Origins of Yiddish DialectsThis book traces the origins of modern varieties of Yiddish and presents evidence for the claim that, contrary to most accounts, Yiddish only developed into a separate language in the 15th century. Through a careful analysis of Yiddish phonology, morphology, orthography, and the Yiddish lexicon in all its varieties, Alexander Beider shows how what are commonly referred to as Eastern Yiddish and Western Yiddish have different ancestors. Specifically, he argues that the western branch is based on German dialects spoken in western Germany with some Old French influence, while the eastern branch has its origins in German dialects spoken in the modern-day Czech Republic with some Old Czech influence. The similarities between the two branches today are mainly a result of the close links between the underlying German dialects, and of the close contact between speakers. Following an introduction to the definition and classification of Yiddish and its dialects, chapters in the book investigate the German, Hebrew, Romance, and Slavic components of Yiddish, as well as the sound changes that have occurred in the various dialects. The book will be of interest to all those working in the areas of Yiddish and Jewish Studies in particular, and historical linguistics and history more generally. |
Contents
| 1 | |
The German component | 87 |
The Hebrew Component | 231 |
Romance elements | 375 |
Slavic elements | 414 |
Sound changes and dialects | 459 |
Conclusion | 516 |
Yiddish dialect of PhilogLottus 1733 | 520 |
Germans and German language in Poland | 522 |
Appendix C Origins of Ashkenazic Jewry | 525 |
Glossary | 568 |
Main sources for Yiddish words toponyms and given names | 570 |
| 571 | |
| 593 | |
| 597 | |
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Common terms and phrases
Als'Y Alsy ancestor appears Ashkenazic Jews Bavarian biblical Birnbaum BNEY KHES Bohemian borrowed Christian closed syllables cognate consonant corresponds Czech lands diphthong discussed documents early Ashkenazic sources EAST CANAANITES East Slavic Eastern Europe elements Elia Levita etymon example fifteenth forms fourteenth century French German component German dialects given names graphemes Hebrew component heth hypocorism hypocoristic idiom influence Jewish communities Katz Kraków Latin linguistic Lithuania LitY mainly medieval migrations modern Yiddish varieties monophthongs Old Czech open syllables origin patah phonetic Poland Polish Poly Prague pronunciation qames question Red Ruthenia references reflexes of MHG result Rhenish Rhineland Romance samekh segol shewa shift Silesian sixteenth century Slavic languages spelling stressed vowels subdialects suffix Table territories TIBERIAN toponyms Ukraine Ukrainian UkrY variants various verb vernacular language vocalic Weinreich WphY Yiddish dialects Yiddish words ZARFAT