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#161015 07/17/06 04:22 PM
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Yente from Yentl is one of those Yiddish words of Romance origin. In this case from Italian Gentile 'highborn, amiable'. Some more information about some Yiddish proper names at this posting (search for Yentl in the text) on Mendele.


Ceci n'est pas un seing.
#161016 07/17/06 07:17 PM
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Well, Sinatra might have said, "Could be that dame in the story just had a Yenta match-make."


ÅΓª╥┐↕§
#161017 07/18/06 10:23 AM
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Two wonderful books: Born to Kvetch - Yiddish Language and Culture in All of Its Moods, by Michael Wexler (thought-provoking and well-written), and Yiddish with Dick and Jane by Ellis Weiner and Barbara Davilman (hilarious). Recently I moved from the east coast to the middle of the country, where Yiddish is practically UNKNOWN!

#161018 07/18/06 11:40 AM
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Schmooze has settled into the dutch language as:
smoezen . It has about the same meaning: some people talking at low voice, often in the company of others.
It can have a positive tendency (preparing a surprise) or a negative one (gossiping).(Or also business transactions)
I hope this is the right place to make this post.Or do you people make a different thread for each word of the week ?

Thanks for today's Thomas Jefferson quote . Where has all that wisdom gone?

#161019 07/18/06 12:24 PM
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branshea, you are people too, so you are perfectly right to continue the thread any way you want. (thread have been hi-jacked here as a matter of course.

(and note that the weekly themes forum is under utilized anyway!--so do as you please.. (so long as you don't break any of the rules (that don't exist!))

#161020 07/18/06 01:22 PM
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Thanks of Troy, yes I guess I am, but I still feel a stranger allright.
I like this week's theme. Jiddishe traces are left in so many languages around the world and of course jewish people took up words in the various countries as well. It's funny to see how different words have been 'naturalized' in this language or that. And to think about a possible reason why this word was left to stay here/or there.
So I'm already curious about the next one.

#161021 07/18/06 01:47 PM
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bikingbill, I sympathize with your signature. However, H.G. Wells would have had much more reason not to dispear if every adult would ride a bicycle by now. The best invention since they did the wheel. (cute little song too)

#161022 07/18/06 03:14 PM
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I recognize remnants of Yiddish expressions when I hear old Ashkenazim speaks. They sure do ramble about bubkis.

#161023 07/18/06 05:44 PM
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Well, after having appeared as Motel the Tailor in two different productions of Fiddler, and having seen a production of Tevye and his Daughters in one of my Mom's theatre company's when I was a boy, i had always associated yente as a busybody first, and also as a matchmaker. In fact, the popular song Matchmaker, Matchmaker from Fiddler is addressed towards Yente.

#161024 07/19/06 07:16 PM
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This week's theme reminds me to get out one of my all time favorite books, Leo Rosten's The Joys of Yiddish. It may be out of print now, but it is well worth a search.The humor inherent in Yiddish words is delightfully shown in this book. It also has ample examples of usage and a clear guide to pronunciation. Professor Rosten would appreciate this theme and would probably contribute were he only still alive.

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