Mendele: Yiddish literature and language
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Contents of Vol. 15.028
September 22 , 2005
1) Majer Bogdanski (Hershl Hartman)
2) Yiddish literacy (Joachim Martillo)
3) Yiddish literacy (NMorrie Feller)
4) The state of Yiddish (Lucas Bruyn)
5) The state of Yiddish (Yankev Berger)
6) The state of Yiddish (Leizer Giilg)
7) Early medical writings in Yiddish (Cheryl Tallan)
8) "Naye Vegn" numer 12 (Barry Goldstein)
1)----------------------------------------------------
Date: September 16, 2005
Subject: Majer Bogdanski -- The L.A. Connection
Nine of Bogdanski's musical settings for poems by Soviet Yiddish writers
had their North American premiere in Los Angeles on August 10, 2003, as
part of that year's commemoration -- sponsored by ten Secular Jewish
organizations -- of the Soviet Yiddish writers murdered by the Stalin
regime.
Sung in Yiddish by soprano Vanessa Paloma, a leading interpreter of
Sefardic Jewish music, the nine songs were part of the script, "The Soviet
Yiddish Writers: A Celebration of Their Final Victory," written by the
undersigned. The musical settings for the poems, whose English translations
are part of the script, appear in Bogdanski's four-volume compilation of
his musical works.
The poems and their authors, not all of whom were executed on August
12, 1952, are:
Moyshe Kulbak: eybik, "Eternally"
Itsik Fefer: zaynen toyern mer nit farshlosn, "Gates Are No Longer Barred"
Leyb Kvitko: mayn ruf, "My Call"
Yosif Kerler: lider kumen, "Songs Come," nit shayekh, "Not Mete" and
akshones, "Stubbornness"
Shmuel Halkin: a groyse naye velt, "A Huge New World"
Dovid Hofshteyn: tsum nayem knoyt, "To The New Wick"
Izi Kharik: mikh art nit, "I Don't Care"
Copies of the script, which includes brief biographies of Bogdanski and of
the poets, are available on request.
kovid dem likhtikn ondenk fun Mayer Bogdanski -- all honor to the bright
memory of Majer Bogdanski!
Hershl Hartman
2)----------------------------------------------------
Date: September 16, 2005
Subject: Re: Yiddish literacy
Many other factors play a role. Previous learning of other languages is a
great advantage. A second or third foreign language is learned much faster
than the first. A student who happens to know German (or Dutch) and Hebrew
could start reading Yiddish from day one, a student who just knows English
and has no clue to general grammar is at a disadvantage.
Classical Hebrew and German actually create a lot of confusion in
understanding and speaking proper Yiddish, while Modern Israeli Hebrew,
Polish and Yiddish actually share a lot of syntax -- especially in relative
clauses, aspect and complex sentence structure. The phonology is all quite
similar and the range of meaning of a word in Yiddish is usually the same
as the range of meaning of the most obvious translation into Polish or
Modern Israeli Hebrew. I also find the semantics and humor in Polish,
Modern Israeli Hebrew and Yiddish rather similar.
Joachim Martillo
3)----------------------------------------------------
Date: September 19, 2005
Subject: Re: Yiddish literacy
In response to Lucas Bruyn (15.027), I would, first of all, like to thank
him for his full commentary relative to the question of acquiring Yiddish
literacy.
The main purpose behind my inquiry was to determine if it might be
practicable to create enough readers who could take advantage of the
thousands of Yiddish titles which the NYBC has accumulated over the past
twenty five years. If there is a lack of such readers, then the question
arises about the value of such a huge collection. If we have to rely on a
handful of translators to open up the treasures of Yiddish literature, it
could be a very long time before an appreciable portion of this literature
becomes available to the English reader.
Morrie Feller
4)----------------------------------------------------
Date: September 18, 2005
Subject: Re: the state of Yiddish
In reply to Yankev Berger's Catch 22 comment (Vol.15.027) I can only say
that eventually a truce with the Haredim will be necessary if Yiddish is
to survive as a living language. I would like to refer to a recent
article by Avirama Golan in the , Haarets of 18 Sept. 2005, entitled
Angry young men in black, signalling some changes within the Haredi
community and mentioning three writers from that community.
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo3D78012&contra
ssID3D3&subContrassID3D0&sbSubContrassID3D0
Lucas Bruyn
5)----------------------------------------------------
Date: September 18, 2005
Subject: Re: the state of Yiddish
I find the various thoughts being expressed here quite cogent and important
to this forum. I would go so far as to say that this might be the highest
priority issue worth exploring by the readers of this newsletter.
First, I would like to say that Khaver Wolfe's findings are welcome, but
lack the force of numbers to make his conclusion credible. The evidence he
presents is consistent with an outcome that relegates Yiddish to a niche
reserved for specialists and afficionados. It does not bode well for the
putative renaissance that many would like to see.
In this regard, I believe the fate of 'Der Forverts,' today called 'The
Forward,' is a better indication of where we are heading. To lend credence
to Khaver Wolfe's thesis, one would have to see a reversal of the current
trajectory: an increase in Yiddish content over English content, and an
increase in frequency of publication from weekly back to daily. That is not
likely to happen any time soon.
