October 2011
7 posts
Drukn - דרוקן
Drukn - דרוקן \DRUK-en\ Verb \ Past Participle: Gedrukt: To print. Note: This word is very closely related to, and really a specific application of, drikn (דריקן) - to press, squeeze, oppress. As such, I will provide here the whole range of derivatives, phrases, expressions, etc., related thereto, as well. Pronunciation: Click here to hear a native German speaker pronounce “drucken”...
iVelt
For those interested, Idishe Velt (iVelt) is a moderated Yiddish chat room run by native (presumably Hasidic, though I don’t know for sure) Yiddish speakers which features forums for discussions of all sorts of topics relevant to Haredi society, including interesting news pieces, Jewish and general history, Torah-related questions, and business concerns. The threads can get very long...
Anonymous asked: Is there some agreed way of transcribing the Hebrew letters used to write Yiddish into into the western alphabet, such that every letter (or group of letters) has a single sound?
Tir - טיר
Tir - טיר \TIR\ Noun \ Feminine \ Pl. Tirn:
1. A door, doorway. 2. A wild animal, particularly a bison. (I will not be dealing with this meaning at all in this e-mail, since it is so rare.) Pronunciation: Click here to hear a native Yiddish speaker use this word in conversation.
German equivalent: die Tür.
Etymology: The word derives from Middle High German “tür,” from Old High...
Balashon
For those interested, Balashon is the English-language site of a wonderful amateur Hebrew linguist living in Israel who regularly (I think at this point more regularly than me [tugging on collar out of embarrassment]) posts mini-articles on the etymology of interesting Modern Hebrew and sometimes Yiddish words. He often goes through the various theories about where the words come from and how they...
