Re: defining klezmer

[Khupenikes <Khupenikes...>]

Josh Huppert wrote:
>If Yiddish is a distinct and legitimate language, then we should define the 
>Yiddish word "klezmer" according to its meaning in Yiddish. 

Wouldn?t it then be better to refer to the music as "klezmer music" rather 
than simply "klezmer", considering the Yiddish meaning of the term?
Or is there even a Yiddish word to describe the music? Since we call 
cantorial singing "khazones" and not "khazan", and the singing/rhyming of the 
badkhen "badkhones" and not "badkhen", it seems strange to name the 
instrumental music just "klezmer", or even "klez"...
I can see the cultural and social value in establishing a term similar to 
"Jazz" or "Bluegrass", which nobody calls "Jazz music" etc. anymore. 
But linguistically, and especially if we want to give proper attention to its 
Yiddish roots, "klez", and even "klezmer", still sound somewhat odd to my 
European ears...

Christian

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