Re: defining klezmer

[Ari Davidow <ari...>]

Josh,

I could hardly agree less. There are scads of words in English which have roots 
in other languages, Greek and Latin being quite common, but other constructs 
include languages from around the world. Here in American, there is a slew of 
"Yinglish" that is now defined in the dictionary as proper English. We don't 
usually describe English as a "dialect" of Greek or Yiddish because of this. 

I certainly don't see any problem with emphasizing that Yiddish is tied to 
Hebrew: linguistically, culturally, religiously, even. More odd would be the 
idea that a people that has existed for thousands of years in dozens of lands 
would speak a language that has no referrants to anything in its past--only 
words invented, from nothing, by Yiddish speakers.

As for the origins of the word "klezmer," as in "klezmer music," I have never 
seen a derivation other than from "klei zemer." But now, of course, it is just 
as much a word in English (a word which came into English from Yiddish; 
originally from Hebrew....), so we might, perhaps, try to do as the French 
language police and be more strict; most probably to the same effect. What the 
heck, it is "le weekend" and my mind is not fully engaged ;-).

But the point you raise may be intended quite differently. You are right to 
point out the current meaning. While I think that many people, myself included, 
enjoy some cultural pride in tracing the roots of this particular term back to 
Biblical Hebrew, it isn't usually how I would explain the music--it tells 
whence the word, but doesn't explain "what" the music! (Personally, I usually 
say something like, "Eastern European Jewish dance music," or to an audience 
which is Yiddish-literate, perhaps, "Jewish simkha music"). And it is certainly 
more useful more often to explain klezmer without emphasizing the word's 
linguistic roots. I mean, how many people can recite the linguistic roots of 
"Jazz" or "pop" (beyond being short for "popular," which is derived from what?).

My two cents (maybe more),
ari

At 11:10 AM 2/20/00 -0500, you wrote:
>Since I speak neither Yiddish nor Hebrew, and I can't read one letter of that 
>alphabet, I am at a small disadvantage here, but I can't resist the 
>temptation to bring up this subject which has been bugging me for a long time.
>
>I can't count the number of times I have heard someone ask for a definition 
>of "klezmer," and someone else has answered "It comes from the Hebrew "klei 
>zemer."
>Even if this is the true origin of the word (I have no idea whether it is or 
>not), why define a Yiddish word by giving its origins from another language? 
>
>If a foreigner or a young child were to ask me what the English word 
>"musician" means, I would try to explain what the word means in current 
>English usage, rather than giving them the supposed Greek roots of the word 
>and leaving it at that.
>
>If Yiddish is a distinct and legitimate language, then we should define the 
>Yiddish word "klezmer" according to its meaning in Yiddish. BTW, "klezmer" is 
>now a word in English, too, and the English meaning differs from the Yiddish 
>meaning.
>
>In my opinion, defining the Yiddish word by giving Hebrew roots implies that 
>Yiddish is not really a language, just a dialect of German with a few 
>mispronounced Hebrew words thrown in. It also leads to a lot of unnecessary 
>confusion about what the word means.
>
>This relates directly to the recent discussion here about "Israeli klezmer 
>music." If Israelis think that "klezmer" is just the way us Gringos say "klei 
>zemer," naturally they can play just about any kind of music and call it 
>"klezmer"--it fits the Hebrew definition.
>In fact, I recently met an Israeli-American woman who said "So you are the 
>klei zemer."
>She is a very nice woman, and her intentions were good. She just didn't 
>realize that "klezmer" and "klei zemer" are different words, in different 
>languages.
>
>While I'm at it, a musician from Cleveland, Ohio explained to me last year 
>the difference between language and a dialect:
>
>A language is a dialect with an army.
>
>Josh Huppert
>
>

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