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Joined: Aug 2005
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290 |
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.
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Joined: May 2005
Posts: 456
addict
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addict
Joined: May 2005
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Well, Sinatra might have said, "Could be that dame in the story just had a Yenta match-make." 
ÅΓª╥┐↕§
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Joined: Jul 2006
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stranger
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stranger
Joined: Jul 2006
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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!
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295 |
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?
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400 |
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!))
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295 |
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.
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295 |
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)
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Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 270
enthusiast
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enthusiast
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 270 |
I recognize remnants of Yiddish expressions when I hear old Ashkenazim speaks. They sure do ramble about bubkis.
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Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189 |
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.
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Joined: Jul 2006
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stranger
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stranger
Joined: Jul 2006
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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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