Re: ...while driving...

[Andrew Tannenbaum <trb...>]

> Hmm...a great klezmer?  I've never heard that term applied to a person, and
...
> You've just called your friend a musical instrument!

What would your reaction have been if he called his friend a cowboy?

In Hebrew, there are words kli zemer and klei zemer.  In Yiddish, the
word is klezmer.  It is spelled like the Hebrew root word, which is the
practice for Hebrew derived words, rather than phonetically, which is
the practice for other Yiddish words.  But klezmer does not mean the
same thing as its Hebrew root words, period.

In Yiddish, if you want to say musical instruments, you might say klei
zemer, as Yiddish often borrows from Hebrew, but klezmer means (one)
musician, never musical instrument(s).

People who pronounce klezmer, "klayzmer" are mistaken.  Similarly,
Klezmorim always means musicians, never musical instruments.
By the way, the stress is KLEZmer and klezMORim, not klezmoRIM.
Again, Yiddish is not Hebrew (certainly not Modern Hebrew).

Klezmer music is the music of the Klezmorim.  The Yiddish adjective is
derived from the noun, not the other way around.  Why do you call it a
fiddle?  Because you play fiddle music on it, nu?  No.

Calling someone a klezmer is correct and unambiguous usage.

        Andrew Tannenbaum   Brookline, MA  USA

------------------------------