Thursday 3 July 2014
Yiddish Language and Culture
Yiddish Language and Culture
Level: Basic
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• Yiddish was the language of Ashkenazic Jews, but not Sephardic Jews
• Yiddish is based on German, Hebrew and other languages • Yiddish uses an alphabet based on Hebrew • There are standards for transliterating Yiddish • Yiddish was criticized as a barrier to assimilation • Yiddish developed rich literature, theater and music |
S'iz shver tsu zayn a Yid(It's tough to be a Jew)
- Yiddish folk saying
1798 [Yiddish] ... a language without rules, mutilated and unintelligible without our circle, must be completely abandoned.
- David Friedlander, a member of the Haskalah Jewish enlightenment movement1978 Yiddish has not yet said its last word.
- Isaac Bashevis Singer, upon receiving the Nobel Prize for Literature for his writings in Yiddish
The Yiddish Language
Yiddish was at one time the international language of Ashkenazic Jews (the Jews of Central and Eastern Europe and their descendants). A hybrid of Hebrew and medieval German, Yiddish takes about three-quarters of its vocabulary from German, but borrows words liberally from Hebrew and many other languages from the many lands where Ashkenazic Jews have lived. It has a grammatical structure all its own, and is written in an alphabet based on Hebrew characters. Scholars and universities classify Yiddish as a Germanic language, though some have questioned that classification.Yiddish was never a part of Sephardic Jewish culture (the culture of the Jews of Spain, Portugal, the Balkans, North Africa and the Middle East). They had their own international language known as Ladino or Judesmo, which is a hybrid of medieval Spanish and Hebrew in much the same way that Yiddish combines German and Hebrew.
At its height less than a century ago, Yiddish was understood by an estimated 11 million of the world's 18 million Jews, and many of them spoke Yiddish as their primary language. Yiddish has fallen on hard times, a victim of both assimilation and murder. Today, less than a quarter of a million people in the United States speak Yiddish, about half of them in New York. Most Jews know only a smattering of Yiddish words, and most of those words are unsuitable for polite company. But in recent years, Yiddish has experienced a resurgence and is now being taught at many universities. There are even Yiddish Studies departments at Columbia and Oxford, among others, and many Jewish communities provide classes to learn Yiddish. Many Jews today want to regain touch with their heritage through this nearly-lost language.
Yiddish is referred to as "mame loshn" ("loshn" rhymes with "caution"), which means "mother tongue," although it is not entirely clear whether this is a term of affection or derision. Mame loshn was the language of women and children, to be contrasted with loshn koydesh, the holy tongue of Hebrew that was studied only by men. (And before the feminists start grinding their axes, let me point out that most gentile women and many gentile men in that time and place could not read or write at all, while most Jewish women could at least read and write Yiddish).
The word "Yiddish" is the Yiddish word for "Jewish," so it is technically correct to refer to the Yiddish language as "Jewish" (though it is never correct to refer to Hebrew as "Jewish"). At the turn of the century, American Jews routinely referred to the Yiddish language as "Jewish," and one of my elderly aunts continues to do so. However, that usage has become unfashionable in recent years and people are likely to think you are either ignorant or bigoted if you refer to any language as "Jewish." Likewise, the Yiddish word "Yid" simply means "Jew" and is not offensive if used while speaking Yiddish or in a conversation liberally sprinkled with Yiddish terms, but I wouldn't recommend using the word in English because it has been used as an offensive term for far too long.
The History of Yiddish
It is generally believed that Yiddish became a language of its own some time between 900 and 1100 C.E., but it is difficult to be certain because in its early days, Yiddish was primarily a spoken language rather than a written language. It is clear, however, that at this time even great biblical scholars like Rashi were using words from local languages written in Hebrew letters to fill in the gaps when the Hebrew language lacked a suitable term or when the reader might not be familiar with the Hebrew term. For example, in his commentary on Gen. 19:28, when Rashi comes across the Hebrew word qiytor (a word that is not used anywhere else in the Bible), he explains the word by writing, in Hebrew letters, "torche b'la-az" (that is, "torche in French").It is believed that Yiddish began similarly, by writing the local languages in the Hebrew characters that were more familiar to Yiddish speakers, just as Americans today often write Hebrew in Roman characters (the letters used in English).
The Yiddish language thrived for many centuries and grew farther away from German, developing its own unique rules and pronunciations. Yiddish also developed a rich vocabulary of terms for the human condition, expressing our strengths and frailties, our hopes and fears and longings. Many of these terms have found their way into English, because there is no English word that can convey the depth and precision of meaning that the Yiddish word can. Yiddish is a language full of humor and irony, expressing subtle distinctions of human character that other cultures barely recognize let alone put into words. What other language distinguishes between a shlemiel (a person who suffers due to his own poor choices or actions), a shlimazl (a person who suffers through no fault of his own) and a nebech (a person who suffers because he makes other people's problems his own). An old joke explains the distinction: a shlemiel spills his soup, it falls on the shlimazl, and the nebech cleans it up!
As Jews became assimilated into the local culture, particularly in Germany in the late 1700s and 1800s, the Yiddish language was criticized as a barbarous, mutilated ghetto jargon that was a barrier to Jewish acceptance in German society and would have to be abandoned if we hoped for emancipation. Yiddish was viewed in much the same way that people today view Ebonics (in fact, I have heard Yiddish jokingly referred to as "Hebonics"), with one significant difference: Ebonics is criticized mostly by outsiders; Yiddish was criticized mostly by Jews who had spoken it as their native language. Thus the criticism of Yiddish was largely a manifestation of Jewish self-hatred rather than antisemitism.
At the same time that German Jews were rejecting the language, Yiddish was beginning to develop a rich body ofliterature, theater and music.
Yiddish Literature
From the earliest days of the language, there were a few siddurim (prayer books) for women written in Yiddish, but these were mostly just translations of existing Hebrew siddurim.The first major work written originally in Yiddish was Tsena uRena (Come Out and See), more commonly known by a slurring of the name as Tsenerena. Written in the early 1600s, Tsenerena is a collection of traditional biblical commentary and folklore tied to the weekly Torah readings. It was written for women, who generally did not read Hebrew and were not as well-versed in biblical commentary, so it is an easier read than some of the Hebrew commentaries written for men, but it still packs a great deal of theological rigor. Translations of this work are still in print and available from Artscroll Publishers.
In the mid-1800s, Yiddish newspapers began to appear, such as Kol meVaser (Voice of the People), Der Hoyzfraynd (The Home Companion), Der Yid (The Jew), Di Velt (The World) and Der Fraynd (The Friend), as well as socialist publications like Der Yidisher Arbeter (The Jewish Worker) and Arbeter-Shtime (Workers' Voice). Some Yiddish language newspapers exist to this day, including Forverts (the Yiddish Forward), founded in 1897 and still in print, both in English and Yiddish versions.
At about the same time, secular Jewish fiction began to emerge. The religious authorities of that time did not approve of these irreverent Yiddish writings dealing with modern secular and frivolous themes. Some strictly observant people refused to even set type for these writers because they were so offended by their works, but Jewish people throughout Europe embraced them wholeheartedly.
The first of the great Yiddish writers of this period was Sholem Yankev Abramovitsch, known by the pen name Mendele Moykher Sforim (little Mendel, the bookseller). Abramovitsch was a respected writer in Hebrew and used the pen name when writing in the second-class language of Yiddish. He wrote stories that were deeply rooted in folk tradition but focused on modern characters. Perhaps his greatest work is his tales of Benjamin the Third, which is thematically similar to Don Quixote. Mendele's works gave Yiddish a literary legitimacy and respectability that it was lacking before that time. I have been told that there is a street in Jerusalem called Mendele Mocher Sefarim Street.
The next of the great Yiddish writers was Yitzhak Leib Peretz. (I.L. Peretz). Like Mendele, his stories often had roots in Jewish folk tradition, but favored a modern viewpoint. He seemed to view tradition with irony bordering on condescension.
