Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 4.103 September 11, 1994 1) Introduction (Sol Behar) 2) Bay mir bistu sheyn (Neil Jacobs) 3) Yiddish at Univ. of Chicago (Howard Aronson) 4) Harkavy dictionary (Harry Stillman) 5) The Power of a Name (Zellig Bach) 6) The final word on Bing Crosby (David Kazdan) 7) Feder-Fraynt (Pen-Pals) (Avrom Yitzkhok Blair) 8) A Mark Twain anecdote in Yiddish (Louis Fridhandler) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 8 Sep 1994 16:54:29 -0700 (PDT) From: sbehar@uclink2.berkeley.edu Subject: Introduction I'm a retired university of california librarian with a love of yiddish. Being a sephardic jew, my mame-loshen was ladino rather than yiddish but having read yiddish literature at first in english translation, I became so entranced with it that I studied the language for a number of years. I have read, with the indispensable help of Harkavy, a fair amount of yiddish literature in the original, including my favorite of all, Ansky's The Dybbuk. Sol Behar 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 8 Sep 1994 12:36:31 -0400 (EDT) From: njacobs@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu Subject: German spin on "Bay mir bistu sheyn" This is just a side note on the discussion of the song "Bay mir bistu sheyn." In the early 1970s, while I was studying & working in Europe, a German informant in her mid-20s told me the following, prompted by my asking how it was that she was familiar with this song: She claimed that the song was "really" "Bei mir bist Du schoen", and that the song had to do with American (male) military personnel stationed in Germany, singing to/about German women they were meeting there. The pronunciation sheyn ([ej]), and not [oe] (i.e., the mid, front-rounded vowel) had to do with Americans' inability to pronounce front-rounded vowels. According to the informant, there was no Jewish and/or Yiddish connection to this song. Thus, she explained, even when German performers--who presumably "could" pronounce [oe] "if they wanted to"--would preserve the "imperfect German" of the Americans when performing this song. "Danke scheyn". Neil Jacobs 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 8 Sep 1994 18:06:04 -0600 From: hia5@midway.uchicago.edu Subject: Yiddish at Univ. of Chicago/South Side Chicago Topic: PRELIMINARY ANNOUNCEMENT: Yiddish in Chicago From: Howard I. Aronson To all interested in Yiddish in the University of Chicago community, Hyde Park, and the Chicago area: Announcing the revival of Yiddish Tish, a monthly opportunity to speak and / or hear Yiddish at the University of Chicago, South Side of Chicago, Chicago, or the Greater Chicago area. Yiddish Tish will meet on the campus of the University of Chicago the 2nd Monday of the month at 4:45 P.M. on: Autumn Quarter: 10 October 1994, 14 November 1994, 12 December 1994 Winter Quarter: 9 January 1995, 13 February 1995, 13 March 1995 Spring Quarter: 10 April 1995, 8 May 1995, 11 June 1995 Exact location will be announced at the end of September. In addition to opportunities to speak Yiddish, we hope to have a scholarly talk (or talks) in Yiddish. For further information and/or to be put on our mailing list, please contact Howard Aronson at: hia5@midway.uchicago.edu (snail mail: c/o Dept of Slavic Langs & Lits, 1130 E. 59th St., Univ. of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637). I hope to post further information later. Howard I. Aronson 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 8 Sep 1994 19:57:07 -0700 (PDT) From: durian@coyote.csusm.edu Subject: Harkavy Dictionary My copy of Haravay is the 1893 edition reprint with a foreword dated January 1910.It not only contains male and female names but also place names and Latin,French,and Italian phrases translated into Yiddish.Could someone advise me as to what institution could get the most benefit from inheriting my copy of Harkavy? Its in good condition and has a new libray binding done by the Seven Day Adventist bindery in Escondido ,California. Harry Stillman 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 08 Sep 94 23:05:26 EDT From: Zellig@aol.com Subject: The Power of a Name In a recent issue of _Verbatim_ I read a touching passage, and wish to share it with members of the Mendele family. It was written by _Marc A. Schindler_, from Spruce Grove, Alberta, Canada: I bought the book _Schindler's List_in a bookstore at New York's La Guardia airport, and paid for it with my credit card. When the clerk saw my name on the card, her eyes widened. "Mr. Schindler, please--let me shake your