiener, Moshe Khashchevatsky, Aron Kushnirov and others). Later on it was established that 38 Yiddish writers were killed in battle, among them Moshe Khashchevatsky, Meir Wiener, S. Rosin, S. Godiner, Yasha Zeldin, Buzya Olevsky, A. Gurstein, Hershel Diamant, Eli Kagan, B. Schwedik, J. Gershenson, Peisi Altman, S. Goldenberg, Kurland, Dubilet and others. Therre are no lists of the dozens of other writers who met their deaths at the hands of the Nazis..." Can anyone supply me with information about "J. Gershenson"? Before my grandfather was naturalized, he shortened the family from "Gershenson" or "Gershenzon" to "Gershen." I am curious if "J. Gershenson" was mishpoche. Howard Gershen 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri May 13 00:59:43 1994 From: EGERTEL@CCVAX.FULLERTON.EDU Subject: Oyverbotl, oyver un eyver Rick Gildemeister shraybt (MENDELE 3.346): "...Oyver/eyver means "limb" as far as I know, and the expression Oyver botl can carry the meaning of 'useless thing' 'worthless thing/person.' ...Could it be that the meaning is something like a limb, which is designed to be a functioning part becomes a "drag" when it's 'botl?' Useless appendage might be a translation; albatross around one's neck..." An interesante teorie nor az kh'hob nisht keyn toes, plontert er "oyver" vos af english darf zayn "violator" un "eyver" (english: "limb"). "Oyver legt men oys azoy: ayen/vov/veyz/reysh un "eyver" azoy: alef/veyz/reysh. Tsvey bazundere verter. Farvos iz zayn teorie azoy interesant? Tsulib dem vos "oyverbotl" vi a substantiv meynt "dotard" un vi an adyektiv iz dokh "senile." Farvos genoy zogt men "oyverbotl" af a senilen mentshn, veys ikh nisht. Bay uns hot men say vi say gezogt "orembotl" [oo-rem boo-tl in unzere dialektn] anshtot "oyverbotl." Ver nokh gedenkt az men hot es azoy aroysgeredt? Elye/t Hersh Gertl 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri May 13 08:16:44 1994 From: EEGLC%CUNYVM.bitnet@YaleVM.YCC.Yale.Edu Subject: Source of Dzhudezmoanecdote To: Bob Hoberman Me of all people, who said he "didn't know where he saw it"! I *have* that article at home. Will post the reference. "What kind of crazy country is this where everyone talks Jewish?!?!" was covered in the same article about Jews joining their families in Latin America. I know this is a Yiddish list, but I can't help it, I have to correct the author of that article on one point. He says that the interjection E! Bre! is short for "hombre" (Hey bub!) Actually it is an adaptation of Greek More' = Vre; this "more'" is also used in other Balkan languages. One more: Elias Canetti said that growing up in Bulgaria, his relatives would express distress, tiredness, etc. with the interjection "Akh aman", which he believed had to do with Haman. Actually, again, it's a popular Balkan expression meaning "Oy Gotenyu". Aman is an old Turkish expression for "please". Well, now that we've covered Plattdeutsch, etc..... No, Bob's bringing his message in about Dzhudezmo,and the postings about "Joodsche Hoogduits" are very relevant; Yiddish is unusual because it is at once private, universal, obscure, yet well connected, in ways that are being discussed on this list, to major European national languages, and that sensibility represented by language-and-identity has fluid boundaries and cross-cultural features. Rick Gildemeister 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri May 13 23:07:24 1994 From: leeson@aspen.fhda.edu Subject: Friddish (French Yiddish) for Jewish mothers See the book "French for Mrs. katz: All the French a Jewish Mother Could Possibly Need" as published by Fawcell, $10. One can receive advice on how Jewish momism could say "Answer me this. How could a woman wear such a tasteless frock like this to her only son's wedding?" "Dis-moi, ca, comment une femme peut porter une schmata comme ca au mariage de sons fils unique?" Or: "Of course I worry. I'm your mother." which becomes: "Bien sur je m'inquiete. Je suis ta mere. Oi." And finally, the ultimate guilt giver: "How much longer will we be around to bother you anyway?" "Ne vouz den: combiens de temps encore serons-nous ici a t'enquiquine?" Myself, I would have enjoyed having my mother say "Oi!! Je kvell." Dan Leeson 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri May 13 23:35:03 1994 From: rar@slavic.umass.edu Subject: Preglen In response to Mikhl Herzog's inquiry about Slavic sources for _preglen_: the most likely candidate would be something derived from the proto-Slavic root *pirg- (short i), which is related to Latin _frigere, frictus_, whence _pommes frites_ etc. The root shows up in contemporary Polish _prazyc'_ [dot on z] 'parch, roast, grill'; _prazucha_ [again dotted z] 'noodles of parched buckwheat or rye flour'; Slovak _praziti_ [hacek on z] 'fry; roast'; _prazenica_ [likewise] 'fried/scrambled eggs'; _prhl'ava_ [long r] 'nettles' [which burn]. Cf. also Polish _pragna,c'_ 'desire' whence _spragniony_ 'thirsty'; etc. In his Polish etymological dictionary Brueckner also suggests a relationshiip with Lithuanian _sprageti_ 'crack, crackle [as of burning wood]' and Greek _asparagos_ 'shoot of a plant', whence our vegetable name. One of the more or less accepted etymologies for _Prague_ derives it from the idea of burning off trees etc. to clear the land and hence ultimately from the root under discussion. Bob Rothstein ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 4.001 A Table of Contents is now available via anonymous ftp, along with weekly updates. Anonymous ftp archives available on: ftp.mendele.trincoll.edu in the directory pub/mendele/files Archives available via gopher on: gopher.cic.net Mendele has 2 rules: 1. Provide a meaningful Subject: line. 2. Sign your article. To subscribe, send SUB MENDELE FIRSTNAME LASTNAME to: LISTSERV@YALEVM.YCC.YALE.EDU Send submissions/responses to: mendele@yalevm.ycc.yale.edu Other business: nmiller@starbase.trincoll.edu