Perhaps the Yiddish writer best known to Americans is Solomon Rabinovitch, who wrote under the name Sholem Aleichem (a Yiddish greeting meaning, "peace be upon you!"). Sholem Aleichem was a contemporary of Mark Twain and is often referred to as "the Jewish Mark Twain," although legend has it that Mark Twain, upon meeting Sholem Aleichem, described himself as "the American Sholem Aleichem"! Americans know Sholem Aleichem for his tales of Tevye the milkman and his daughters, which were adapted into the musical Fiddler on the Roof. How true is the musical to the stories? Based on my readings of the stories, I would say that Fiddler is a faithful adaptation of the plotlines of the Tevye stories, but the theme of "tradition" that pervades the musical is artificially imposed on the material. The stories certainly turn on the tension between the old world and the modern world, but Tevye's objections to his daughters' marriages are not merely because of tradition. For example, in the original stories, Tevye opposes Hodel's marriage to Ferfel not so much because of tradition, but because Ferfel is being sent to prison for his socialist political activities! Also, there is no fiddler in Sholem Aleichem's stories.
One last Yiddish writer deserves special note: Isaac Bashevis Singer (middle name pronounced "buh-SHEH-viss"), who in 1978 won a Nobel Prize for Literature for his writings in Yiddish. He gave his acceptance speech in both Yiddish and English, and spoke with great affection of the vitality of the Yiddish language. Singer was born in Poland, the son of a Chasidic rabbi. He wrote under his full name, Isaac Bashevis Singer or I.B. Singer, to avoid confusion with his older and (at the time) better-known brother, Israel Joshua Singer, who wrote as I. Singer. Isaac Bashevis Singer wrote mostly short stories, but also some novels and stories for children. Like the others, his stories tended to deal with the tension between traditional views and modern times. Many of these are available in print in English. Perhaps the best known of his many writings is Yentl the Yeshiva Boy, which was adapted into a stage play in 1974 and later loosely adapted into a movie starring Barbara Streisand. It is worth noting that although the movie was quite popular, Singer hated the movie and wrote a brutal editorial in the New York Times about it (January 29, 1984). He thought that Streisand placed too much emphasis on the Yentl character (which she played) to the exclusion of other characters, and that her revised ending (Yentl immigrating to America instead of moving on to another Polish religious school) was untrue to the character.
Yiddish Theater
Yiddish culture has a rich theatrical tradition. It has been suggested that Yiddish theater began with the "Purimshpil," outrageous comedic improvisational plays based on the biblical book of Esther, performed insynagogues by amateurs as part of the drunken festivities related to the Purim holiday.Professional Yiddish theater began with Abraham Haim Lipke Goldfaden, who wrote, produced and directed dozens of Yiddish plays in the last quarter of the 19th century. Goldfaden and his troupe traveled throughout Europe performing Yiddish plays for Jewish audiences, and later moved to New York City where they opened a theater.
Many traveling Yiddish theater groups also performed Yiddish versions of existing plays, most notably Shakespeare and Goethe. With apologies to Star Trek fans ... Shakespeare's Hamlet cannot be fully appreciated until it is seen in the original Yiddish.
Permanent Yiddish theaters sprung up in cities around the world, including Odessa, Vilna and New York City. In New York, Yiddish theater was jump-started by 12-year-old immigrant Boris Thomashefsky, who fell in love with the European Yiddish show tunes sung by his coworkers in a tobacco sweatshop. He persuaded a rich tavern owner to finance the endeavor and introduced Yiddish theater to New York with an Abraham Goldfaden play in 1881. Over the next few decades, Yiddish theater grew substantially in New York, but most of these theaters no longer exist. New York's Folksbiene Yiddish Theater, founded in 1915, is the oldest continuous venue for Yiddish theatre in the world and continues to have an active calendar of Yiddish-language productions, now with "English supertitles" at all performances.
Yiddish plays tended to be melodramas with strong traditional Jewish values, often with song and dance numbers incorporated into the serious plots. Yiddish theater also included many comedies, in America often focusing on intergenerational conflicts between the immigrants and their American-born children.
Yiddish Music
Like Yiddish theater, Yiddish music ultimately has its roots in Jewish religion. The Jewish love of music is seen in the earliest stories in the Bible: in Exodus 15, both Moses and Miriam lead the Children of Israel in song after G-d drowns the pursuing Egyptians in the sea; King David is often portrayed playing musical instruments. Music is an integral part of Jewish worship: most of the prayers are sung or chanted. Even the Torah is read to a traditional chant. It has been customary for hundreds of years for synagogues to have a professional chazzan, a person with musical skills to lead the song-filled prayer services.Yiddish culture has produced a wealth of music, from lullabies to love songs, from mournful songs of loss and exile to the wild dance music of klezmer.
Yiddish music traditionally was played on string instruments (fiddle, viola, etc.), the tsimbl (a Jewish instrument similar to a dulcimer) and flute, perhaps because these instruments were relatively quiet and would not attract the attention of hostile gentiles. In later days, however, the clarinet became a staple of Yiddish music because of it's ability to emulate the wailing or laughing sound of the human voice.
The style of music most commonly associated with Yiddish culture is klezmer. The word "klezmer" comes from the Hebrew words "klei zemer" which means "instruments of song," and probably indicates the important role that instruments played in this kind of music. You've probably heard klezmer music in the background of television shows or movies featuring Jews: it is normally characterized by the wailing, squealing sounds of clarinets. It has also influenced some modern bands: I was in a bookstore a while ago and heard what I thought was klezmer music, only to be told it was Squirrel Nut Zipper! The klezmer style is based on cantoral singing in synagogue: simple melodies in a minor key with extensive ornamentation, such as fast trills and sliding notes. It's hard to explain unless you've heard it.
You can hear some traditional Yiddish music in the samples of Best of Yiddish Songs and Klezmer Music on Amazon.com. The track Doyne/Kiever Freylekhs is a particularly good example of klezmer dance music.
Alef-Beyz: The Yiddish Alphabet
Yiddish is written with Hebrew letters, but the letters are used somewhat differently than in Hebrew. In fact, the first time I saw the familiar Yiddish phrase "oy vey" written in Yiddish letters, I thought the spelling must be a mistake!The Yiddish alphabet is called the alef-beyz for its first two letters.
The biggest difference between the Hebrew alefbet and the Yiddish alef-beyz is in the use of vowels: in Hebrew, vowels and other pronunciation aids are ordinarily not written, and when they are written, they are dots and dashes added to the text in ways that do not affect the physical length of the text. In Yiddish, however, many of the Hebrew letters have been adapted to serve as vowels and the pronunciation aids in Hebrew are reflected in the consonants. Vowels and other pronunciation aids are always written unless the Yiddish word comes from Hebrew, in which case the Yiddish word is written as it is in Hebrew, without the vowel points but with the dagesh (dot in the middle).
When a Hebrew word is combined with a Yiddish suffix, the Hebrew part is spelled as in Hebrew and the Yiddish part as in Yiddish. For example, the Yiddish word "Shabbesdik" (for theSabbath; festive) combines the Hebrew word Shabbat (Sabbath), spelled as in Hebrew, with the Yiddish adjective suffix "-dik" (set aside for, suitable for, in the mood for, "-ish"), spelled as in Yiddish.In addition, some of the most common Hebrew letters are rarely used in Yiddish, being used only if the Yiddish word comes from Hebrew. These rarely-used letters all have the same sound as another Hebrew letter, and reducing their use simplifies spelling when bringing words in from languages that weren't originally written using these letters. For example, there are three different Hebrew letters that make the sound "s": Samekh, Sin and the soft sound of Tav (according to Ashkenazic pronunciation). Which one do you use? It depends on the origin of the word. Words brought in from Hebrew use the original Hebrew spelling, which may be any of these three letters, but words brought in from other languages will always use Samekh. The word vaser (water, from the German wasser) is spelled with a Samekh, but the word simkhah (celebration, from Hebrew) is spelled with a Sin and the word Shabbes (Sabbath, from Hebrew) ends with a Sof.
