PREMIUMPREMIUM TORAHTORAH COLLEGECOLLEGE PROGRAMSPROGRAMSTaTa l l Yiddish Elementary, Intermediate, and Advanced February 2019 Yiddish —Study Guide— Each of these examinations evaluates the degree of your mastery and command of Yiddish as a foreign language. The examinations are composed of different sections to assess various skills in your use of the language: translation to and from English, listen- ing, and composing your own wording. In this Study Guide you will find both sample examinations and preparatory material: 1. Elementary Yiddish Vocabulary list (page 5). Translation guidelines (page 7). Sample examination (page 11). 2. Intermediate Yiddish Vocabulary list (page 15). Translation guidelines (page 17). Sample examination (page 19). 3. Advanced Yiddish Vocabulary list (page 25). Examination preparation guidelines (page 27). Sample advanced Yiddish I examination (page 31). Sample advanced Yiddish II examination (page 38). You would have one and a half hours to complete each examination. This Study Guide is the property of TAL and MUST be returned after you take the exam. Failure to do so is an aveirah of gezel. YiddishSP v01.indd © 2019 by Torah Accreditation Liaison. All Rights Reserved. Yiddish Before taking a formal Yiddish examination, you are recommended to complete the rel- evant sample paper in this booklet, and have it checked by a fluent Yiddish speaker. The model answers provided at the end of each sample examination should give you an idea of the standard required for that examination. NOTE: a. Since you are required to answer in black ink, be sure to bring a black pen to your exam. b. Accustom yourself to outlining your answers on scrap paper and writing essays clearly. Illegible exams will not be graded. c. The lowest passing score on this exam is 70. You will not get credit for a score be- low 70, though in the case of a failed or illegible paper, you may be able to retake the exam after waiting six months. Grades for transcripts are calculated as follows: A = 90–100% B = 80–89% C = 70–79% YiddishSP v01.indd Page 3 of 41 © 2019 by Torah Accreditation Liaison. All Rights Reserved. Yiddish Elementary and Intermediate Yiddish The elementary and intermediate Yiddish examinations consist of the following four sections, each worth 25% of the total grade: 1. Yiddish to English Translation You are presented with a Yiddish passage to translate into English. In the formal elementary examination the passage contains approximately sixteen sentences, and in the intermediate examination it contains approximately twelve sentences. 2. English to Yiddish Translation You are presented with an English passage to translate into Yiddish. In the formal examination, the passage contains approximately twelve sentences. 3. Aural Comprehension There is a short story in Yiddish, followed by a comprehension question for you to answer with a complete sentence. In the formal examination, you would hear a story on tape, followed by five questions. 4a. Yiddish Responses (Elementary Level) You are asked four Yiddish questions which you are to answer in complete Yiddish sentences. This section contains ten questions in the formal examination. 4b. Yiddish Compositions (Intermediate Level) You are to write a short paragraph (5–6 lines in Yiddish) on one of a choice of topics. YiddishSP v01.indd Page 4 of 41 © 2019 by Torah Accreditation Liaison. All Rights Reserved. Yiddish Elementary Yiddish —Vocabulary List— The following vocabulary list is a guide to indicate the maximum difficulty of words that you may come across in the elementary Yiddish examination. Be sure to know the meaning and spelling of each word. Included in this list are key words for the actual examination. All nouns are listed in the singular form. They may appear in the plural form in the examination. All adjectives are listed in the base form. Make sure you know the conjugation of each adjective (masculine/ feminine/ singular/ plural). All verbs are in the infinitive form. In the actual exam they will most probably appear in the present form, masculine or feminine, singular or plural. אוועקגעבן אויבן אויסזען אונטן איינקויפן אינגל אינדרויסן אכטונג אנפאנגען ארעם באזוכן באצאלן ביינאכט בלום בענקל בענקן ברילן גאס גאסט גוט-הארציג גלאז גליקלעך געבויגן געבן געזונט געלט געשמאק גרייטן דערפאר דערציילן דערשראקן הימל העלפן וואוינען וואך וואנט ווארטן ווארעם ווינטער זאק זוכן זון זופ זייגער זעהן טונקל טעלער טראכטן טרויעריג טרינקען טרעטן טרעפן לויפן ליידיג לעכט לעפל מאנטל מאראנץ מיד מיסט מעל מעסער מער נאכטמאל עמיצער ענטפערן עפענען ַפאלן YiddishSP v01.indd Page 5 of 41 © 2019 by Torah Accreditation Liaison. All Rights Reserved. Yiddish פארגעסן ָפארן פארשטיין פארשעמען פלאש פלוצלונג פרוכט פריינד פרעגן צובראכן צוזאמען צופרידן צופרידן צוריסן צוריק ציינער קאכן קאלט קארטאפל קויפן קוקן קורץ קיינער קליידונג קלייט קראנק רויט רייניגן שאפע שארף שווער שולע שטיל שטרעקן שיילן שיינער שיסל שלאפן שמוציג שמייכל שנעל שפאציר שפילן שפעט YiddishSP v01.indd Page 6 of 41 © 2019 by Torah Accreditation