Thread by @debra_caplan, THREAD: Ever wanted to learn some Yiddish? Eastern European Jews lived in [...]

THREAD: Ever wanted to learn some Yiddish?

Eastern European Jews lived in turbulent times, and it's reflected in their language. So here are some Yiddish phrases and expressions that might be useful as we live through a world-altering pandemic. 1/n

Yiddish is basically obsessed with health, and the notion that good health is a prerequisite for happiness. In Yiddish, there are "tsores" (problems) and "gezunte tsores" (healthy problems). You can't take gezunte tsores too seriously. 2/n

Yiddish also has a lot of words for things that we don't have words for in English.

"krenkn" in Yiddish means "to get sick"

"farkrenkn" means "to use up all of your money on an illness" or "to go bankrupt due to medical bills"

We could really use a word for that. 3/n

There's a few Yiddish phrases that have come to mind over the last few months as relevant to our current predicament. Like this one:

"Dos land brent un di bobe tsvogt zikh"

"The country is on fire, and grandma is washing her hair."

#PandemicYiddish 4/n

"Az men volt zikh kenen oyskoyfn fun toyt, voltn di oremlayt gut parnose gehat"

"If the poor could die for the rich, they'd make a good living."

#PandemicYiddish 5/n

But also, on a more optimistic note:

"Vi lang di oygn zenen ofn, darf a mentsh hofn" - as long as your eyes are still open, a person can hope

and

"Me krekhtst un me geyt vayter."

You complain, and then you keep going. 6/n

Yiddish also has these fascinating built-in linguistic features that are custom-built for living through turbulent times, for moments when you don't have control over a lot of what you're going to face, when awful things could change the course of your life at any moment. 7/n

You don't talk about good things in Yiddish without linguistically protecting them. Similarly, you don't talk about bad things without saying something designed to keep whatever it is far away from you.

#PandemicYiddish 8/n

In other words, good things are never taken for granted, and bad things are never all that far away. Eastern European Jews coped with the unpredictability of their circumstances by using language to constantly invoke that unpredictability, and thus reclaim a sense of control. 9/n

If you're talking about something good in Yiddish, like a person recovering from a deadly virus or you being able to pay your bills this month, you add a protective phrase to your sentence to signify that you don't take it for granted and that your good fortune may not last 10/n

Like this:

My friend is recovering from the virus, mirtseshem (God willing)
Borkhashem, I was able to pay my bills (thank God)
I'm feeling healthy, got tsu danken (thank God)
It's your birthday, lang zolstu lebn (long may you live)

#PandemicYiddish 11/n

When you talk about bad things, esp. bad things that are out of your control, you invoke protection. There's a pervasive sense of "bad things could happen anytime" built into Yiddish, but the language also gives the speaker a sense of agency in a turbulent world 12/n

If you're talking about something bad, you might say:

Kinehera (or keynahora): no evil eye
Nisht far aykh gedakht: may it not happen to you
Kholile: God forbid
Af mayne soynim gezogt: It should happen to my enemies
Az me vet lebn: If I'm alive

#PandemicYiddish 13/n

In most languages, you might say: "Tomorrow, I'll go to buy some chicken."

Only in Yiddish would you say: "Morgn, az me vet lebn, vel ikh geyn koyfn hinerfleysh."

"Tomorrow, if I'm alive, I'll go to buy some chicken."

Nothing is taken for granted. #PandemicYiddish 14/n

So, there you are. Some #PandemicYiddish. My ancestors lived in mostly turbulent times where they could take literally nothing for granted, and that imprinted upon their language.

15/n

We too live in turbulent times, but we don't always know how to talk about it. When asked "how are you?" many of us are still reflexively saying "good," even thought many of us are not at ALL good.

16/n

In Yiddish, "good" is a rare reply to "how are you?" If you're doing well, you might say "got tsu danken" - "thank God." Or more simply, "Kh'leb" - "I'm alive."

If something bad is going on, you talk about it, directly and clearly, while using your linguistic precautions. 17/17

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