The illustration below shows the Yiddish alphabet. You may wish to review the Hebrew alphabet to see the differences.
Here some things to notice:
- The letter Alef, which is always silent in Hebrew, has three versions in Yiddish: one that is silent, one that is pronounced "ah" (like the "a" in "father"), and one that is pronounced "o" or "aw" (a bit like the "o" in "or" or "more").
- In Hebrew, Vav can be pronounced as V, O (as in home) or U (like the oo in room). In Yiddish, Vov alone is pronounced "u"; a Double-Vov is pronounced "v," and the nearest equivalent of the Hebrew "o" sound is the "oy" sound of Vov-Yud.
- In Yiddish, the letter Yud can be pronounced as a "y" sound (as in "yellow") or a short "i" sound (as in "it"); in Hebrew, it is always either a "y" sound or silent (identifying and modifying a preceding vowel).
- There are combinations of letters in Yiddish to account for consonant sounds that do not exist in Hebrew, such as zh (like the second "g" in "garage" or the "s" in "measure"), dzh (j as in judge) and tsh (like the "ch" in chair).
- Combinations of Vov and Yud are used to handle additional vowel sounds.
- Melupm Vov and Khirek Yud are used to clarify that the Vov or Yud is not to be combined with an adjacent letter into a different pronunciation. For example Double-Yud is a letter combination pronounced as the "ey" in "they," but the word "Yiddish" begins with two separate Yuds: one for the Y and one for the i. To clarify that these Yuds are not combined into an "ey" sound, the word Yiddish begins with a Yud, then a Khirek Yud. See the illustration in the heading of this page.
- As in Hebrew, some letters are drawn differently when they occur at the end of the word. Most of these letters are named "langer" (longer) because, well, they are! The final version of Mem, which is not longer, is named Shlos Mem.
- In Hebrew, the dot in the middle of Kaf, Pei and Tav and on top of Sin is written only in pointed texts. In Yiddish, it is always written. Note that Shin in Yiddish, unlike Hebrew, never uses a dot. Remember, though, that Kof, Sin and Tof are rarely used in Yiddish.
- The Yiddish letter Sof is equivalent to the soft sound of the Hebrew letter Tav, which is used inAshkenazic pronunciation but is not used in Sephardic pronunciation. Remember, though, that Sof is rarely used in Yiddish.
Yiddish Transliteration
Transliteration is the process of writing a language in a different alphabet than its native alphabet. The Yiddish language began by transliterating Germanic words into the Hebrew alphabet, so I find it unspeakably amusing that we now take Yiddish and convert it back into the original alphabet!In Yiddish, unlike Hebrew, there is a widely-accepted standard for transliterating Yiddish into the Roman alphabet (the alphabet used in English). This standard was developed by the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, the recognized world authority on Yiddish language, history and culture. Although the YIVO standard is widely accepted in general, it is routinely ignored for Yiddish words that have a widely-used, familiar spelling. For example, a certain Yiddish word appears in many American dictionaries spelled "chutzpah," but the correct YIVO transliteration would be "khutspe"!
A Few Useful Yiddish Words
Here are a few fun Yiddish or Yiddish-derived words that would not require your mother to wash your mouth out with soap. Many of them have found their way into common English conversation. Most of them are spelled as I commonly see them, rather than in strict accordance with YIVO transliteration rules. I've tried to focus on words that are less commonly heard in English (gentile English, anyway).- Bupkes (properly spelled bobkes and pronounced "BAUB-kess," but I usually see it spelled this way and pronounced to rhyme with "pup kiss")
- Literally means "beans" in Russian; usually translated as "nothing," but it is used to criticize the fact that an amount is absurdly smaller than expected or deserved. Examples: "I was assigned to work on that project with Mike and he did bupkes!" or "I had to change jobs; the work wasn't bad, but they paid bupkes."
- Chutzpah (rhymes with "foot spa", with the throat-clearing "kh" sound)
- Nerve, as when the Three Stooges say, "The noive of that guy!!! Why, I oughta…" It expresses an extreme level of bold-faced arrogance and presumption. Example: "She asked me to drive her home, and once we were on the road she told to stop at the supermarket so she could pick something up. What chutzpah!"
- Frum (like "from," but with the "u" sound in "put"; sort of sounds like the imitation of a car noise: brrrum-brrrum, but not vroom like in the car commercials)
- Observant of Jewish law. Almost always used to describe someone else; almost never to describe yourself. "He wasn't raised very strict, but when he went away to college he became very frum." The Yiddish name "Fruma," derived from this word, was once quite popular.
- Nu (rhymes with "Jew")
- An all-purpose word that doesn't really mean anything, like "well," "so" or "wassup?" I usually hear it as a prompt for a response or explanation. A friend of mine who worked for a Jewish history museum joked that they answered the phone "Jew mu, nu?" When someone takes too long to respond in an online chat or trails off in the middle of a thought, I might type "nu?" (are you still there? are you answering?) If someone says something that doesn't seem to make any sense, you might say, "nu?" (what's that supposed to mean?)
- Shmutz (rhymes with "puts")
- Dirt. Refers to a trivial amount of nuisance dirt, not real filth. Example: "You have some shmutz on your shirt; brush it off."
- Shmooze (rhymes with "booze")
- Having a long, friendly chat. Can be used as a noun, but is usually used as a verb. Examples: "Come to our party! Eat, drink and shmooze!" or "Our salesman is very good at shmoozing the clients."
- Tchatchke (almost rhymes with "gotcha")
- 1) Little toys; knick-knacks. 2) A pretty young thing, like a trophy wife. Examples: "The collector had so many tchatchkes that he had to buy a bigger house!" or "when my mother visits, she always brings tchatchkes for the kids" or "The boss divorced his wife; now he's dating some little tchatchke." The Yiddish spelling of the word uses the letter Tsadek, so it should be pronounced "tsatske," but I've always heard the word pronounced as if it were the "ch" in "chair."
Yiddish Links
There are many Yiddish sites on the web and many of them maintain a better list of links than I could ever hope to. I will point out only a few that I find useful, along with their links to other sites.Forverts is a weekly American Jewish newspaper written in Yiddish. This is an excellent source if you want to try reading some useful, day-to-day Yiddish. It is written in the Yiddish alphabet, not transliteration.
The Yiddish Voice is a weekly Yiddish-language radio show based in the Boston area, which is available on streaming audio over the Internet. Their site has a nice list of Yiddish links.
YIVO Institute for Jewish Research is an organization dedicated to studying and preserving the history, society and culture of Ashkenazic Jewry. YIVO is the recognized leader in the study of the Yiddish language. They have a page of the alef-beyz with transliteration and pronunciation guides and an extensive list ofYiddish links.
Essential Yiddish Insults
A page from Yiddish-Hebrew-Latin-German dictionary. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
In the melting pot that is American English, Yiddish has contributed considerably to the alchemy of the language. And while the oldest Jewish congregation was founded in New York in 1654, Jewish immigration to the United States was small until the 1880s. After that it was relatively high until choked off by the 1925 restrictions designed to limit ethnically undesirable immigrants. Jews had already established flourishing communities in the interim, however, and were busy speaking, writing, and publishing in their own melting-pot language, which combined influences from Hebrew, German, and other European languages. For the past 130 years, Yiddish has given America a rainbow of fun, silly, and just plain useful terms.
A surprisingly large number of English words from Yiddish are devoted to insulting name-calling. In fact, there are so many insults that I had to break it down into categories and subcategories. Consider the following:
People Worthy of Your Scorn
Subcategory: Fools
schlub: a stupid, worthless, or unattractive person (from the Yiddish zhlob or zhlub meaning yokel or boor; Merriam-Webster‘s online, hereafter M-W).
schmegeggy: a contemptible person, an idiot (Oxford English Dictionary online, hereafter OED).
shmendrik: a contemptible, foolish, or immature person (the name of a character in an operetta by Yiddish-language playwright Abraham Goldfaden; OED).
schmo: an idiot, a fool (delightfully described in the OED as “a person who stands watching a machine make doughnuts, and [1] cannot understand the process, [2] cannot get up will power to leave”).
schnook: a dupe, a sucker; a simpleton, a dope; a pitiful wretch (OED).