Liaison. All Rights Reserved. Yiddish Elementary Yiddish —Translation Guidelines— In the elementary Yiddish examination, you are expected to comprehend a short, simple story in the present tense, and some simple questions, presented both aurally and writ- ten. You are also required to translate a simple Yiddish passage, demonstrating your ability to express yourself in simple Yiddish. The sample examination on page 10 can help you assess whether you are prepared for the formal examination. Language requirements When grading your examination, the grader checks the following points, so it is recom- mended that you have a basic mastery of these language requirements before taking the examination. • Spelling. Before taking an elementary Yiddish examination, be sure to master the following spelling rules which are often transgressed. as ‘א‘, ‘ע‘, ‘יי‘, ‘וי‘, ‘ו‘ Make sure to abide by the rules of Yiddish spelling, using • vowels. Pay attention to the accurate usage of Yiddish vowels. A common mistake in- .indiscriminately ’א‘ and ’ע‘ volves using מאן טאטע :Incorrect מיין טאטע :Correct for example, present tense plural verbs in the — ‘ן‘ Many words in Yiddish end in • first and third person, and plural nouns. איך שיק :Singular verb מיר/זיי שיקן :Plural verbs איין אויג :Singular noun צוויי אויגן :Plural noun after a ’ל‘ that is a) ’ל‘ syllabic ,’מ‘ ,’נ‘ ,’נג‘ ,’נק‘ If the base word ends in NOTE: .‘ן‘ instead of ’ען‘ the ending is (,זע, גיי) or a stressed vowel (שמייכל-consonant YiddishSP v01.indd Page 7 of 41 © 2019 by Torah Accreditation Liaison. All Rights Reserved. Yiddish צייטונג, נעם, טרינק, שמייכל איך שטיי אויף, :Singular מיר שטייען אויף, די צייטונגען, מיר נעמען, מיר טרינקען, מיר שמייכלען :Plural Vocabulary Take care only to use Yiddish words. Do not use English words spelled in Yiddish as a substitute! Refer to the vocabulary list and sample examination to get a feel of the level expected. Your Yiddish vocabulary should include: • Basic nouns such as colors, numbers, simple furniture, simple foods, articles of clothing, body parts, days of the week, etc. • Basic verbs (e.g., walking, eating) in the present tense and the infinitive form. (צו, מיט, ווען,פון וואו, און ,.Basic connectors and prepositions. (e.g • .(וואס, וואו, וויפל, ווען ,.Question words (e.g • .(רויט, טרויעריג, קאלט, פריילאך ,.Basic adjectives (e.g • Grammar • Tenses and conjugations. You are required to express yourself in simple present- tense Yiddish, abiding by the rules of sentence structure, gender, and number. .as in the English a / an — א/ אן Indefinite article. Note the use of • • Definite article. Note that the English definite article, “the,” has in Yiddish a The plural .”די“ ,and a singular feminine form ,”דער“ ,singular masculine form Where it is obvious that the noun is masculine or .”די“ form in both genders is feminine, you are required to use the correct definite article. EXAMPLE: The father די טאטע :Incorrect .דער טאטע :Correct YiddishSP v01.indd Page 8 of 41 © 2019 by Torah Accreditation Liaison. All Rights Reserved. Yiddish Make sure to use the .(אונזער, מיין, דיין Possessive adjectives (e.g, our, my, your • correct form. EXAMPLE: The teacher took out a book from her bag. .די לערערין נעמט ארויס א בוך פון זייער טאש :Incorrect .די לערערין נעמט ארויס א בוך פון איר טאש :Correct .is added to the base form ‘ע‘ Remember, that when preceding plural nouns, an מיין בוך — EXAMPLE: My book מיינע ביכער — My books • Adjectives. Use the correct form according to the gender (in obviously mascu- ‘ער‘ line and feminine nouns) and number. Before a singular masculine noun an is added to the base form, and both before a singular feminine noun and before .is added ‘ע‘ plural nouns in all genders, an דער גוטער מאן — EXAMPLES: The good man די גוטע פרוי — The good woman די גוטע מענער — The good men Translating from Yiddish to English Translating from Yiddish to English primarily requires good reading comprehension. Before you attempt to translate, you should read the entire passage, building a mental image as you go. Even if there are some words whose meaning you do not know, you may be able to understand them in context. After comprehending the passage, translate sentence by sentence rather than word by word. A sentence expresses a complete thought, and is not a word list chained together. (Such a word list sometimes results from a purely literal translation.) Make sure, how- ever, to translate all verbs in the same tense as they appear in the original, and not to omit any key words. The translated sentences should be as literal as possible without sacrificing coherency. YiddishSP v01.indd Page 9 of 41 © 2019 by Torah Accreditation Liaison. All Rights Reserved. Yiddish Translating from English to Yiddish Translating from English to Yiddish requires the ability to write a passage in a foreign language within a given context. In addition to demonstrating your command of the vocabulary, you must express yourself in full sentences according to the rules of Yiddish grammar.