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Yiddishkayt Newsletter
 
A Sweet New Year, a zisn yor - Rosh Hashone 2009/5770

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Dear Friend of Yiddish,

Leshone toyve!  Happy new year!

Rosh Hashone is next week and from all of us here at Yiddishkayt we wish you a zisn yor -- a sweet year.

This new year brings a completely new Yiddishkayt endeavor, our first-ever Yiddishkayt Folks-Grupe.  The Folks-Grupe (literally: People's Group) is a three-month Fellowship in Yiddish culture for young adults.  Help us make the program a success: apply today or spread the word by forwarding this email to potential applicants.  Learn more about the Folks-Grupe below.

Expect some exciting announcements soon, we're working on some great events later this fall.  In the meantime, you can catch Klezmer band The Shpil at Malabomba! next Thursday, the 17th.  And sign up to learn Yiddish this fall.  Our friends at the Arbeter Ring (Workmen's Circle) are offering classes at three levels starting October 5th.  More info below.

This month, The Vortsman is sounding a little down on his luck.  He used to get lots of emails from you, dear readers, on any number of Yiddish words and phrases, but queries dried up over the summer.  It's time to dust off those questions and email The Vortsman some sticky linguistical problems!  Regardless, The Vortsman shares his view on no less than three subjects, below.

Become a fan of Yiddishkayt on our brand new Facebook Page.  The paint is still drying on our wall but already you can check out interesting links and take our quiz.

In other news: Google Translate now translates Yiddish!  You are now free to translate from Yiddish to Welsh, or Swahili to Yiddish, or simply from English to Yiddish.  See it in action, check out the L.A. Times translated into Yiddish using Google.

The
Kugl Kukh-Off may have been over a year ago, but that didn't stop the LA Weekly's Jonathan Gold from dropping the kugl card in his biography of Evan Kleiman. Check it out in this year's "99 Essential L.A. Restaurants."

a zisn yor, a sweet year,

The Yiddishkayt Staff
fellowshipJOIN THE YIDDISHKAYT FELLOWSHIP!

Yiddishkayt invites you to cross the bridge of generations and become fluent in the culture of your ancestors.  Join the Yiddishkayt Folks-Grupe, a completely new educational experience for young adults.

Yiddishkayt Folks-Grupe

October to December 2009

Be a part of the first-ever Yiddishkayt Folks-Grupe, a three-month Fellowship dedicated to all aspects of Yiddish culture for young adults (roughly between the ages of 22 and 35).

From October to December, the Folks-Grupe (literally: People's Group) will meet nine times to explore the Jewish experience as seen in Yiddish literature, theater, music, film, food, politics, history and humor.

Fellows will be surrounded by Yiddish culture, learning from both premier scholars and an older generation of native speakers, providing a sense of historical perspective.  Applicants do not need to speak, read, or write Yiddish.  Though the entire Folks-Grupe will be conducted in English (and all materials will be in translation), each session will include a brief lesson on Yiddish language.  Fellows will also work together to create an online Journal, sharing their video, audio, photographs, and writings -- helping to document and preserve Yiddish culture.

More info on facebook and our website.

Download the application:  Download a Word file .doc  / Download a PDF file .pdf

The final date to submit an application is September 17, 2009.

Feel free to contact us with any questions.


Join the Folks-Grupe
upcomingOTHER UPCOMING EVENTS


9/17 Malabomba! presents The Shpil

Thursday, September 17 at 9:00 pm
Admission $5
Malabomba! at Bordello Bar
901 E. 1st St, Downtown L.A., 90012 (map)

Der ShpilCollecting songs from far and wide, The Shpil's repertoire ranges from authentic klezmer standards to downright obscure folk melodies to daring originals. Leaping shtetls and genres in a single bound, they're equally at home in bars and Bar Mitzvahs.

MALABOMBA! is LA's twice-monthly "Gypsy-spiced international dance party."  More info here.