Subcategory: Everyone Else
klutz: a clumsy person (from the Yiddish for “wooden beam,” from Middle High German klozmeaning “lumpy mass”; M-W).
nebbish: a timid, meek, or ineffectual person. Note that this is a noun, not an adjective (M-W).
pisher: a young, inexperienced, or insignificant person (OED).
schlemiel: an unlucky bungler; a chump (M-W). See “schlimazel” below.
schlimazel: a consistently unlucky, accident-prone person, a “born loser” (OED). The classical explanation of this idiomatic idea is that the schlemiel chronically spills the soup, but the schlimazel is the one the soup always seems to get spilled on.
People Who Complain
noodge: a person who persistently complains or nags; a pest, a bore (OED).
kvetch: a habitual complainer (from the Yiddishkvetshn, literally, to squeeze or pinch, from Middle High German quetsche; M-W). Note that this is more often used as a verb.
People Who Are Interpersonally Annoying
nudnik: a person who is a bore or nuisance (from Polish nudzić, from nuda boredom; M-W).
schmuck: a jerk; literally, penis (M-W).
schnorrer: a beggar, especially one who wheedles others into supplying his wants (M-W).
People Who Infuriate You
ganef or gonif: a thief, a rascal (from the Hebrewgannābh, also meaning thief; M-W)
mamzer: a bastard (both literally and figuratively; OED). A mamzer is clever at dishonestly turning things to his own advantage.
meshuggener: a foolish or crazy person (M-W).
People Who Infuriate You in a Seriously Non-PC Way
schvartze: a depreciative term for a black man (OED).
shiksa: a derogatory word for a non-Jewish woman (or, in moments of internecine nastiness, Orthodox people also use it for Jewish females who do not follow Jewish precepts). This comes from the Hebrew word for “blemish” or “abomination” (M-W).
People Doing the Name-Calling (i.e., Gossips)
kibitzer: one who looks on and often offers unwanted advice or comment, or, in general, voices opinions (M-W).
yenta: one that meddles; a blabbermouth, a gossip. This descends from the first name Yente (M-W).
Essential Yiddish Words
The Yiddish language is a wonderful
source of rich expressions, especially terms of endearment (and of course,
complaints and insults). This article is a follow up on Ten Yiddish
Expressions You Should Know. Jewish scriptwriters introduced many
Yiddish words into popular culture, which often changed the original meanings
drastically. You might be surprised to learn how much Yiddish you already
speak, but also, how many familiar words actually mean something different in
real Yiddish.
A good homemaker, a woman who’s in charge of her home and will make sure you
remember it.
Or bisl – a little bit.
Or bobe. It means Grandmother, and bobeshi is the
more affectionate form. Bubele is a similarly affectionate
word, though it isn’t in Yiddish dictionaries.
Not a word for polite company. Bubkes or bobkes may
be related to the Polish word for “beans”, but it really means “goat droppings”
or “horse droppings.” It’s often used by American Jews for “trivial, worthless,
useless, a ridiculously small amount” – less than nothing, so to speak. “After
all the work I did, I got bupkes!”
Or khutspe. Nerve, extreme arrogance, brazen presumption. In
English,chutzpah often connotes courage or confidence, but among
Yiddish speakers, it is not a compliment.
An expression of disgust or disapproval, representative of the sound of
spitting.
Or glitsh. Literally “slip,” “skate,” or “nosedive,” which was the
origin of the common American usage as “a minor problem or error.”
More polite than bupkes, and also implies a strong sense of
nothing; used in phrases such as “gornisht helfn” (beyond help).
A non-Jew, a Gentile. As in Hebrew, one Gentile is a goy, many Gentiles are
goyim, the non-Jewish world in general is “the goyim.” Goyish is
the adjective form. Putting mayonnaise on a pastrami sandwich is goyish.
Putting mayonnaise on a pastrami sandwich on white bread is even more goyish.
In Yiddish, it’s spelled kibets, and it’s related to the Hebrew
“kibbutz” or “collective.” But it can also mean verbal joking, which after all
is a collective activity. It didn’t originally mean giving unwanted advice
about someone else’s game – that’s an American innovation.
Or better yet, klots. Literally means “a block of wood,” so it’s
often used for a dense, clumsy or awkward person. See schlemiel.
Something that’s acceptable to Orthodox Jews, especially food. Other Jews may
also “eat kosher” on some level but are not required to. Food that Orthodox
Jews don’t eat – pork, shellfish, etc. – is called traif. An
observant Jew might add, “Both pork and shellfish are doubtlessly very tasty. I
simply am restricted from eating it.” In English, when you hear something that
seems suspicious or shady, you might say, “That doesn’t sound kosher.”
In popular English, kvetch means “complain, whine or fret,”
but in Yiddish, kvetsh literally means “to press or squeeze,”
like a wrong-sized shoe. Reminds you of certain chronic complainers, doesn’t
it? But it’s also used on Yiddish web pages for “click” (Click Here).
Pronounced meyven. An expert, often used sarcastically.
Or mazltof. Literally “good luck,” (well, literally, “good
constellation”) but it’s a congratulation for what just happened, not a hopeful
wish for what might happen in the future. When someone gets married or has a
child or graduates from college, this is what you say to them. It can also be
used sarcastically to mean “it’s about time,” as in “It’s about time you
finished school and stopped sponging off your parents.”
An honorable, decent person, an authentic person, a person who helps you when
you need help. Can be a man, woman or child.
Insanity or craziness. A meshugener is a crazy man. If you
want to insult someone, you can ask them, ”Does it hurt to be crazy?”
Or mishpokhe or mishpucha. It means “family,” as
in “Relax, you’re mishpocheh. I’ll sell it to you at wholesale.”
Or nash. To nibble; a light snack, but you won’t be light if you
don’t stop noshing. Can also describe plagarism, though not always in a bad
sense; you know, picking up little pieces for yourself.
A general word that calls for a reply. It can mean, “So?” “Huh?” “Well?”
“What’s up?” or “Hello?”
Exclamation of dismay, grief, or exasperation. The phrase “oy vey iz mir” means
“Oh, woe is me.” “Oy gevalt!” is like oy vey, but expresses fear, shock or
amazement. When you realize you’re about to be hit by a car, this expression
would be appropriate.
Or plats. Literally, to explode, as in aggravation. “Well, don’t
plotz!” is similar to “Don’t have a stroke!” or “Don’t have a cow!” Also used
in expressions such as, “Oy, am I tired; I just ran the four-minute mile. I
could just plotz.” That is, collapse.
It means “deep peace,” and isn’t that a more meaningful greeting than “Hi, how
are ya?”
To drag, traditionally something you don’t really need; to carry unwillingly.
When people “shlep around,” they are dragging themselves, perhaps slouchingly.
On vacation, when I’m the one who ends up carrying the heavy suitcase I begged
my wife to leave at home, I shlep it.
A clumsy, inept person, similar to a klutz (also a Yiddish word). The kind of
person who always spills his soup.
Cheap, shoddy, or inferior, as in, “I don’t know why I bought this schlocky
souvenir.”
Someone with constant bad luck. When the shlemiel spills his soup, he probably
spills it on the shlimazel. Fans of the TV sitcom “Laverne and Shirley”
remember these two words from the Yiddish-American hopscotch chant that opened
each show.
A jerk, a stupid person, popularized in The Last Unicorn and Welcome
Back Kotter.
Excessively sentimental, gushing, flattering, over-the-top, corny. This word
describes some of Hollywood’s most famous films. From shmaltz,
which means chicken fat or grease.
Chat, make small talk, converse about nothing in particular. But at Hollywood
parties, guests often schmooze with people they want to impress.
Often used as an insulting word for a self-made fool, but you shouldn’t use it
in polite company at all, since it refers to male anatomy.
