April 12-15, 2002 Park East Hotel, Milwaukee, Wis. Origins of the Mame Loshn
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
,. INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF YIDDISH CLUBS SEVENTH WORLD CONFERENCE April 12-15, 2002 Park East Hotel, Milwaukee, Wis. Origins of the Mame Loshn Yiddish, the mother tongue of Ashkenazi Jews, is an Indo-European language comprised of two branches: Western Yiddish and Eastern Yiddish. It spans four historical eras: Earliest Yiddish- 9th Cent.-1250; Old Yiddish - 1250-1500; Middle Yiddish - 1500-1700; and Modem Yiddish - 1700-present. Most scholars believe that Western Yiddish developed first. Jews derived it from Medieval High Gennan in the 9th and 10th Centuries primarily in the middle Rhine region and less so in Bavaria. By the 1600s, the lan guage of the Jews in those areas was distinctively Yiddish. Western Yiddish continued to evolve with influ ences of Modem Gennan in the 1800s and 1900s in Gennany, Holland, Switzerland, Alsace (France), Czechoslovakia and Western Hungary. Western Yiddish is the minority branch of the language. Eastern Yiddish originated east of the Oder River through Poland, covering Belarus, Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, Hungary, Rumania and Ukraine, and in pre-state British Mandate Israel in Jerusalem and Safed. It began developing as Jews fled Western and Central Europe from the 11th to 13th Centuries, escaping mas sacres as they became scapegoats for the Black Plague. These migrating Jews brought Western Yiddish in con tact with Slavic Languages. Eastern Yiddish, the major branch of the language, contains many loan words from Hebrew-Aramaic as well as from Slavic Languages. The use of Hebrew script for Yiddish and other Jewish non-Hebrew languages is a Judeo-linguistic practice. Written Yiddish has two recognized phases. The First Literary Standard, based on Western and Central European Yiddish dialects, predominated until its decline in the 18th century and near-disappearance in the 19th Century. The Modem Literary Standard, or Modem Standard Yiddish, rose quickly in its place and con tinues strong today. The standardization of Yiddish orthography has rapidly increased in the last 11 decades. Thus, a standard written Yiddish exists, but a standard Yiddish pronunciation rests on a variety of non-fonnal dialects. The Eastern Yiddish dialect is divided into the Northeastern Dialect (Lithuania and Latvia), Central Dialect (Poland and Western Galicia) and Southern/Southeastern Dialect (Western Russia and Ukraine). In fonnal usage, the Northeastern Dialect is considered the standard. Modem Literary Yiddish employs a majority of the Northeastern Dialect's vowel features, leading credence to its ownership as the standard pronunciation. The Southern Dialect, however, adds the most grammatical fea tures, the consonant system as well as the gender-neutral feature for many words. In America, the Northeastern Dialect is prevalent in expository prose, especially in New York. The Central Dialect became well known in the belles-lettres. The Southern Dialect was prominent in the Yiddish Theater. At the height of Yiddish usage in Europe in 1939, 11 million people spoke the language. Due to the Holocaust, millions of Jews whose mother tongue was Yiddish were massacred. The center for Yiddish became the United States. While the decline of the U.S. Yiddish-speaking population dates back to 1940, a more rapid decline com menced around 1950. Today, Israel has slightly more Yiddish speakers than the United States. Yiddish is reviving in Israel, particularly in the universities. It also is gaining strength in the Diaspora, as Klezmer music regains international popularity and Yiddish is taught at American and European universities and in local Yiddish clubs. Blake Gentry Tucson, AZ Sources: "Ethnologue: Yiddish Eastern, Yiddish Western," http://www.Ethnologue.com; "Encyclopedic Dictionary of Judaica," 1974. Aims and Purposes of the International Association of Yiddish Clubs Historical background: The first international conference of Yiddish clubs took place in Washington, D.C., May 29-June 3, 1993, hosted by Yiddish of Greater Washington. It was a great success and gave rise to the thought that it could be an ongoing event every year-and-a-half or two years. A nucleus of several delegates - Dr. Harold Black, Dr. Allan Blair and Fishl Kutner. - was asked to investigate holding another conference, but where? Toronto was suggested because of a very active Yiddish club and an interested Yiddish community. The Friends of Yiddish accepted the challenge, and the second conference took place in Toronto, Oct. 7-10, 1994. Again a small group, mainly editors of club newsletters, fonned an ad hoc committee to consult about venues for the next conference. They represented: Yiddish of Greater Washington; Der Bay, San Francisco Bay Area; Dos Bletl, Toronto; and the Circle of Yiddish Clubs, Florida. At the third conference in Miami, March 1- 4, 1996, a more fonnal meeting of delegates was held. Harold Black was appointed to head a committee to incorporate this loosely knit group into a more formal organization, to find a venue for the next conference, and to lay the groundwork for a board that