10/5 Yiddish Classes begin at Arbeter Ring (Workmen's Circle)

Classes begin October 5th
Duration: 18 weeks
Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced Levels
Pricing varies by level, some scholarships available
All classes taught by Yakob Basner

At Arbeter Ring (Workmen's Circle)
1525 S. Robertson Boulevard, L.A., 90035 (map)

Marlon Brando reading the ForvertsLearn some mameloshn (mother-tongue) at the Arbeter Ring.  Unsure which class you belong in?  Not sure if Yiddish is for you?  Come October 5th and try a class for free!

For more information or to pre-register click here or call (310) 552-2007.


vortsmanTHE VORTSMAN - THREE FOR ONE

vortsmanThe Vortsman, meaning "man of his word," brings you the story of a different Yiddish word or phrase each month.

Written by Hershl Hartman, Long-time Yiddishkayt Board Member (and Education Director at the Sholem Community)


The Vortsman's email in-box has lately been as sparse as integrity on Wall Street, leading to two possible conclusions: either knowledge of Yiddish has become so widespread that his function has been downsized -- and you know what that means, these days -- or that his pseudo-expertise has led to outsourcing that function to scholars of greater note.  Same potential result, either way.

However, bravely ignoring ominous signs, a coupla emails and a telephone call have provided enough grist for this mill to keep grinding monthly (or weakly).

folg mikh a gang

An email asked for the meaning/English equivalent of folg mir a gayng.  After putting off the reply to this month's column, and informing the heavily galitsyaner inquirer that it's also pronounced gang, I enjoyed the nostalgic memories of my youth, when fellow-staffers at Camp Kinderland would break up when someone would utter the literal MIS-translation: "Obey me a walk."

Our mirthful error was in confusing the command form of the verb folgn, to obey, with the same form of nokhfolgn, to follow (after).  Thus, the phrase could be literally translated, correctly, as "Follow me on my path." The actual meaning, as Weinreich's dictionary notes, is "it's quite a long way."

(Weinreich also corrects the emailer -- and me -- by giving the Yiddish phrase as folg miKH a gang. The differences between mir and mikh, dir and dikh may be discussed in the future...or not.)

Yiddish for "Shut up!"

Then there was the query that asserted assurance that there was no Yiddish equivalent for "Shut up!" -- implying that mameloshn is too genteel for that. 

veys ikh vos -- baloney!

Here are only some of the many variants that The Vortsman has had directed at his own gentle soul: farmakh s'moyl...farmakh s'pisk...farhak s'moyl (pisk)...her shoyn oyf plaplen...etc.  farmakh is to close, as a door; farhak is to slam, as a door; s'moyl is a contraction of dos moyl, the (your) mouth; s'pisk is a contraction of dos pisk, the (your) snout; and, finally, which I shall now do on this subject: her shoyn oyf plaplen means: finish jabbering, already.

Yiddish for "Joe Blow"

A phone call from a long time Yiddishkayt stalwart wondered what might be the Yiddish equivalent of the common English slang expression for an average person: Joe Blow. Joe Blow in Yiddish is khaym yankl, names often given as Hyam, Yonkel, used disparagingly; or meyshe pipik, lit., Moses Bellybutton, in the Galician dialect; or abi ver, anybody, somewhat more eruditely.

I'm informed that a Very Well-Known, Popular Author in matters Yiddish opined that moyshe kapoyer is the equivalent of Joe Blow, a person who is, as he wrote, "ass-backwards." How wrong can a best-seller get? moyshe (meyshe) kapoyer, despite the proper name (see above) is not, in Yiddish folk-speech, a person -- but a thing that is topsy-turvy. I could go on about the derivation of the term and the further errors of The Author on this topic...but I gotta go check my email: maybe there are more queries for next month...or a pink slip.

_ _ _ _ _

Please help us fill The Vortsman's email in-box with questions, nothing would make him happier.  Send him an email and ask the meaning of a favorite, or confusing, word or phrase.
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