How NOT to write Yiddish

Circus Tent: די אידישע ארטיקלען · 25 מאי 2006, 16:30 · Hirshel Tzig - הירשל ציג

[בילד]

The issue on hand is somewhat irrelevant, although the flyer begs to be discussed as well.

Here's what it says:

לכ' די חברה מיט די גיפיצטע בערדאלאך פין אינזער הייליגער חברה
אין הייכעט צי די חברה מיט דעם פס עכו"ם אויפן גענאק
אין הייכעט צי די חברה וואס מאכען אינז בזיינות אין גאנץ שטאט
מיט זייער אמעריקאנער וועסטלאך א.ד.ג. אזוי ווי זק"א אדער הצלה
אין די וואס דרייען זעך ארים אין דער וועלט פארשטעלט אזוי וי האלבע גוים רח"ל
אי הייכעט צי די חברה וואס פארן ארים דא אין לאנד
אזוי ווי סי וואלט גיווען לית דין ולית דיין רח"ל

אין מער וילן מיר נישט מאריך זיין מטעמים מובנים וד"ל
אבער לאנג וועלן מיר זעך נישט איינהאלטן אין מיר וועלן מיזן מפרסם זין נעמען מיט בילדער
ראו הוזהרתם בחומרה רבה

דער זט"ה וועט הייכעט באקימען דעם צעטיל

It's apparently a Pashkevil thrown in Toldos Aron threatening to expose people with straight back haircuts (פס עכו"ם) - Pas is a line - and emergency worker vests who frequent certain places.

"הייכעט" is supposed to be אויך OR אייכעט

all words like און AND ארום AND קומען are written as they sound, using the Yud instead of the Vov, sort of like in Soviet Birobidjan, except that they do use the שלאס אותיות

I guess Yiddish is still written as it sounds in the Holy Land, at least in the bowels of מאה שערים

16 תגובות

Anonymous · 26 מאי 2006, 03:33

Israeli Chadarim do not teach the boys how to read and write Yiddish. The girls, however, actually learn how to read and write. The result is that when the men write anything in Yiddish, there are a lot of mistakes. Adding an extra "heh" is very common, since Israelis don't aspirate the "heh".

Anonymous · 26 מאי 2006, 09:14

was in jerusalem for a couple of years, & actually heard some pronouncing א as a ה & so on.

Hirshel Tzig - הירשל ציג · 26 מאי 2006, 10:09

Tzib and anon

pronouncing is one thing, writing is another. That may be true about Chadorim that speak Hebrew as the 1st language, but in Toldos Aron where they ONLY speak Yiddish you'd think they'd know better, but I guess not.

Camp Runamok · 26 מאי 2006, 12:19

At least "Amerikaner Vestlach" is spelled correctly...

MEKUSHOR · 26 מאי 2006, 12:38

There used to be a guy in Boro Park that gave out a few pages every shabbos in a few shuls of chassidishe shtiklach, typed up (before there was this current inundation of sheimos on a weekly basis). Anyway, I remember getting a kick out of the spelling - Aharon (for example) was always spelled Haaron..

Anonymous · 26 מאי 2006, 12:46

There are words like בזיינות that cannot be excused, it's a Hebrew word after all. It is cute however.

Camp Runamok · 26 מאי 2006, 13:20

>There are words like בזיינות that cannot be excused, it's a Hebrew word after all.

Given that he concludes with the properly spelled hebrew sentence ראו הוזהרתם בחומרה רבה it is probably safe to say that the "misspelling" is intentional, though I have no idea as to why

Anonymous · 28 מאי 2006, 07:05

Just because you speak a language fluently does not mean that you know the official rules of spelling and grammar. Again, Israelis do not learn how to read and write Yiddish, so when they do write Yiddish it does not conform to standard spelling and grammar.

Anonymous · 28 מאי 2006, 07:08

And by the way, ALL Reb Arelach males speak fluent Hebrew as a first language (for the women, it is decidedly a second language). Israel is not America, where you can find heimishe yidden who cannot speak English. All chareidi Jews speak Hebrew, from Chevrom to Toldos Avrom Yitzchok.

Anonymous · 28 מאי 2006, 20:26

I don't understand what the pashevil is complaining about. Would someone please explain.

Anonymous · 29 מאי 2006, 10:56

hey hirshel as was at a lchaim last night and saw a friend from my days in motown- out of the blue- barak hamavrik- i asked him if he had a blog- this one intended- an's and he said nope but that's my older bro- anyways just thought i'd share the story- & keep up the great blog

Anonymous · 31 מאי 2006, 11:59

In Jerusalem Yiddish which is a varient of Lithuanian Yiddish (but not the real thing as they do not pronounce the cholom as a tseira, as the Rebbe did so clearly ) the alef is at time pronounced as a Heh
Some Hungarians also pronounce the Heh in a very emphatic manner. Thus we Litvishe Yidden say avas eylem, the Hungarians say ah-havas Olom. This explains the heh sound.
Most Charedim can not spell or wtite Yiddish, just look at DER YID, BLATT and the other Hyngarian Yiddish magazines that appear like mushrooms these days.
I bet the Jacobson boys find that a serious issue in recruiting new writers for their Yiddish paper.

Anonymous · 31 מאי 2006, 14:20

Re Jacobson boys having trouble getting new writers - I think you're right, why do you think they are using niftorim as writers lately. ;-)

I nominate Kurenitzer (shlita) to be the new (lihavdil) Nissen Gordon.

Anonymous · 31 מאי 2006, 20:44

Reb Nisan was a Talmid Chacham, a good writer , a capable organizer and a good sales person , as well as a likeable Jew.
I am none of these . Yerids hadeyres !

Anonymous · 1 יוני 2006, 00:21

Kurenitzer

The papers do know how to write, although the papers look like Pravda sometimes.

Anonymous · 1 יוני 2006, 15:49

The papers do know how to write Yiddish :if you really believe that DER YID and BLatt write Yiddish in any manner resembling normative and CORRECT Yiddish you : 1. Do not know Yiddish 2. Never read the Yiddish papers like Der Tog Morgen Zhurnal or the Forverts 3.Do not read the ALGEMEINER whose Yiddish actually is fairly good.4. Are a beleiver that most of the Yiddish vocabulary should be replaced with English words like asifa should be called a meeting as DER YID rutinely does.
Let me add few Hungarian Jews know Yiddish well. (Sandor Deutsch was a n exception) The pre War generation of Hungarian Jews even the frum ones spoke Hungarian, only the Marmorash and Carpatho-Russian Jews in greater Hungary spoke Yiddish exclusivly.. The others picked up some strange form of Yiddish in their yeshivoth. The frum women from pre war Hungary rarely knew Yiddish at all as they did not go to yeshiva.
Thus the American Hungarian Chassidim not only are the first generation to wear much of the Chasidic levush and call themselves Yoel instead of Jeno or Janos, but also the 1st generation to speak Yiddish exclusively.