hand." I was very embarrassed... I protested that I was no relation to Oskar Schindler, but this did not seem to make any difference to her. "I'm Jewish," she explained, "and it's enough for me to touch the name." Zellig Bach 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 9 Sep 1994 08:54:37 -0400 From: dxk10@po.CWRU.Edu Subject: The final word on Bing Crosby BTW, under the heading of "We Should Claim Der Bingle Naivete," I noticed that _Invention and Technology_ magazine, a GM advertising rag, quite matter-of-factly referred to Bing Crosby as "Der Bingle" (fall '94 issue, p. 59). Seems that the editors assume everyone already knows this one. David Kazdan 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 10 Sep 1994 12:14:36 -0400 (EDT) From: ablair@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu Subject: Feder-Fraynt (Pen-Pals) Tayer Mendelniks and Mendelnikehs: At long last, here is the beginning of our International Yiddish Feder- Fraynt. Admittedly, this is a moderately shvakh beginning, but we will grow. Start of with making contact with your Pen-Pal. Do not wait for your Feder-Fraynt to contact YOU. What is the worst that can happen? Your letters may cross in the mail. [By the way, overseas postage from the U.S. is .50; .40 to Canada.] If you have any problems or questions, please contact me via Mendele or by my own E-Mail: ABLAIR@MAGNUS.ACS.OHIO-STATE.EDU. My home address is 56 South Roosevelt Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43209. I tried to match up interesting people, but you are all interesting people Please get started as soon as possible. New Feder-Fraynts wanting to participate, please contact me by E-Mail or by snail-mail. The matchings are as follows: Minna Blayer Kaylee Goodman 100 Alcott Place #30A 17020 Escalon Drive Bronx, N.Y. 10475 Encino, CA 91436 Katrin Hellerstein Lisa Jenschke c/o Makor-Limonov Dept. Yiddish, Cunz Hall 22 Dafna Street The Ohio State University Tel Aviv Israel 64929 1843 Milliken Drive (for next 6 mos, then Columbus, Ohio 43210 back to U. Penn.) Jason Payne Elliot Gertel 2668 Cannon Point Ct. 737 1/2 Barris Drive Columbus, Ohio 43209 Fullerton, CA 92632 Rosa Linger Brian Zunhagen A Caka iela 68-27 276 28th Street Riga, Latvia LV 1001 San Francisco, CA 92632 Matthew Dailey Anna Verschick c/o Dept. Yiddish Cunz Hall Karberi 50-78 The Ohio State University EE 00 38 1843 Milliken Dr. Tallinn, Estonia Columbus, OH 43210 Aviva Tal Sean Martin Dept Yiddish 2699 Neil Avenue Bar Ilan University Columbus, Ohio 43201 Ramat Gan, Israel 52100 I will try to contact all Feder-Fraynt who were unable to see this article on Mendele, or in Fishl Kutner's "Der Bay." Mit groys varemkayt, Allan (Avrom Yitzkhok) Blair 8)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 10 Sep 94 18:28:35 EDT From: 74064.1661@compuserve.com Subject: A Mark Twain anecdote in Yiddish In mayn zikorn ligt a mayse af English fun Mark Tveyn. Tsi s'iz emes tsi nit, veys ikh nit. Ikh hob gepruvt es iberzetsn af Yidish. Di mayse derfun iz azoy: Mark Tveyn hot gehaltn az Daytsh iz zeyer a modne loshn. Er hot amol dertseylt a mayse vegn dem inyen. In Daytshland hot a khaver im mitgenumen hern a barimtn redner in a groysn zal. Nu, Mark Tveyn zitst inem zal tsvishn zeyer a sakh mentshn. Der redner heybt on redn af Daytsh. Mark Tveyn hot nisht farshtanen keyn eyn vort. Bald zeyt Mark Tveyn az der redner vert tsehitst. Mer vos er redt vert er mer tsehitst. Ale mentshn arum Mark Tveyn in zal vern oykh tsehitst un tserudert. Ober nisht Mark Tveyn vayl er hot nisht farshtanen. Di mentshn zitsn af di ekn fun zeyere benkelekh. Zey kenen nit aynzitsn. Zey kukn eyns afn anderen tsetumlt un tserudert. Zey shvitsn, zey vishn dem shveys fun zeyere shterns. A minut, tsvey minutn, tsen minutn. Nokh a langer tsayt, ale mentshn in zal, ober nisht Mark Tveyn, zogn ale in eynem mit amol, "Oy," un vern gants baruikt. Sha, shtil. Aropgefaln a shteyn fun hartsn. Mark Tveyn hot zikh gebrokhn dem kop, nisht gekent farshteyen, hot er gefregt zayn khaver, "Vos iz gesheyen?" Zayn khaver hot es gemakht gants klor. "Der redner," hot er gezogt, "Hot zikh, lesof, dershlogn tsum verb!" Anyone, out there, don't hesitate to correct transliteration or Yiddish usage. I can take it. I don't mind learning. Louis Fridhandler ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 4.103 Mendele has 2 rules: 1. Provide a meaningful Subject: line 2. Sign your article (full name please) A Table of Contents is now available via anonymous ftp, along with weekly updates. 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