A long, involved sales pitch, as in, “I had to listen to his whole spiel before
I found out what he really wanted.” From the German word forplay.
A non-Jewish woman, all too often used derogatorily. It has the connotation of
“young and beautiful,” so referring to a man’s Gentile wife or girlfriend as
a shiksa implies that his primary attraction was her good
looks. She is possibly blonde. A shagetz or sheygets means
a non-Jewish boy, and has the connotation of a someone who is unruly, even
violent.
Or shmuts. Dirt – a little dirt, not serious grime. If a little boy
has shmutz on his face, and he likely will, his mother will quickly wipe it
off. It can also mean dirty language. It’s not nice to talk shmutz about
shmutz. A current derivation, “schmitzig,” means a “thigamabob” or a “doodad,”
but has nothing to do with filth.
Something you’re known for doing, an entertainer’s routine, an actor’s bit,
stage business; a gimmick often done to draw attention to yourself.
Or tshatshke. Knick-knack, little toy, collectible or giftware. It
also appears in sentences such as, “My brother divorced his wife for some
little tchatchke.” You can figure that one out.
Or tsores. Serious troubles, not minor annoyances. Plagues of lice,
gnats, flies, locusts, hail, death… now, those were tsuris.
Rear end, bottom, backside, buttocks. In proper Yiddish, it’s spelledtuchis or tuches or tokhis,
and was the origin of the American slang wordtush.
Female busybody or gossip. At one time, high-class parents gave this name to
their girls (after all, it has the same root as “gentle”), but it gained the
Yiddish meaning of “she-devil”. The matchmaker in “Fiddler on the Roof” was
named Yente (and she certainly was a yente though maybe not
very high-class), so many people mistakenly think that yente means
matchmaker.
Smart person. Literally means “Jewish head.” I don’t want to know whatgoyisher
kop means.
Links
Yiddish Language and
Culture – history of Yiddish, alphabet, literature, theater, music,
etc.
Grow A Brain Yiddish
Archive – the Beatles in Yiddish, the Yiddish Hillbillies, the
Pirates of Penzance in Yiddish, etc.
A good homemaker, a woman who’s in charge of her home and will make sure you remember it.
Or bisl – a little bit.
Or bobe. It means Grandmother, and bobeshi is the more affectionate form. Bubele is a similarly affectionate word, though it isn’t in Yiddish dictionaries.
Not a word for polite company. Bubkes or bobkes may be related to the Polish word for “beans”, but it really means “goat droppings” or “horse droppings.” It’s often used by American Jews for “trivial, worthless, useless, a ridiculously small amount” – less than nothing, so to speak. “After all the work I did, I got bupkes!”
Or khutspe. Nerve, extreme arrogance, brazen presumption. In English,chutzpah often connotes courage or confidence, but among Yiddish speakers, it is not a compliment.
An expression of disgust or disapproval, representative of the sound of spitting.
Or glitsh. Literally “slip,” “skate,” or “nosedive,” which was the origin of the common American usage as “a minor problem or error.”
More polite than bupkes, and also implies a strong sense of nothing; used in phrases such as “gornisht helfn” (beyond help).
A non-Jew, a Gentile. As in Hebrew, one Gentile is a goy, many Gentiles are goyim, the non-Jewish world in general is “the goyim.” Goyish is the adjective form. Putting mayonnaise on a pastrami sandwich is goyish. Putting mayonnaise on a pastrami sandwich on white bread is even more goyish.
In Yiddish, it’s spelled kibets, and it’s related to the Hebrew “kibbutz” or “collective.” But it can also mean verbal joking, which after all is a collective activity. It didn’t originally mean giving unwanted advice about someone else’s game – that’s an American innovation.
Or better yet, klots. Literally means “a block of wood,” so it’s often used for a dense, clumsy or awkward person. See schlemiel.
Something that’s acceptable to Orthodox Jews, especially food. Other Jews may also “eat kosher” on some level but are not required to. Food that Orthodox Jews don’t eat – pork, shellfish, etc. – is called traif. An observant Jew might add, “Both pork and shellfish are doubtlessly very tasty. I simply am restricted from eating it.” In English, when you hear something that seems suspicious or shady, you might say, “That doesn’t sound kosher.”
In popular English, kvetch means “complain, whine or fret,” but in Yiddish, kvetsh literally means “to press or squeeze,” like a wrong-sized shoe. Reminds you of certain chronic complainers, doesn’t it? But it’s also used on Yiddish web pages for “click” (Click Here).
Pronounced meyven. An expert, often used sarcastically.
Or mazltof. Literally “good luck,” (well, literally, “good constellation”) but it’s a congratulation for what just happened, not a hopeful wish for what might happen in the future. When someone gets married or has a child or graduates from college, this is what you say to them. It can also be used sarcastically to mean “it’s about time,” as in “It’s about time you finished school and stopped sponging off your parents.”
An honorable, decent person, an authentic person, a person who helps you when you need help. Can be a man, woman or child.
Insanity or craziness. A meshugener is a crazy man. If you want to insult someone, you can ask them, ”Does it hurt to be crazy?”
Or mishpokhe or mishpucha. It means “family,” as in “Relax, you’re mishpocheh. I’ll sell it to you at wholesale.”
Or nash. To nibble; a light snack, but you won’t be light if you don’t stop noshing. Can also describe plagarism, though not always in a bad sense; you know, picking up little pieces for yourself.
A general word that calls for a reply. It can mean, “So?” “Huh?” “Well?” “What’s up?” or “Hello?”
Exclamation of dismay, grief, or exasperation. The phrase “oy vey iz mir” means “Oh, woe is me.” “Oy gevalt!” is like oy vey, but expresses fear, shock or amazement. When you realize you’re about to be hit by a car, this expression would be appropriate.
Or plats. Literally, to explode, as in aggravation. “Well, don’t plotz!” is similar to “Don’t have a stroke!” or “Don’t have a cow!” Also used in expressions such as, “Oy, am I tired; I just ran the four-minute mile. I could just plotz.” That is, collapse.
It means “deep peace,” and isn’t that a more meaningful greeting than “Hi, how are ya?”
To drag, traditionally something you don’t really need; to carry unwillingly. When people “shlep around,” they are dragging themselves, perhaps slouchingly. On vacation, when I’m the one who ends up carrying the heavy suitcase I begged my wife to leave at home, I shlep it.
A clumsy, inept person, similar to a klutz (also a Yiddish word). The kind of person who always spills his soup.
Cheap, shoddy, or inferior, as in, “I don’t know why I bought this schlocky souvenir.”
Someone with constant bad luck. When the shlemiel spills his soup, he probably spills it on the shlimazel. Fans of the TV sitcom “Laverne and Shirley” remember these two words from the Yiddish-American hopscotch chant that opened each show.
A jerk, a stupid person, popularized in The Last Unicorn and Welcome Back Kotter.
Excessively sentimental, gushing, flattering, over-the-top, corny. This word describes some of Hollywood’s most famous films. From shmaltz, which means chicken fat or grease.
Chat, make small talk, converse about nothing in particular. But at Hollywood parties, guests often schmooze with people they want to impress.
Often used as an insulting word for a self-made fool, but you shouldn’t use it in polite company at all, since it refers to male anatomy.
A long, involved sales pitch, as in, “I had to listen to his whole spiel before I found out what he really wanted.” From the German word forplay.
A non-Jewish woman, all too often used derogatorily. It has the connotation of “young and beautiful,” so referring to a man’s Gentile wife or girlfriend as a shiksa implies that his primary attraction was her good looks. She is possibly blonde. A shagetz or sheygets means a non-Jewish boy, and has the connotation of a someone who is unruly, even violent.
Or shmuts. Dirt – a little dirt, not serious grime. If a little boy has shmutz on his face, and he likely will, his mother will quickly wipe it off. It can also mean dirty language. It’s not nice to talk shmutz about shmutz. A current derivation, “schmitzig,” means a “thigamabob” or a “doodad,” but has nothing to do with filth.