As to the acquisition of competence in reading Yiddish, I concur with
Khaver Astro's general outlook. Yiddish is more than just a language -- it
is the mode of expression by a culture with a specific history and value
system. Accordingly, even if you 'master the fundamentals,' (meaning the
grammar, syntax and vocabulary) -- but only that --such an individual will
have a stilted view of written Yiddish by the masters, and the Yiddish he
or she speaks will sound peculiar.
I also agree that the lament over the absence of a 'modern Yiddish
literature,' is overstated. Reading I. L. Peretz, Sholom Aleichem, and all
the Singers provides an excellent foundation for acquiring the idiom of the
language. It is true that the development of the language was 'arrested' by
the Holocaust, and therefore is a bit frozen in time, say early 20th
century. This does not militate against its beauty or ability to serve as a
means of literary expression, any more than Elizabethan English was
inadequate in satisfying Shakespeare's needs.
Yankev Berger
6)----------------------------------------------------
Date: September 20, 2005
Subject: Re: the state of Yiddish
Recent postings of Yankev Berger and Lucas Bruyn regarding the state of
Yiddish are very interesting.
Personally I disagree that "old" Yiddish literature is not interesting, not
relevant, and depressing. Like any classic literature in any language, if
it's worth keeping, it has timeless messages, timeless characters, and
timeless enchantment. I also would like to point out that many "Yizkor
books" are actually _not_ written particularly well, as they were produced
by people who may not have been professional writers, but people who wanted
to say what needed to be said before it was all forgotten.
Nevertheless, it would be great to have a wellspring of good contemporary
Yiddish literature.
In response to Bruyn's suggestion that we need more contemporary Yiddish
literature, Berger writes:
To stimulate the writing of contemporary Yiddish, it is necessary to have a
cultural matrix within which the language itself thrives as the medium of
daily discourse. This is a pre-requisite to giving someone with writing
talent the basis on which to articulate whatever it is that is on that
person's mind.
"That cultural matrix no longer exists, nor can it be re-created."
This statement is simply not true. The Hasidic world, while not interested
in _producing_ Yiddish literature, certainly provides a cultural matrix
with ample fodder about which Yiddish literature could be produced. For
example, the story behind the 1998 film "A Price Above Rubies", starring
Renee Zellweger (and as an ex Boro Parker, I must say that Renee should
have gotten the Oscar for her flawless performance as a Hasidic woman),
could have made for a compelling novel had it been written in Yiddish. The
stories of Yonia Fain, written in the late 40's or early 50's in the
anthology "Niu-Yorker Adresn", while perhaps no longer contemporary, could
have been written in _any_ language, demonstrating that the idiom does not
necessarily inform the content of good literature. Even some of the
Hassidic publications being produced, with decent editing, could become
good Yiddish literature. If one argues that the lives of people Boro Park
have at best a tenuous relationship to the Yiddish reader in San Francisco,
I might counter that the lives of people in Kasrilevke had very little
relationship to the lives of Yiddish readers in Boston.
Much ado is made by yidishistn about the fact that the khsidim are not
particularly articulate. Nevertheless, they are actually speaking Yiddish
and the language is vibrant, natural, and real, if not scholarly.
Bruyn makes some good suggestions:
"The production of modern Yiddish literature in a modern form of Yiddish
should be stimulated. Modern Yiddish should be allowed to have at least 15%
of Anglicisms and English loan words, reflecting the natural development
and growth of the language. The translation of contemporary literature into
Yiddish should be stimulated. Why not a contest to get the best translation
of the lyrics of Bob Dylan, for example.
An attempt should be made to convince the remaining Yiddish mameloshn
speakers that their conservative attitude towards the language is not
helpful stimulating young learners."
Yiddish has always assimilated words from the host culture. I feel that
YIVO's hard-core Jewish Esperanto a/k/a "klal yidish", which keeps Yiddish
in a fossilized state for nostalgic reasons. Greater flexibility in using
words and constructions borrowed from English would recognize the fact that
Yiddish _is_ alive and well, and living and breathing. When the good people
of Boro Park say things like "Yanki, jump nisht of di steps vayl du kenst
dikh hurten", while they are perhaps reflecting an unfortunate decline in
the use of "proper Yiddish", they are not doing anything that drastically
different from someone who in days of yore said "der kran iz fardzshavet
gevorn". Why borrowings from Polish were "kosher" but borrowings from
American are not, I am not quite sure. Meanwhile, who has determined that
cellphones are "mobilkes"?
Another unfortunate (?) but very real development of the Anglicization of
Yiddish by its contemporary real speakers (i.e., the khsidim) is an almost
pathological disregard for noun gender and declension of both definite
articles and pronouns. Like in English, where the definite article is "the"
in all cases, the "haymish-yiddish" speakers tend to use "di." I even saw a
website produced by the younger generation of Bobover Khsidim who referred
to "Di Rov".... and certainly they are not referring to a female Rabbi! The
dative case commonly now uses "tsu" in place of the English "to": Di mame
hot gegebn dem kind a shtikl broyt" has become "De mame hot gegebn a shtikl
broyt tsu de kind", with "de" having a sort of schwa sound for its vowel.
