Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 4.122 October 3, 1994 1) Az der bubbe vot gehat.. (Mikhl Herzog) 2) A get (Mikhl Herzog) 3) Reshime rekomendirte bikher (Leybl Botwinik) 4) Rav Ktav (Leybl Botwinik) 5) Davka Corp. (Arn Abramson) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 2 Oct 94 20:33 EDT From: zogur@cuvmb.columbia.edu Subject: Az der bubbe vot gehat.. For Bob Poe: Sorry, the Pinker quote simply cannot be from the Southeast, regardless of how we read his "baytzim", whether as [ey] or as [ay]. There are two features that simply preclude Southeastern provenance. Their coocurrence point unmistakably to Poland. i) vot, vost, etc. is the result of the frequent vocalization of "l" in Poland, NOT in the Southeast. It finds its various regional expressions: Largely in Western Poland, it appears consonantally as "w" and vocalically as "u": "wefu" 'lefl', "tepu", 'tepl'. The town, Polish "Kalisz" is "Ku:wish" in local speech. In words like "volt, volst" and "zolst" the "l" disappears altogether "vot, vost, zost". In Northeastern Poland (and in some towns in northern Belorus, "l" is also vocalized: the town Lomze is "Womzi" in Yiddish, Glubokoje (?) is "Gwubok". Here, the vVocalization of "l" is more likely to yield a diphthong in "vout"and "mou" ('mouth') but not "vot". But, the clincher is the cooccurence of "l" vocalization and "bube" which precludes these locations as a source for the citation. Surprisingly, perhaps, the occurence of "bube" also precludes a Southeastern Yiddish origin. ii) The word for 'grandmother' is one of several in which the o/u variation is NOT realized in the expected manner--in each case for different reasons. (A few of?) the others words are "borves", "tishebov", "tnoyim" ('marriage vows'). ONLY Central Yiddish and a part of North-Central Yiddish have the expected "bube". In Galicia and the Northern Ukraine, we find "babe" and, in the rest of the Ukraine (Podolia, Bessarabia), we find the seemingly anomalous "bobe" (sic!). Not really anomalous because it derives from a Slavic "babe-like" form just as, say, Southeastern Yiddish "hont, vont, voser", derive from "hant, vant, vaser". The most likely conclusion is that the cooccurence of "bube" and "vot", designates a speaker of Central Yiddish and that Pinker's "baytsim" is really meant to convey phonetic [ay]. Mikhl Herzog 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 2 Oct 94 20:33 EDT From: zogur@cuvmb.columbia.edu Subject: A get For Howard Kaplan: "What I say" is this: Mendele is the result of an earlier schism prompted, several years ago, by precisely the concerns that seem to trouble you now. The split then was a much friendlier one than the tone of your message suggests the next one might be. Be that as it may, we might all be gratified if you were now to take the initiative to effect the divorce you suggest. I'd consider it a mitsve and would promise to contribute some good jokes. Mikhl Herzog 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 3 Oct 94 08:39:54 IST From: leybl@telecomm.tadiran.co.il Subject: Reshime rekomendirte bikher in tzvey mendele i-briv (elektronishe-briv), V4.106 un V4.112 bet keyle goodman hilf vegn oysklaybn rekomendirte bikher zi zol zey koyfn far ir bibliotek. ikh hob a kuk geton bay zikh, un oysgeklibn dos vos ikh meyn iz pasik: 1. vegn yidisher shprakh antviklung: bay mir gefint zikh a kleyn bikhl, mit a langn titl:"oyfkum un antviklung fun yidish un fun der yidisher literatur bizn 19tn yorhundert (algemeyne shtrikhn)", fun moyshe klayn, 1991 tel oviv, yud lamed [= 'y.l.' = 'yal'] peretz farlag; in yor 1973 iz aroys a maysterverk fun 4 bend fun maks vaynraykh "geshikhte fun der yidisher shprakh" noy-york (dakht zikh funem yivo); 2. vegn yidisher literatur: ikh rekomendir yosl un khane mloteks "perl fun der yidisher poezie", oykh yal peretz farlag (1974?). nor dakht zikh, az dos iz shver haynt tzu tog tzu bakumen. do vern gebrakht kurtze biografies fun di mekhaberim, mit bayshpiln fun zeyere verk. di bibliografies zaynen bashraybungen mit komentarn un nit 'telegrafishe harte faktn' vi in a leksikon. 