Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 6.206 January 22, 1997 1) Yiddish with Word for Windows (Michael Ben-Levi) 2) Yankev/Yoykl (Khayem Bochner) 3) Nartlen (Perl Teitelbaum) 4) lizhes, lizhves, luzhbes (dovid braun) 5) Yiddish influence on German underworld language (Ruben Frankenstein) 6) Yugntruf vebzaytl (Meylekh Viswanath) 7) Valentines Day Yiddish (Stanley Wernick) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 21 Jan 1997 12:32:21 +0000 From: gur@ix.netcom.com Subject: Yiddish with Word for Windows Microsoft Hebrew Word for Windows has excellent search and replace capacity. It is an ideal program for creating a Yiddish typesetting program with an internal conversion dictionary [standard Hebrew/phonetic Hebrew] and Yiddish spell check. The purpose of the project, sponsored by the World Jewish Congress, is to enable Yiddish published in Russia to revert to the standard spelling of Hebrew from the phonetic spelling which was mandated by the Soviet authorities about 70 years ago. To accommodate their readers, standard Hebrew will be printed first and then followed by the phonetic spelling in parentheses. This conversion option is for anyone who would like to have the phonetic spelling of Hebrew in parentheses immediately following the standard spelling, or vice versa. Microsoft said that the development of a Yiddish Extension for Hebrew Word for Windows is complicated because it failed to designate the Yiddish characters which are internal in the font as Hebrew letters. To create a Yiddish Extension will mean that both Microsoft and Glyph Systems, Microsoft's sole distributor in the U.S. and Canada for Middle East Languages, will have to cooperate in modifying Hebrew Word for Windows. They are both open to looking into doing it. Since Microsoft and Glyph rely on market forces in deciding the extent to which they will proceed with developing a product, it is important to let both Microsoft and Glyph know that there is a large, dedicated Yiddish constituency. Demonstrate your support by e-mailing Microsoft and Glyph! In your own words, urge them to modify Hebrew Word for Windows so that Glyph will be able to produce a Yiddish Extension so that a project sponsored by the World Jewish Congress will be able to develop a Yiddish typesetting program with an internal conversion dictionary and spell check. If you teach Yiddish, you may also want to include the names of your students who are interested in signing on to your e-mail message. We need your help in lobbying Microsoft for Yiddish! The e-mail addresses are: Avery Bishop: averyb@microsoft.com Steven Reef, Glyph Systems: 3791521@mcimail.com Michael Ben-Levi 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 21 Jan 1997 22:18:19 -0500 From: bochner@deas.harvard.edu Subject: Yankev/Yoykl In 6.198 Ruben Frankenstein shraybt vegn di farsheydene diminutivn funem loshn-koydesh nomen Yankev, un dermont tsvishn zey dem nomen Yoykl. Ikh hobn keyn mol nisht gehert dem forem Yoykl, akhuts in eyn fal: der tate mayner heyst take Yoykl. Un er aleyn zogt az afile in poyln hot er keyn mol nisht bagegnt nokh a mentsh vos heyst Yoykl. Derfar volt mir geven interesant tsu hern vegn andere mentshn mit dem nomen, un fun vanen zey shtamen. In 6.198 Ruben Frankenstein wrote about the various diminutive forms of the Hebrew name Jacob, and among them he mentioned the form "Yoykl". I've never heard that form except in one case: it's my father's name. And he says that even in Poland he never met anyone else with that name. So I'd be interested in hearing about other people with that name, and where they came from. A dank, Khayem Bochner 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 21 Jan 97 22:43:46 EST From: 74031.775@compuserve.com Subject: Nartlen zikh Narty (pl) in Polish are skis. The Yiddish nartlen zikh comes from Polish. Perl Teitelbaum Queens, NY - formerely Wroclaw, Poland 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 22 Jan 1997 10:13:41 EST From: dovid@mit.edu Subject: lizhes, lizhves, luzhbes fraynd bredshteyn [6.205] dermont _lizhes_ (afn smakh fun rusish-yidishn verterbukh fun shapiro u"a). _lizhes/lizhves/luzhbes_ zaynen 'ice skates', nit 'skis'. di leksikografn hobn kombinirt tsu fil zakhn unter eyn dakh. dovid braun Cambridge, MA 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 22 Jan 1997 16:27:05 +0100 (MEZ) From: frankens@mail.uni-freiburg.de Subject: Yiddish influence on German underworld language Ruth Liberman asks [6.205] about the influence of Yiddish on the german underworld language, called Rotwelsch. It is not very easy to define exactly when this happened. Research of this idiom is quite neglected. I believe, mainly in the 16th and 17th centuries. In the 18th century this process must have been concluded. Some of the vocabulary came then into colloquial German. I doubt very much the maintained etymology of "Hals-und-Bein-bruch" from "Hatslokhe uwrokhe". Even without such exaggerations at least 10 percent of the Rotwelsch vocabulary is of Hebrew origin, but with alterated meaning. Ruben Frankenstein 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 22 Jan 1997 14:44:43 -0500 From: viswanat@pacevm.dac.pace.edu Subject: Yugntruf vebzaytl Yugntruf proudly announces its Webpage at: http://library.pace.edu/~viswanat/yiddish/yugntruf.html it is also accessible as a link from: http://library.pace.edu/~viswanat and from various other locations (including Yahoo). Please visit us and send us your comments. At present, we have the following leads on our webpage: What is Yugntruf, and what do we do? The latest issue of Yugntruf Forthcoming Activities Photographs of Yiddish Vokh, 1996 Photographs of the Birdwatching outing, spring 1996 Other Yiddish Weblinks. Mit hanoe un shtolts, anontsirt Yugntruf zayn naye vebzaytl, vos gefint zikh afn vebadres http://library.pace.edu/~viswanat/yiddish/yugntruf.htm. Irkent undz oykh dergreykh fun http://library.pace.edu/~viswanat (vos iz gringer tsu gedenken) un fun a sakh andere vebzaytlekh (arayngenumen Yahoo). Zayt azoy gut, kimt tsu bazukh un shik undz ayere bamerkungen. Ot iz der itstike toykhn funem zaytl: Vos zaynen mir, un vos tuen mir? Who are we? Der nayster numer Yugntruf zhurnal Kumedike Aktivitetn Fotografyes fun yidish-vokh 1996 Fotografyes funem feygl-shpatsir, friling 1996 Andere yidishe vebbleter Meylekh Viswanath 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 22 Jan 1997 15:30:15 EST From: stantheman4@juno.com Subject: Valentines Day Yiddish I have finally gotten the nerve to write to this esteemed group of scholars. I am but a rank beginner compared to the rest of you but I need help. I am in a Yiddish class and I have been asked to come up with "Yiddish Phrases that pertain to love" for our class next month which coincides with Valentines Day. I would be very grateful for any help in this matter. Stanley Wernick Albuquerque, N.M. ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 6.206 Mendele has 2 rules: 1. Provide a meaningful Subject: line 2. Sign your article (full name please) Send articles to: mendele@yalevm.cis.yale.edu Send change-of-status messages to: listserv@yalevm.cis.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. Anonymous ftp archives are available. ftp ftp.mendele.trincoll.edu in the directory pub/mendele/files A table of contents is also available, along with weekly updates. 2. 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