Mendele: Yiddish literature and language
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Contents of Vol. 4.126
October 6, 1994

1) Introduction (Stuart Carlow)
2) EL-AL's Neglect of Yiddish (Zellig Bach)
3) Di grine kusine (Henry Baich)
4) Yiddish Word Processor, and Davka (Stuart Carlow)
5) Two songs transliterated (Daniella HarPaz)

1)----------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 3 Oct 1994 19:05:48 -0400 (EDT)
From: scarlow@cap.gwu.edu
Subject: Introduction

I grew up in the Bronx, where Yiddish became music to my ears.  My
grandmother spoke to me almost exclusively in Yiddish and I always
replied exclusively in English.  Other relatives spoke to me in Yinglish.
Today I hear it spoken rarely, making those moments even more pleasant,
although my understanding has diminished greatly.  But who says you have
to "understand" music?  I keep in touch through reading Mendele and
through my brother, who is an actor with the Folksbeine; perhaps some day
he'll also become active on Mendele.

Stuart Carlow

2)----------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 03 Oct 94 22:53:13 EDT
From: Zellig@aol.com
Subject: Protests EL-AL's Neglect of Yiddish

The Israeli airline EL-AL is apparently so busy with its safety
precautions, care of its equiment, and daily schedules, that it did not
find the time to notice the subtle changes and rapprochement towards
Yiddish in Israel's society.  Suffice it to mention the festive Yiddish
Day in the Kneset where many members of the parliament, including invited
guests, among them the greatest Yiddish poet of our day, Avrohom
Sutskever, talked about the intrinsic values for the Jewish people of the
culture created in Yiddish.

Dr. Mordkhe Shaekhter, well-known essayist, pedagogue, editor of the
quarterly _afn shvel_, and indefatigable guardian of Yiddish, was one of
the five recipients of this year's Itsik Manger Prize.

On his return from Israel to New York on EL-AL he was offered countless
Israeli dailies, weeklies, and other publications in Hebrew, English,
Russian, Romanian, German, Spanish, and Arabic, but none in Yiddish.

He sent EL-AL a strongly worded protest, and enumerated the wide
selection of IsraelI publications in Yiddish that it could offer its
passengers:  Goldene keyt, Lebnsfragn, Letste nayes, Naye tsaytung, and
Isroel-Shtime.

He asks lovers and respectors of Yiddish to lodge similar protests if
they undergo the same experience.

Zellig Bach

3)----------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 04 Oct 94 01:28:15 CDT
From: hbaich%siuemus.bitnet@yalevm.ycc.yale.edu
Subject: Di grine kusine

Thanks to both Dan Leeson Bob Wilson for their words to the Grine Kusine.
Over the sixty or seventy years since I last heard my mother sing it, I'd
forgotten all but the first few words.  She was a grine kusine in 1914.
But I can still close my eyes and hear her.

Henry Baich

4)----------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 3 Oct 1994 19:19:08 -0400 (EDT)
From: scarlow@cap.gwu.edu
Subject: Yiddish Word Processor, and Davka

Davka's 800-number is 800-621-8227.  For some reason it isn't listed with
"800" information.

A year or so ago I purchased a DOS-based Yiddish word processor from
them, named Multiwriter.  Multiwriter apparently has the potential to
support many many languages, one of which is Yiddish.  The Yiddish
version is a Hebrew word processor with the addition of Yiddish
characters, such as tsvay yuddin and pasach alef (pardon my non-YIVO
standard spelling).

It is a very simplistic DOS word processor, containing a single font and
no spell checker; but it works and supports both block characters and
script.

Davka no longer sells Multiwriter, nor any other Yiddish word processor
for that matter, but they gave me the number of the firm in Israel that
does supply it (they may be the developers).  The company is Computronic
Corp:

phone 972-3-536-4383
fax   972-3-534-3270

Stuart Carlow

5)----------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 4 Oct 1994 10:20 EDT
From: harpaz@binah.cc.brandeis.edu
Subject: Two songs transliterated

I am trying to help a student with pronounciation and comprehension of
two Yiddish songs which she will perform later this semester.  The
transliteration (the Yiddish letters are not there) is very difficult for
me to understand.  I have figured most of it out but would appreciate any
help offered with the following lines...

1st song: "Chanson Hebraique", music Maurice Ravel

?-Oif wos darfs tu Bo-nei?
?-Kol chai-joi-du-cho...

First, any ideas about Bonei?  From Aramaic as suggested by a friend of
mine? Secondly, could the second line be "Kol Khay Yedo'ukho"?

I forgot to mention that this is from the song "Meyerke mayn zun" and if
anyone knows where I can find the Yiddish to this song it would solve my
problem.  I haven't been able to find it anywhere.

2nd song:  "L'enigme Eternelle", music Maurice Ravel

?-Un as men will kennen sagen Tra la la la...

This entire song is transliterated with a lot of German spelling of
words, but this phrase is really part German, so...does anyone know what
it is suppose to be?  The song is "freygt di velt di alte kashe, tra la
la la....."

I haven't been able to find this one in Yiddish either.  I appreciate any
suggestions or sources!

a dank!

Daniella HarPaz

______________________________________________________
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