Something you’re known for doing, an entertainer’s routine, an actor’s bit, stage business; a gimmick often done to draw attention to yourself.
Or tshatshke. Knick-knack, little toy, collectible or giftware. It also appears in sentences such as, “My brother divorced his wife for some little tchatchke.” You can figure that one out.
Or tsores. Serious troubles, not minor annoyances. Plagues of lice, gnats, flies, locusts, hail, death… now, those were tsuris.
Rear end, bottom, backside, buttocks. In proper Yiddish, it’s spelledtuchis or tuches or tokhis, and was the origin of the American slang wordtush.
Female busybody or gossip. At one time, high-class parents gave this name to their girls (after all, it has the same root as “gentle”), but it gained the Yiddish meaning of “she-devil”. The matchmaker in “Fiddler on the Roof” was named Yente (and she certainly was a yente though maybe not very high-class), so many people mistakenly think that yente means matchmaker.
Smart person. Literally means “Jewish head.” I don’t want to know whatgoyisher kop means.
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kan leiot 100 milim ze ata charih ladot.
Literaly “to stuff.” Used as a euphemism for sex. “He stopped shtupping his shiksa after she gained weight.”
2) Shnorren – to beg or mooch
3) Versteh – understand, get it? – use in place of “capeesh” (from Italian, capire) for a one word interrogative for “Do you understand? ”
4) Macher – a “hot shot” or “big wig”
5) Zaftig – buxom or hefty (but in a good way)
Jim
the Orthodox Jewish community knew to rely on in turning
on electricity, light. fire, other activities they were forbidden
to do themselves
mentsh > Mensch (man)
kop > kopf (head)
nosh > gnash (snack)
spiel > Spiel (play)
gornischt > nichts (nothing)
schmutz > schmutz (dirt)
Versteh – German: verstehen, to understand (Verstehst du das?)
Macher – German: machen, to make; Macher: an accomplisher
Zaftig – German: saftig, from Saft=juice; ein saftiges Bussgeld – a heavy fine
Linguistic says.
Your comment is worthless – several commented here already about the obvious German cognates with Yiddish. Nothing new – both Yiddish and modern High German stem from the older Middle High German. Yiddish also borrows from Slavic languages (e.g., Polish and Russian), as well as Semitic tongues (e.g., using the Hebrew aphabet). My post just suggested some other Yiddish words – that are used in vernacular English – for possible inclusion on a future list here. Just some constructive commentary on my part. Maybe you should try that, instead of making useless, persnickety comments about other posts. No one is impressed that you can conjugate a few German verbs. Und ja, Ich kenne andere Sprache – zum Beispiel, Italienisch: “Va’ fanculo!!”
Regarding the shlemiel and shlimazel, I learned a slightly different definition. Basically the shlemiel spills the soup on himself, and the shlimazel spills the soup on the person sitting next to him. The nebish (or nebich not sure on the spelling) sits next to the shlimazel…
nebbish (n) An innocuous, ineffectual, weak, helpless or hapless unfortunate.”
It’s a funny language, very funny. Try to develope the issue. Daniel Levy
shalom
hhp
Or mishpokhe or mishpucha. It means “family,” as in “Relax, you’re mishpocheh. I’ll sell it to you at wholesale.”
Thanks…
you invented it.
love that word. usually accompanied with a Bissel.
so discriptive of a neurotic person.
Now that it’s almost Purim this word is heard every day in the meaning “play” as in performance. The “Purim Speil” is the re-enactment of the story of Queen Esther and her Uncle Mordechai who saved the Jews in ancient Persia under King Achashverosh and the evil Haman.
Shabbat Shalom from Israel.
Kishkeh is literally intestine. The kishkeh that some people eat (NOT ME!) is the intestine of a cow stuffed like a sausage but with grains, spices, probably onions fried in schmaltz. The stuffed kishkeh is then cooked in a pot with vegetables and water.
Lo aleynu, but a lot of people love it.
Sottish haggis resembles it.
I use schmutz, schmaltz, schtick, tuchus, tchotchke, spiel, chutzpah, and many more on a daily basis without thinking.
Yiddish Civilization: The Rise & Fall of A Forgotten Nation, A Vintage Book 2005 ISBN10:1-40000-3377-2
Another fine example of superstition and tribalism that has plagued the Middle East for centuries.
My husband is “a Goy”, and he loves to learn yiddish words from my childhood.
One day at the table he announced to my father and my self that he wanted his own ” Knippis Money”.
After all the giggles died down we explained to him that knippis money is what the wife hides in her bra in case her husband runs away with the blonde down the street.
Look around you and see the beauty in the world Miquel..not the ignorant ramblings found in college dorm rooms.
When growing up I often remember my parents telling each other to “Kush meer in Toches!” Always said in jest however…
was shmoozing a yenta named Gert
kibbitzing all cutesy and coy
his shtick was so thick she was hurt.
your kvetching’s offensive and gay,
you’re such a non-kosher shlemiel
just shtup me and be on your way!”
By the way u shud add meis kiet n drai mit nir kain kot -which means leave me alone or dont bother me.
Thus, for about the last sixty years, Yiddish has remained almost literally my emotive mamaloschen, romantically preserved in my memory a a kind of Platonic mother tongue. Schmaltzy or not, it’s sometimes hard for me to hear or see it without feeling my face start to smile or my eyes tear up. So this site, & especially this discussion, which I’ve just read instead of working on a paper due tomorrow at 1PM, is bittersweet for more than one reason.
The Nazi war machine didn’t just murder a third of world Jewry, it inadvertently vindicated Zionism’s ardently national-colonial project as it wiped-out the Bund’s competing Yiddishist autonomism, along with the rest of “Ashkanzia’s” wonderful borrowed, demotic, mongrel, exilic culture, including of course, its crown jewel (& sometime schmuck)–sarcastic, secular Yiddish. Still, as a fine & famous goyische US writer, recently deceased, was fond of, & famous for, saying, “There are no unmixed blessings.”
Amen I guess.
Bakshish – bribe
Hashish – hashish
Assasin – assasin
oh and
Algebra
It is not amazing that you can read my mind? Who is “wanting to smear and misrepresent”?
Thank you for the update. I really was not aware that there were more Arabic words in English. Perhaps you could write an article on Arabic in English usage for this website. I would like to read it.
Sincerely
Baruch
Medieval Christiandom, aka Europe, emerging from its “Dark Ages,” learned both algebra & zero from its Arab neighbors & opponents, along with a lots else. However, these technologies had been developed centuries earlier by Hindu mathematicians, who had themselves borrowed some ideas from classical Greece.
Once upon a time, the Germanic lands were made of different tribes. Cultures began to spread, as cultures will do, and English started forming just West of these tribes. There were some battles, and the places forming English generally put the losing side of the German language inside the “Commoner’s words” that everyone would use, such as “Hand”. French became the influence on the winning side, in those who gained money for things such as “Antiques” and “Banquets”, French words that became common English. There was also a mix of Latin. The end.
Not on you, Ruby- no, you need harsh words to help understand some ideals obviously not ever placed on you.
you invented it.”
Please say more about your rejection of the characterization of Yiddish being, “German written with the Hebrew alphabet.”
Thanks so much–really appreciate the indicative remarks. If I get a taste for linguistic detail, I’ll check out Jacobs…
“…draw you a map on a beverage napkin at a bar to show the 4 dialects of yiddish and how it evolved…”
The German language belongs to the indo-european language family and uses the Roman alphabet. Persian (farsi) is likewise an indo-european language; however, it uses the Arabic alphabet and in some regions the Cyrillic alphabet. Which does not detract from the main thrust of your argument, although your statement is incorrect.
Many thanks,
Azar
Some years ago I discovered that Gabby Hayes’ nickname, “Crazy Old Galoot” was derived from/related to Jewish peddlers in the West, living far from their families/synagogues, scratching out a living as the ultimate non-conformists to WASP culture, living in the /galoot/ (diaspora).
Great site and a very interesting discussion.
@ Jenn . You wrote “yiddisch…it is NOT derived from german” and that sounds quite odd to me.
