MetaFilter posts tagged with yiddish

Is this survey OK by you?

escabeche — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:12:22 -0800

The Survey of American Jewish Language and Identity reports on the results of an online survey of 25,179 American Jews and 4,874 American Gentiles. Non-Jews say "klutz" but not "schmutz." The more Orthodox you are, the more likely you are to say "Good Shabbos" instead of "Shabbat Shalom." And so much more you'll plotz.

Bagels and Bongos

martinc6 — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 23:16:49 -0800

Two guys join forces together to write a book about classic Jewish LPs. They unearthed amazing songs, such as Irving Fields' Havannah Negila, a latin version of a classic yiddish song, and the works of The Barry Sisters (Previously), the first to pioneer the category of Yiddish Swing and also the first to create Yiddish covers of English songs. Leading the way for such great works as A Hard Day's Night (In Yiddish) and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (In Yiddish). Related Album

What's nu?

Asparagirl — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 20:21:42 -0800

A linguist and a sociologist at Hebrew Union College have teamed up to track the inroads made into American English by words and idioms from traditionally Jewish languages, including Yiddish, Judeo-Arabic, Ladino (Judeo-Spanish), and Hebrew. They've created an online survey and are looking for people from all religious and ethnic backgrounds to answer a few questions about their word choices, phrasing, and pronunciation. They're also trying to determine whether certain linguistic quirks usually attributed to Yiddish's influence are actually carried over from Jewish ancestors' speech patterns and accents, or whether they're merely an artifact from growing up in or near New York City. [via]

Hava nagila, have two nagilas, have three nagilas; they're very small.

not_on_display — Tue, 27 May 2008 18:52:03 -0800

Claire and Merna Bagelman, better known as The Barry Sisters. Every Sunday from 1938 to 1955 on WHN in New York, they mashed Swing with Yiddish Folk as the main attraction on the radio program Yiddish Melodies in Swing.[via] "We take a tune that's sweet and low, and we rock it solid and make it gold." They are indeed a Hebrew National Kosher Classic. More Yiddish music webceptacles. It's Yiddish swing time, it's always springtime, every Sunday at 1! It's Yiddish swing time, it's dance and sing time. Come on, Let's have fun! Sit, bubbellah, and listen to some tunes on the Youtube radio. • Vi iz dus geseleh? • Coney Island • The Passover Medley • Yidl Mitn Fidl • Chiribim, Chiribom (?) and Tum Balalaika • Eshet Chail (linked to above) • Halevai (with Moishe Oysher) • Tzena • Channa from Havanna (video picture pastiche documenting Jews in Cuba) • Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head • several bits of tunes overlaid with some footage... • ...and of course, הבה נגילה (Hava Nagila)!

cohen on the telephne

grumblebee — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 17:25:09 -0800

"Cohen on the Telephone" (real audio) is "not politically correct by modern standards, due to its Yiddish stereotyping, but certainly popular in its time and rumored to be the first comedy record to sell a million copies. This bit primarily made fun of the crude telephone system in use during 1913, when Joe Hayman recorded it in London in July of that year for Regal/Zonophone (it was issued on Columbia here in the States the following year). Several other labels hastily released versions by other artists, and a series of sequels followed right up into the mid-20's." Such as "Cohen Exceeds the Speed Limit", "Cohen at the Pay-station", "Cohen Phones His Tailor", "Cohen Telephones the Health Department" and "Cohen's Recruiting Speech" (all mp3s from The Virtual Gramaphone). There was even a movie.

Heritage 2.0

dozo — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 22:16:35 -0800

Feed Me Bubbe
Why doesn't everyone do this with their grandmother? Avrom and his bubbe in a charming series about her great looking food. Learn a little yiddish while you're at it. O, yeah, there's videos here people...

Give My Regards to Yiddishe Broadway

jonp72 — Fri, 22 Sep 2006 06:39:33 -0800

I'm a Jewish Yankee Doodle Dandy and other Yiddish sheet music on topics ranging from the Dreyfus affair to interreligious romance. How Broadway evolved from Yiddish theater.

National Center for Jewish Film

matteo — Mon, 09 Jan 2006 15:56:00 -0800

"One could go on, and one will -- praising (...) the National Center for Jewish Film for releasing all four of Edgar Ulmer's Yiddish films in restored editions. But the DVD player is beckoning, and I think it is time for me to get back to the couch".
The National Center for Jewish Film (NCJF) is a unique nonprofit motion picture archive, distributor and resource center housing the largest, most comprehensive collection of Jewish-theme film and video in the world. In their archives you can discover the works of Leo Fuchs, the "Yiddish Fred Astaire", restored gems (scroll down) like "Motl the Operator" and re-releases like "The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg". (More on Greenberg, the Jewish kid who challenged Babe Ruth’s homerun record here, more on the NCJF inside).

May you grow like an onion- with your head in the ground!

blahblahblah — Fri, 18 Nov 2005 00:01:15 -0800

"May you be like a lamp: hang by day, burn by night and be snuffed out in the morning." Welcome to the long tradition of Yiddish curses. According to one scholar of insults: Curses in other languages differ from Yiddish in both content and style...Anglo-Saxon cultures prefer insults dealing with excrement and body parts, Catholic countries are partial to blasphemy, and cultures of the Middle and Far East go for ancestor insults, while Yiddish curses have a baroque splendor. A bunch more examples are here (keep scrolling).

Honey Won't You Be Meshuga Tonight

mwhybark — Mon, 04 Oct 2004 20:59:59 -0800

Klingon Klezmer. CD Review. Video (real, sorry). Audio clips, including Klingon Mating Dance, as cited in Webster's Online. QaHplaH! er, I mean, l'chaim!