Re: Mauscheln

[Heiko Lehmann <hklehmann...>]

I hate to disagree with Josh, but there might be a slight mistake in his
explanations on "mauscheln".

1) I doubt that the term "mouse" is a substitute word for "Ratten" (rats) in
this case.
2) The term "Ratten" (rats) has nothing to do with the term "Raten" (payment
in installments; from Latin: reri [ratum]).
3) I also strongly doubt that the term "Moos" for money (which is not just
in use in the Berlin area) is a dialect pronounciation for "Maus"; I rather
believe that it comes directly (as "mauscheln") from Hebrew/Yiddish (and its
German translation): Moyshe (Moses).

Heiko Lehmann.

Von: Joshua Horowitz <horowitz (at) styria(dot)com>
An: World music from a Jewish slant <jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org>
Gesendet: Samstag, 19. Februar 2000 00:50
Betreff: Mauscheln


> Right on the mark...
>
> The term Mauscheln in Rotwelsh came from the word for a poor Jew, who
> was called a Mauschel, which had two etymological sources: first from a
> nickname slang pronunciation of the word Moshe, the second from a
> cynical use of
> the word Mauschel (meaning the head of a government). In the 19th
> century, poking fun at the regional dialect of Frankfurt, Heinrich Heine
> wrote: "What we call Mauscheln in Northern Germany is nothing more than
> the regional language of Frankfurt."
>
> In Rotwelsh the term had another meaning - illegal card playing. From
> this came a collection of German expressions all expressing something
> forbidden:
>
> 1) vermauscheln (to put into circulation counterfeit money)
> 2) taüscheln und mäuscheln (to deal with illegal or clandestine
> business  - This expression is used mostly in Bavaria- i.e. southern
> Germany)
> 3) muscheln ( to cheat silently - especially in a card game while
> shuffling cards. This variant is probably related to the word mischen -
> to mix, but also has a crossroad connection to Mauscheln - to speak
> Yiddish, i.e. to do something which others don't understand). In north
> Thüringen the "muschele" means clandestine activity and cheating.
>
> The latter two of these became integral to what is known in German as
> "Mundart" which is very specific regional dialect pronunication and
> differs from place to place throughout the German speaking countries.
>
> Still in use in all the German speaking countries is the slang word for
> money - "Maüse" (mice, pronounced Moyse, the source of which may also be
> Moyshe). In Berlin, the term Moos is used, which is a dialect
> pronunciation of the word for Maus (mouse) and is a substitute word for
> the term "Ratten" (which means both rats, as well as "payment in
> installments"). Complex enough? Josh
>
>
> > it's "mauscheln", still a common word, which today means to jabber, or
> > talking about something better not to be heard by others.
> > My German-English dictionary translates it as "talk Yiddish", but it
lost
> > this specific meaning in German.
> > According to Salcia Landmann it goes back to "mashal" (parabel) and came
from
> > Yiddish via Rotwelsch into German.
> >
> > Christian
>
>

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