"Di maydel" has become feminine at last, and she eats with "gupelakh and
lefelakh" (which she may have purchased by saving up her "nickelakh".)
I am not suggesting that we throw out all the rules of grammar, but am
suggesting that perhaps we are, in the post-cataclysmic stage, seeing a
type of linguistic evolution perhaps akin to what happened to English after
the Battle of Hastings, when it received its infusion of Latinate words and
constructions. If we are to seriously keep Yiddish alive as a living
language, we must recognize that it is evolving, and without losing respect
for past traditions (we still learn Beowulf in school, too), we must go
with the flow.
We must also, I think, recognize that much of classic Yiddish literature
was written, to a great extent, for the common man, not for the scholar.
With this in mind, we should lose the ivory tower mentality.
In English, we no longer decline verbs, but not all that long ago, in a
historical sense, English verbs were declined (I am, thou art). In my own
lifetime (I am an old man of 50), contemporary English has assimilated
constructions. Split infinitives are now kosher. The subjunctive is nearly
dead ("If this be treason..."), and the list goes on and on.
I am not sure what _would_ stimulate younger speakers. Perhaps getting
Jewish schools - even synagogue "Hebrew" schools to offer Yiddish as a
language along with Israeli Hebrew would be a good start.
I do think that translating contemporary literature into Yiddish would be a
great idea - but please, don't do a "Vini der Pu" in transliteration.
What we _do_ need, are good Yiddish writers, editors, and thinkers to produce
the literature. Halevay ikh volt dos gekont ton- but Miss Legierski didn't
teach Yiddish.
In summary, then:
1) Yiddish is _not_ dead. It is alive, in a form that is evolving - perhaps
more rapidly evolving than some would prefer.
2) There IS a growing cultural matrix in which "naturally occurring"
Yiddish is still thriving - in an evolved state.
3) The evolution of Yiddish is reflected in changes in vocabulary,
grammatical construction, and some basic aspects of the language.
4) We have to recognize this as a fact, and respect it. This doesn't mean
that we don't learn the "old". English speakers no longer sound like Jane
Austen characters, but we still learn and love Jane Austen!
5) Di tzayten zey farenderen zikh.
Leizer Gillig
7)----------------------------------------------------
Date: September 21, 2005
Subject: Early medical writings in Yiddish
Can anyone tell me anything about the earliest medical writings in Yiddish.
When and where were they written? Are they translations from Hebrew, Latin,
Arabic, or vernacular languages or were they written originally in Yiddish?
Have any of them been printed or do they only exist in manuscript form?
Where and how can I find them?
Thanks,
Cheryl Tallan
c.tallan@utoronto.ca
8)----------------------------------------------------
Date: September 22, 2005
Subject: "Naye Vegn" numer 12
nor vos aroys fun druk, der nayer number "naye
vegn - literarisher almanakh", fun Tel-Aviv. dos heyst, numer 12.
inhalt:
ali rozentsvayg - a trefung mit zikh aleyn
yisroyl nekrasov - dray sonetn
mordkhe shteynberg - di intuitsye fun a mame
sholem berger - lider
leye robinson - kholem-ferd
shhmul naydorf - mentshn un dinozaver
andrea fidermuts shtelt for:
brider grim - di tsetantste shikh
i.s. - di ban
d"r avrom grinboym - di ludmirer moyd
naye nemen:
dmitri yakirevitsh - lider
yitskhok bogolyubov - dertseylungen
dmitri slepovitsh - lider
felix heymovitsh - lider
iberzetsungen:
J.R.R. Tolkien - boymbord (yidish: b. goldshteyn)(*)
yehude gur-eyrye - shprakhn fun mayn lebn (yidish: basman ben-khayem)
i. ilf un ye. petrov - dos shtarke gefil, a vodevil (yidish: henekh
groysman un b.ts.folman)
fun literarishn izoven:
moyshe helmond - yehudises trern
literatur-kritik:
lazar lubarski - velvl zbarzher
d"r moyshe kijak - zigmund froyd
yitskhok gnuz - dos lid vegn zeydn un aynikl
dramaturgye:
daniel glay - di strashidle
men ken krign ekzemplarn fun "hemshekh-dor
libhobers fun yidish", alenbi gas 100, "dorgraf",
Tel-Aviv, tel: 03-5607760, blitsbriv-adres:
dorgrf@013.net. oder durkh der radyo-program "dos
yidishe kol" fun boston: http://www.yv.org/ oder radio@yv.org.
(*) nit vos ikh zol zikh barimen, ober lomir bloyz zogn, az me ken krign
kopyes fun "boymbord", mayner an iberzetsung funem kapitl "Treebeard" fun
der har fun di fingerelkh. lozt visn vos far a kopye: *.doc, *.html, oder
af emesn papir: bag@shore.net.
Barry Goldstein
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