If Yiddisch did not derive from German, either the German language derived from Yiddisch (which it did not, since German came to the Rhineland long before Yiddisch), or the two languages have different roots.
But since the two languages seem to share grammar and most of the words I do not think that you can seriously claim that they have different roots, at least not from a linguistic point of view.
So as I see it Yiddisch is a germanic language, it has derived from German and it has over the centuries evolved further away from German, both in spelling, pronounciation and by adding new loan words. Or did I miss anything?
I can not imagine that galoot is related in Yiddish to “golus” (exile). I thought galoot was Irish.
And further on, in the Middle Ages I have understood that Yiddisch was called “taytsh” (טײַטש), compared to “tiutsch” (the name om German had developed).
This is not about history, culture or ethnicity, my view concerns only the linguistic aspects.
Thanks! Anna
bupkes – bubkis
kvetsh – kvetch
mishegas – mishugas
plotz – platz
mishpocheh – mishpacha
shlemiel – shlamiel
shlimazel – shlamazel
shikse – shiksa
Bubula: same thing except this can be said to a man or Bubbee
I had numerous Jewish friends some years ago ’till I moved and lost touch.
Their conversation was always sprinkled with Yiddish words that had me saying “What’s that mean? What’s that mean?”
They thought I was meshuggenah.(spelling)
Perhaps it is not extremely common, but a german will understand meshuga, and that word came from hebrew (crazyness).
What about “mischmasch”?
But I can never remember how to spell tchotchkes, which is how I found this site.
Yiddish so incredibly descriptive that it often takes a full paragraph in English to define one Yiddish word. Niall’s post above on the definition of chutzpah is my favorite.
And the slight, but definite distinctions between words like meshuggineh, mishegoss and meshugge. They all sort of mean crazy, but….
For any of you who enjoy science fiction, there’s a wonderful book out there that uses a great deal of Yiddish. “Wandering Stars: An Anthology of Jewish Fantasy and Science Fiction.” there are 13 stories, an introduction by Isaac Asimov, and Harlan Ellison added a wonderful glossary of Yiddish words at the end. It was first printed in the 70′s, but sites like abebooks,com may have copies.
Mazel Tov!
I have surfed around a bit looking for Yiddisch texts written in Latin alfabet, but haven’t been very successful. Anyone that could give any online – or offline – suggestions?
Exclamation of dismay, grief, or exasperation. The phrase “oy vey iz mir” means “Oh, woe is me.” “Oy gevalt!” is like oy vey, but expresses fear, shock or amazement. When you realize you’re about to be hit by a car, this expression would be appropriate.
To drag, traditionally something you don’t really need; to carry unwillingly. When people “shlep around,” they are dragging themselves, perhaps slouchingly. On vacation, when I’m the one who ends up carrying the heavy suitcase I begged my wife to leave at home, I shlep it.
Lovely language personaly. Would be nice more people command a comprehension of yiddish, and, we all know we command a comprehension
Whenever I read this information I’m reminded of my awareness’ to the strong reality of my life being translated & vice/versa. I changed my name, in part, because my original name reminded me ‘What are you waiting for, the messiah? Hurry up!’ and the name change is my expression of I stopped questioning humans and moved into the next phase.
I’m just concerned a little help might be required protecting people with names newbies to a language might suddenly become suspicious of. Hopefully we have more heart to understand this point than the oil we use to.
Helps me that much!
(Heres) ” to my french girlfriends
Dominating the competion ‘Translate Life’ is consuming, especial as a very expresive entity.
I just find conversation with humans in all of this more effective subjected to spanish inquisiton protocol, and there is still way too much already here. Human difficulty I find is borne of humans explaining implied truth for all life and then freed to explore futher in the universes.
But at the time Yiddish was created, this word had by far left the Proto Germanic era and was then a German, not a Germanic, word.
Therefore I would say that Yiddish and German words does not share a common root, but Yiddish has borrowed the word from German.
http://www.yivoinstitute.org/about/index.php?tid=57&aid=146
You might say: I picked up a few tchatchkes on my trip to Niagra Falls. Quite different from: I picked up a few tsatskes on my trip…
An honorable, decent person, an authentic person, a person who helps you when you need help. Can be a man, woman or child.
Insanity or craziness. A meshugener is a crazy man. If you want to insult someone, you can ask them, ”Does it hurt to be crazy?”
Yiddish is with no doubt an allegory of many languages however it is not an invention per se.
It is the native tongue of the Khazar tribes that became the Ashkenazi.
I can easily say “Good day” the implied sentiment is just that, to have a good day – Why say Shalom when I can say “Good day”.
Q. Are Jews a race? NO they are not – When did you lose your semitic connection/s – NB Jews are not Semitic in the main they are Turkic Finn aka White Fellas.
Once again Yid is the native tonue of your Khazar fore fathers -FACT.
So is there a Catholic race – NO.
I have noticed that when a Jew feels threatened that racism and crazy come to pass.
I wish the Torah followers all the best – As for Mishna we are all Goy.
Now if separatism is not in fact racism what is?
Cris
Finally the machine says to him something like, your name is Eddy Goldstein, you live in Golders Green, your wife’s name is Sadie and <<>>, you’ve missed your train.
In all the time I was enjoying the comments I could not shake a comment by Mike *19…… I’m not normally given to political outburst but my cage was rattled…
……’Yes, there is definitely overreaching by some Iraeli’s on the part of their neighbours’…..
Is that what they call the blatant genocide of an ancient people these days where you come from Mike.. ‘overreaching’…..
Will someone explain where this whole anti-semitic thing comes from since 85%+ of modern day Jewry are descendants of Khazars (7th Century Khazar king went eeny meeny mynee mo….Islam Christianity or Judaism……) with not a single drop of semitic blood in them. Oh.. by the way, the same lie’s that is the basis of the pretext of stealing Palestine.
Here’s a couple of good words ‘spine’ and ‘accuracy’… So.. let’s ‘av it right shall we …
English is basically two languages joined together: Anglo-Saxon and French (and most English words come from French/Latin). The French and Latin terms are more abstract and generally those of an overclass (the Norman and French rulers of England). The Anglo-Saxon words are, in general, more earthy, emotional, onomatopoeic, and usually punchily monosyllabic: squelch, slug, stink (compare ‘odour’ from the French!) and so on.
The Yiddish terms mainly seem to come from the same ancient word hoard, and thus they sound meaningful to us even when we don’t know their exact meaning.
Add to that an injection of Jewish wit and humour, and you’ve got some gems!
Give it a name. My Arabic is scratchy but I’m know they had a name for the land. I’m talking about the people who have lived there for thousands of years not the racist dopplegangers that stole it.
Your last sentence was very revealing. No… the world wouldn’t stand for you ‘to finish’… so you play the slow game as you always have. Pls… I’ve been to Israel… save it for the dumb Goy…
I deeply apologize to anyone upset by my comments.
Second he introduced a lot of hate in this basically “peacefull” list, and including comments that are completely off subject, that is “yidish”.
Third, regarding the supposed sentence of the ex Tel Aviv mayor, I completely believe it’s a complete antisemite lie, exactly the same as infamous “The Protocols”. Also I couldn’t find references to it in internet.
And finally he shouts so loud his incredibly hate, I’m sure he’s sick (of hate) and he should be expulsed from the site.
Just the fact that you mention “The Protocols” as a valid source after one hundred years that only people who hate jews believe on it, but not normal people, relieves me of trying to answer you.
Then you make a difference between “rank and file Jews” and “criminal Zionists”. This is enough, and you don’t deserve any answer.
However as you believe you are the owner of the truth.
So I beg to you to take off your lenses and go learn the real story.
And I insist to the list moderators, to forbid you from accessing this thematic list.
Look for medical advice, before going learn history.
May be this will help you.
And you insist that I go and read The Protocols. Are you insane or what???
Like you, I have read it and it should be obvious to anyone that “The Protocols” is a product of someones imagination.
