Re: Oyf vs. Af

[Robert A. Rothstein <rar...>]

Lori Cahan-Simon wrote:

> But why is it always transliterated as "oyf", then?

        TransLITERation is a system for representing LETTERS in one alphabet
with letters in another alphabet.  Since both the preposition and the prefix are
always (except in Soviet Yiddish) spelled aleph-vov-yud-fey, both words are
transliterated "oyf."  The YIVO system transliterates words of non-Semitic
origin and transcribes (letters for SOUNDS) words of Semitic origin.  Thus, for
example, "oyf" represents spelling, but "yisroel" represents pronunciation.


> What was the standard
> pronunciation in the theater, for instance, if there was one?

        Theater Yiddish is basically Southeastern (i.e., Ukrainian) Yiddish,
more specifically the Volhynian dialect.  It is harder to learn for the
non-native than the literary standard (the so-called YIVO standard) since it
makes distinctions that are not reflected in the spelling.  For example, there
are two words spelled "betn"; in Ukrainian Yiddish the word meaning "beds" is
pronounced [betn] and the word meaning "to ask, beg" is pronounced approximately
[beytn].

> What is the
> pronunciation I should use without criticism?  It seems most people do =not=
> say "oyf", but it is not clear what =to= say.  I think I'll take the "f" off
> and just say, "Oy".

        What would seem to make sense is for a native speaker to continue to use
his or her native pronunciation, while a non-native should aim for the literary
standard. In this case that means"af" for the preposition and "uf/aruf" for the
prefix.  The alternative is to use the spelling pronunciation of "oyf" for both,
which will seem unnatural to many native speakers.
        Using the literary standard means, of course, that some rhymes won't
work.  Herman Yablokoff wrote "Papirosn" in the theater standard, so "gringer"
rhymes with "hinger" (not the literary "hunger"); Ma-Yofes, who translated
Bialik's "Di verbe," was apparently a Litvak, so "dertseyln" rhymes with "Peyln"
(not the literary "Poyln").  But it's undoubtedly easier to stick to one
standard than to try to adjust one's pronunciation to particular song texts.
                    Bob Rothstein

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