3. es iz keday tzu hobn khotsh eyn guter verterbukh: - maks un uriel vaynraykhs "yidish-english, english-yidish" az es blaybt iber gelt, nokhem stutshkovs "oytzer fun der yidisher shprakh". 4. vayl dos iz a 'leyen' bibliotek iz keday zikh ayntzushafn (koyfn) bikher fun der serie "musterverk fun der yidisher literatur", aroysgegebn in argentine unter der redaksie fun shmuel rozshanski. dakht zikh iber hundert bend zaynen shoyn aroys. in yedn band bazunder,vert geshildert a yidisher shrayber/dikhter, algemeyne bibliografishe notitzn, komentarn, un kritik (zeyer balernendike informatzies). dos rov bukh ober, iz gevidmet bayshpiln fun 'dos beste' fun dem shraybers verk. dakht zikh az es zaynen do oykh etlekhe bend vos nemen arum a teme oder grupirung. ikh hob nor eyn bukh, vegn leyb naydus. halevay, hob ikh di gantze serie. tzu di oybnderminte bikher volt ikh oykh rekomendirt dos vayterdike: 1. "fun peretzes oytzer" kurtze dertzeylungen un lider fun yal peretz; 2. "mir trogn a gezang"&"perl fun yidishn muzik" lider mit muzik notn mit transliteratzie un iberzetzung mit komentarn fun khane gordon-mlotek; 3. "trogn, hobn un friike kinder-yorn" an english-yidish verterbukh fun dr. mordkhe shekhter; a min 'vi zogt men oyf yidish ...' 4. "khumesh far kinder" shloyme seymon un yudl mark. 5. "A Child's Picture Dictionary" (English-Yiddish) by Denis Sheheen keday oykh ayntzuordenen an avdeo-vizueler bibliotek fun kasetn un filmen. di oybn dermonte bikher ken men mistome bashteln baym tziko (CYCO/kultur kongres), oder durkh stephen dowling inem arbeter ring. es ken zayn, az koyfn di gantze serie musterverk vet zayn tzu tayer, iz keday tzu koyfn di bikher behadrogedik (yede etlekhe khodoshim, -- loytn budzshet, un loyt dem interes/banutz metzad di leyners,-- koyfn a finf-zeks bend). es ken zayn az durkh der natzionaler yidisher bikher tzentrale ken men bakumen a gutn prayz far der gantzer serie (genutzte bikher). leybl botvinik 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 3 Oct 94 09:37:05 IST From: leybl@telecomm.tadiran.co.il Subject: Rav Ktav I spoke to the representative of MicroMacro in Tel Aviv. He led me to believe that there is no representative of ravktav in the USA, but it wouldn't hurt to contact DAVKA in chicago and find out anyway. Innocent inquiries sometimes bring interesting results. It might be interesting to also ask them if they have any 'yiddish' software. I sent them a letter a few months ago, asking if they have Yiddish software, and if they would be interested in (re)developing jointly (with my Centre for Yiddish and Techno-Newware). No answer... Maybe, if more people started showing an interest, they might see the light, that there is a need for yiddish games, educational materials, etc. on computer. They could adapt/translate existing materials. Steve Jacobson, the MicroMacro address is: Micro-Macro, Bet Hillel 20, Tel Aviv, 67017. Write attention to Avi Tirosh. He said that if it is just an update, he could send you a disk by mail. Phone number is: 3-5625661. Tell him 'leybl' sent you. Leybl Botwinik 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 02 Oct 94 22:06:39 EDT From: abramson@uconnvm.uconn.edu Subject: Davka Corp. Sheldon Benjamin mentioned Davka but did not have the address and telephone number. Here they are: Davka Corporation 7074 N. Western Ave. Chicago, IL 60645 (312) 465-4070 I believe the company has an 800 number too, but I can't find it. Arn (Arthur) Abramson ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 4.122 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. Anonymous ftp archives available on: ftp.mendele.trincoll.edu in the directory pub/mendele/files Archives available via gopher on: gopher.cic.net Send articles to: mendele@yalevm.ycc.yale.edu Other business: nmiller@mail.trincoll.edu