Re: Yiddish on List

[delatizk <delatizk...>]

>>>>> "Jennifer" == Jennifer R Goodman <jenifer (at) unix(dot)tamu(dot)edu> 
>>>>> writes:

    Jennifer> A question came to mind as I was reading the discussion of
    Jennifer> Yiddish on the List: Did anyone experience Yiddish as a secret
    Jennifer> language used by adults when they did not want children to
    Jennifer> understand what was being said?  How did you feel about it?

This definitely happened to me.  At the time, I think I resented it in a
non-specific way - had they used any other language, I would have been just
as irritated (as are my own kids when my wife and I do something comparable
today :-).  Now, I resent it much more specifically.  They never thought I
would have any use for yiddish, but I am extremely sorry I wasn't able to
learn more when I was growing up.

To bring the subject back to Jewish Music - almost all the limited yiddish I
do now know is from listening to it sung (and making the effort required to
follow the translations).  Which is why I *hate* non-literal translations in
liner notes.  This applies equally to other foreign-language singing to which
I listen - a pet peeve with record companies.

I've found that listening to a lot of song in a language and following
translations is not a bad way to pick up a basic understanding of that
language - not just for yiddish.  Not that I can pick up enough to be a
*speaker*, but I am able to understand a fair amount of (for example) french
and german from attending to some of the song literature in those languages.

The subject areas in which I've developed some competence are certainly
limited by this approach - unhappy and unrequited love featuring pretty
strongly :-)

<j>

Jonathan Delatizky
BBN Technologies
Cambridge, Mass