Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 5.126 September 29, 1995 1) Zalbe- has no numeral limits (Zellig Bach) 2) Weinreich's History of Yiddish (Zellig Bach) 3) A story about a veil (Larry Rosenwald) 4) Translation help needed (Irving Levine) 5) Yiddish stories on radio (Leah Zazulyer) 6) A dank (Beatrice Santorini) 7) Farshidene verter (Hershl Hartman) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 26 Sep 1995 17:19:31 -0400 From: zellig@aol.com Subject: Zalbe- has no numeral limits I greatly appreciated Anno Siegel's eloquent and instructive post (5.115,4) about the zalbe- construct in recent German. He then asked: Is there a limit [in Yiddish] to zalbe- with higher numerals (than the ones cited in my post (5.110)? I do not believe there is a limit. Theoretically one might say "zalbefuftsikst... zalbehundertst," but it would not be practical. Instead of zalbe- it might be simpler to say in such cases "in groups of fuftsik... in groups of hunderts." The advantage of lower numerals with zalbe- is that it is a kind of shorthand, and one can perceive the total number of persons described as a unit by an actual count or mental scan (zalbe'elft, zalbe'tsvelft... zalbe'tsvantsikst). With much higher numerals this would not work. Zellig Bach Lakehurst, NJ 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 26 Sep 1995 17:20:56 -0400 From: zellig@aol.com Subject: Second Volume of Weinreich's History of Yiddish The YIVO Institute for Jewish Research is currently preparing the English translation of the second volume of Max Weinreich's _History of the Yiddish Language_. YIVO published in Yiddish all four (4) volumes of this _History_ in 1973. Two of these volumes were published in an English translation as a _single_ volume by the University of Chicago Press (1980). The new English volume will contain the translation of the remaining two Yiddish volumes that were never translated or published before. This new volume will consist of all the annotations and references to the first English volume, numerous explications, and addenda, and will thus serve as a complement to the 1980 English volume I. Zellig Bach Lakehurst, NJ [Zellig is too modest to mention this but readers should know that he has made a truly handsome gift to YIVO to make this possible. Yasher koyekh! nm] 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 27 Sep 1995 09:25:57 -0500 (EST) From: lrosenwald@wellesley.edu Subject: looking for the source of a story about a veil On the theory that a good year is one rich in questions, I though I'd make my first posting of this year a question about a story. I'm not sure that the story is a Yiddish one, but I'm not sure it isn't, so . . . Anyway - Martin Buber in a little-known essay on Bible translation writes about what it was like for him to read the Bible for the first time in German translation, having grown up knowing it in Hebrew. He makes this comparison: "it was the way it is in the fairytale, when a wicked sprite throws a veil over a girl, and thereby fearfully trans- forms her." (The German is, as far as I can recall it, "es war mir, als wenn im Maerchen ein boeser Geist einen Schleier ueber ein Maedchen wirft, und es dadurch furchtbar verwandelt.") My question is, what story is he thinking about? I thought at first it was from Grimm, but I can't find it there; and I can't find it in any of the fairytale motif-indexes my library has. So I thought, maybe this is a motif from some Yiddish story, maybe a Hasidic one; and then I thought, I'll ask the polymath readers of Mendele for help. A sheynem dank alemen, Larry Rosenwald 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 24 Sep 95 14:10:00 -0500 From: irving.levine@mercopus.com Subject: Translation help needed I am writing to you as a follow up to a recommendation I received to an earlier post in Jewish Genealogy about translation of a long Yiddish manuscript. At that time I was unaware that the manuscript was the autobiography of my grandfather David Chaikoff. He was born near Kherson, was apprenticed out as a shoemaker, and subsequently emigrated to Toronto in 1912 with his wife, two of his children, and $6.50. It was only recently that I had confirmation that the document was the autobiography, and I have only the first page translated. It consists of 117 pages (sides) of 8" by 10" lined paper. Although David was a shoemaker he was extremely well educuted, putting me to shame! Translation