And I might add since it is not written in Yiddish, it is a bit off topic
Seriously though.. don’t you get it. It’s only human to vent through frustration. I didn’t stop to think where I was. When one see’s image’s of screaming children scared to death after their father has been shot in front of them preceding their house being bulldozed flat…or to once again sit and listen to Mark Regev and his sickening lies when we know Mossad had seven specific targets for execution on the recent aid floatila……. it kind of sticks in the craw…. get it ?
But you should know…. the parties over… People ARE waking up so I should expect some more ‘inappropriate’ (ahhemm) responses… Adios amigos..
You were ALL right. What I said was inappropriate and my words here are not going to be sufficient to communicate how infantile I feel I’ve been. Not very smart was I ?
I”m sure there’s a whole series of Yiddish words that say it well, as only Yiddish can. Feel free !!!
I am sorry if I hurt anyone’s feelings which I know I have and I ask your forgiveness.
It won’t happen again.
With your permission I’ll excuse myself from the site.
It is not a stolen language from the germans… it is a mix of german ,polish, russian… and is uniqully jewish….. one of the only languages most jews can speak to one another with, and be understood… unless they speak hebrew… not all speak hebrew… yiddish is almost universal…….
One addition, that surprisingly hasn’t been mentioned so far, is “Lansman,” as in a greeting to a fellow speaker of the language, or countryman.
One modification I’ll offer is for my very favorite Yiddish word, “kvell.” One reader said it meant swell with pride, which, to my knowledge, is true as far as it goes, but, the extra kick that makes it a favorite is my understanding that it is almost always used to mean to swell with pride at the accomplishments of your child — a lovely and unique Yiddish word indeed.
Thank you for this lovely site.
Fascinating dialogue, despite some of the irrelevent and attention-grabbing hate speech. Ruby, your comment re stealing language was shameful and totally incorrect. Listen to Jenn already, she’s the voice of reason.
MESHUGGAH
(come on folks –if we’re truly interested in an honest discussion about how Yiddish is used, let’s be frank — “shiksa” and “shvartza” and others have been used in the past with negative connotation. Not suggesting it’s appropriate to continue to do so — but let’s not pretend to be surprised!)
To address, the pedigree of Yiddish, let me say, that while it did begin as middle ages High German, it adopted words from each country where Jews lived. As a result, many speakers of many tongues can recognize words from their languages. I absolutely loved the observation by Robert Aitchison (#11) who said that Yiddish is middle age Ebonics. This was true for all Yiddish speakers until today.
To the person, arguing about the theft of words from other languages, then as English speakers, we must admit to the same thievery. One of the reasons English is so difficult to master is its inconsistent and limited rules. The reason for this is that English is the mutt of the language kennel. We have adopted (stolen) words and rules from almost all the languages and language groups of Europe. This includes all the Romance languages including Latin. We have also stolen from the Greek, Scandinavian, Slavic language groups and others. In fact, I submit we are the most prolific language thieves in the Western world. So any carping about the lack of pedigree for Yiddish is due to a lack of understanding, or perhaps something more odious.
A South African , bluegum expression that caused my dad lots of angst when I used it , but being an anglo saxon victorian he could never bring himself to translate.
Even Jews I know here in Australia dont know what it means….!
The former is an untidy unkempt person, sometimes a child of wild disposition (“Oy vei, you look like a shlumper! Tidy up right away!”
first- about the Word “KIBITZER”
it has nothing to do with KIBUTZ (Except for the root which does imply gathering – for hebrew speakres)
In Yiddish it is a name for a begger (one who asks for handouts- trying to put two pennies together)
- in Yiddish slang it also means for a guy begging for attention and thus allways sticks his nose in, and gives advice.
and Naftali Arik- strictly speaking U R right: shelfish are “SHIKUTZ” or “SHERETZ” and not “TREIFE”, but “TREIFE” as the opposite of “COSHER” is generaly and widely acceptable.
I liked the article
At least that is how it sounded when my mother spoke it. It means a low-life or redneck or generally uncouth person/people.
7.- a nar bleib a nar … a fool remains a fool
8.- azoy brocht der kiegel … that is the way the cookie crumbles
*Kaput* : finished as in ‘I walked so much, my feet are going Kaput!’
*Kaput Gemacht* : totally finished.
*Alter Kaker/Terach* : Old Fart
there are much much more sharp words in Yiddish..
And, I don’t remember if anybody included it, but “bris” is the name given to the ceremony of circumcission.
the Sclamazle spills his soup on himself
the schmegeggie spills the schlamazel;s
soup on the schlemile and himself
Goy is also from Hebrew and literally means nation. The people of ha’goyim, the nations, of the world, were gentile, vs. ha’goy Yisrael (the nation of Israel) and thus, goy became a word to describe gentiles.
Bris is the Ashkenaz way of pronouncing the Hebrew word brit or brith, and literally means covenant. The Bris Mila is the covenant of the circumcision, shortened to Bris in everyday language.
I was going to comment about the word ‘treyf’ but someone else already handled that very capably. Glatt is another word that is sometimes used mistakenly. Some think glatt kosher means very kosher, but it actually refers to the the condition of the organs (lungs) of a slaughtered animal. After slaughter, the lungs will be inspected to ensure they are smooth (glatt) and not treyf (torn or ripped)
On another note, it is amazing how antisemitism creeps into discussions like these and even more amazing how such haters try to justify their hate.
Doug Ross
Goyim = cattle
One of the words-terms I have never heard is ‘ yoshkee pondray’-
She would say this when she saw a shrine in a back yard— does anyone know what it means?my childhood was filled with a zillion ‘gay shlof ins ‘
—sound familiar anyone.?
I hope that Jiddish thrives as a living language.
Born in the Bronx, 1950′s, I hear first said. I lived in a Jewish, Puerto Rican street, Fox street. A lot of Eastern Jews lived on my street, survivors.
Love the word mishegas, ja ja ja, o yes, I use that 2.
Spiel, when your running a c=scam on someone.
Bupkes~ you get nothing, ja ja ja bupkes.
It only became Yiddish when these Jews were no longer in Germany -
When they still lived in Germany, it was simply German, as spoken by all of the inhabitants.
In Eastern Europe – Poland, Ukraine, etc, is became the Jewish vernacular, and later (basically in the 19th century) a literary language, used for fiction, drama, poetry, etc. Most of the European classics were translated into Yiddish in the 19th-20h centuries.
Refer to: Yiddish theatre, Max Weinrich Institute, YIVO
Happy researching.
A bie gezundt.
Be well,
Helen, 91 and still swingin’.
sound+sense+gripe+joy+endearment+boiled vowels with cabbaged consonants. So delicious and somehow seaming to steam a promise of an expression for every impression possible; as if Yiddish can indent any dent in a dented heart. A body shop for whatever daily or more rare damaged might insult a human heart. In Yiddish, I thought maybe, there it is: the language that forgives every situation by digesting it with a nifty linguistic twist, tuck, lift. Thank You for the Language, whether we really “get it” yet, or don’t!! I know I have ancestry in the language but adoptions and wars and shifts and all the brack (made-up word), a thread can keep going that does not break. With that, I find myself noticing a line between respect for a culture and then a kind of joy that rises up all around it, like spelt (rustic wheat) through a bed-spring. How crucial is the respect for Yiddish (as artifact) as opposed to the joy that leaps up through its cadence, inflections, phonetic content and imagination? I lean toward joy because I do not have cachez in the culturally correct grasp of the language. Nonetheless, their is a grief in my chest that celebrates that fact and critically-celebrates my ignorance with some chagrin. And with it, 400-times more joy that this Yiddish permission to bust-up English into spelt somehow exists. What about the heart of a language resurrected for whatever good-hearted reason: does it receive any kind if blessing? Can it? Is there a Yiddish for our time; echoes of a spirit that never dies? Maybe the problems aren’t the same…and the Spirit has no problem with losing some problems to enjoy new ones, the fresh taste of language doing what languages have always done…chew through silence, less with the teeth and possibly more with the tonsils and the tongue. Cheers!!