would be elected and thus would fonnalize the status of the organi zation. At the fourth conference, held May 24-27, 1997, in Farfield, CT., a board was established with Harold Black as its chair. The name International Association of Yiddish Clubs was adopted, and subsequently the organization was incorporated in the State of Maryland. The fifth IAYC conference was held at UCLA in Los Angeles, August 27-30, 1998. It finnly established the organization with an elected board of nine, representing different geographical regions of North America, and it was given a strong endorsement by the 250 delegates to continue to work together as an international force for Yiddish. This was followed by the sixth conference at the International 4H Headquarters in Chevy Chase, MD. IAYC Mission: To provide a global perspective and network for Yiddish groups - large or small. To exchange educational and cultural materials. To experience a sense of unity while striving to keep our lan guage, literature, and culture alive and well into the new millennium. IAYC Vision: To access all groups, be they leyenkrayzn, shmooz-grupes, shtudir, choral, choirs, large or small clubs or classes from kindergarten, elementary, secondary, post-secondary to adult, to make them aware of their rich heritage. To become a clearinghouse for educational and program materials. To encourage and ini tiate research of existing or new material, be it educational, music, art or literature, and make it available to the clubs. To encourage new writers by giving them a forum in our newsletters or local papers that have a Yiddish column. To encourage the fonnation of new groups wherever possible, be they large or small. To keep in touch with all groups through e-mail, a Web site, telephone, postal mail and newsletters. To encourage groups to issue newsletters even if only once a year. To lobby to include Yiddish in local Holocaust memorial programs. To encourage younger people to take Yiddish classes, wherever available, or to fonn them. To encourage those who are alredy learning the language to explore their Ashkenazic roots through history, music and liter atur e- the history and literature in translation, if necessary. To lobby Jewish schools to include Yiddish class es in their curriculum. To lobby universities to include Yiddish in their Jewish Studies Program. Benefits of belonging to IAYC: To take Yiddish out of isolation and give it a strong international voice. The IAYC conferences has been and will continue to be a source of interaction for groups and their members, from meeting like-minded people to hearing and meeting the best resource people, be they writers, scholars, teachers, musicians, actors, singers or organizers. To access and arrange inter-city touring groups, speakers, singers, theatre groups etc., through existing newsletters or the electronic media. To have Yiddish benefit from such alliances. If your interest is in keeping Yiddish alive and growing, join us in our effort to march forward in a united effort. Conference Organizing Committee Paul Melrood Andrew Muchin Chairman Program Book Larry Orenstein Morrie Fell er Co-chair Yiddish for Program Book Dana Mueller Sylvia Bernstein GeneralCoordinalor Andrew Muchin Flo Sussman Milt Katz Media Treasurer Max Taglin Tybie Taglin Sandra Hoffman City Tour Secretary, Yom HaShoah Chair Herman Weingrod Bookstore Marty "Moshe" Katz Louis "Buddy" Siegel Della Bornstein Registration Boutique Jerry Benjamin, Burt Levine A.B. Data Frieda Levine Mailings, Distribution Partial Registration Bev Chubat Chai Tuchman Conference Logo Design Dorothy Weingrod Esther Weingrod Mae Willenson Scheduling Alvin "Oink" Holzman Liaisons to Cong. Shalom's Yiddish Vinkl Betty Chrostowski Hotel Liaison Dr. Herman Tuchman Dorene Paley Marlene Melrood Jody Hirsh Miriam Orenstein Program Advisors Menu Bev Chubat Jeanette Peckerman Chaikey Greenberg Kosher Meals Frieda Landau Jake Morowitz GeneKrasno Chicago YJVO Society Morton Swerdlow Tickets, Room Set--up Conference Sponsoring Organizations A.B. Data Ltd.- Jeny Benjamin Center for International Education Chicago YIVO Society Harry and Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center of Milwaukee Milwaukee Jewish Federation University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Center for Jewish Studies Wisconsin Society for Jewish Leaming The Workmen's Circle-National Office Conference Grand Donors Joe and Marian Chudnow Goodman-Bensman Funeral Hom~Debra Marcus Watton, President Milt and Anita Katz Marty "Moshe" and Debra Katz Larry and Miriam Orenstein Arnie Peltz The Harry V Lerner Memorial Fund Yiddish of Greater Washington Nathaniel Zelazo Zilber Ltd.-owner of the Park East Hotel International Association of Yiddish Clubs Dr. Harold Black Oscar Antel Bethesda, MD Winnipeg President Michael Baker Minneapolis Dr. Allan Blair Cookie Blattman Columbus, OH Tamarac, FL Vice President Rafoyel Finkel Morrie Feller Lexington, KY Phoenix Troim Katz Handler Treasurer ~st Palm Beach, FL. Philip "Fishl" Kutner Barbara Goldstein San Mateo, CA. Houston Secretary Bess Shockett Toronto Fannie Yokor New Orleans Board Members At-large FRIDAY, APRIL 12 1-4 p.m. - Check-in at the Park East Hotel Key Delegates• get-acquainted time.