of this document is a must for me. I find his writings remarkable, insightful, and interesting, over and above any genealogical content. I will append the first page to this message so you can get a taste of his writing. Ukraine, Russia Part One Of Growing and Blooming Twenty-five miles from the city Kherson the little village Havzune lies spread out right next to the river Ingul which flows between two green walls, one side covered with (unclear) and on the other side stone banks can be seen covered with various wild grasses and all sorts of flowers. From on high, the peasants' houses with their white plastered walls look down and are reflected in the still waves of the river and through the still noise of the trees the fresh air is carried from the flowing water far across the village and freshens each person with the beautiful nature, free life. In the midst of the two hundred peasant houses there was the only Jewish house where the family Cheikoff lived, for many years had a tavern, a bar and also a store, and also hired fishermen, and ran a thoroughly spiritual life, a strictly Orthodox house, kept a melamed (teacher) for the children until they grew. The two oldest were sent to greater melamdim, one to Kherson to the greatest melamed, and the younger one, named Dovid Elya, set up in the colony Tatarke at Reb Zundl Melamed. Thus time flowed in its normal way, but conditions do not remain the same, they change during one's life and often because of bad people. A Jew came to the village Havzune and promised the authority twice as much money for the tavern, so the tavern passed over to the new person who dared to take away... [Please communicate directly with Irving Levine.] 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 26 Sep 1995 11:01:47 -0400 (EDT) From: watson@uhura.cc.rochester.edu Subject: Yiddish stories on radio With regard to encouraging one's local NPR affiliate to broadcast the series of Yiddish stories on tape---I found that a personal call to the program director was not only helpful but essential: The announcements about available programs filled a drawer in my local director's desk. He rummaged quite far down thru' the pile before he even came to the information sent to him by the Natl Yiddish Book Center and/or the affliate station in Santa Monica. Fortunately I was still on the phone with him as he scanned the brochure. It was at this point that my explanation of the historic significance of the series was crucial, particularly my point that this so-called dead language (Holocaust, etc.,) was in the midst of an important re-invigoration. Then, I offered to have the Natl. Yid Bk. Center call him about the details/costs of obtaining the series, since he didn't yet realize that cost factors were not a big issue....You too can perform this mitvah?! And thanks to the folks at NYBC, who did indeed call him back. Leah Zazulyer 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 26 Sep 1995 13:10:13 -0500 (CDT) From: beatrice@zora.ling.nwu.edu Subject: a dank! many thanks to all of you who responded to my recent query about assorted puzzles in yiddish. your answers and the ensuing email conversations have been very, very helpful. best regards, beatrice santorini 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 28 Sep 1995 13:11:33 -0400 From: hershl@aol.com Subject: Farshidene verter Just a few brief comments on recent word-issues: a) another (better?) Yiddish equivalent for "doggerel" is "gram-shtram." b) the word "shlak" appears in the Yiddish wedding song "mekhuteyneste mayne" as follows: "nor tomer vet ir zayn a shlak, a beyze shviger iz mayn tokhter oykh nit kayn antikl." c) The opening phrase of _one_ Yiddish version of the Internationale--quoted in the "oyf-af-ouf" discussion-- actually goes: "Shteyt oyf, ir ale ver-vi shklafn _Fun_ hunger-lebn, muz un noyt..." Hershl Hartman ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 5.126 Mendele has 2 rules: 1. Provide a meaningful Subject: line 2. Sign your article (full name please) Send articles to: mendele@yalevm.ycc.yale.edu Send change-of-status messages to: listserv@yalevm.ycc.yale.edu a. For a temporary stop: set mendele nomail b. To resume delivery: set mendele mail c. To subscribe: sub mendele first_name last_name d. To unsubscribe kholile: unsub mendele Other business: nmiller@mail.trincoll.edu ****Getting back issues**** 1. 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