The Yiddishkayt Flash Fiction Contest
A Test of Endurance! Yiddish is a rich and expressive language, filled with maxims and humor, bearing linguistic marks of the history and culture of Ashkenazi Jews. While many Yiddish words and phrases have leaked into our modern vernacular: some useful (shlep), some coarse (shmok), some can end up misused and mangled (think choot•spa). Now, a Yiddish word peppering conversation is one thing, but as time goes on these words and phrases, stripped of their home language, start to lose their creative power and stop transmitting their original sense. Quite the opposite from English’s sticks...
Read MoreNYC Releases Hurricane Evacuation Instructions in Yiddish
As Hurricane Irene comes barreling towards the East Coast, New York City has released evacuation maps in many languages, including Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Haitian Creole, Korean, Polish, Italian, Arabic, Urdu and Yiddish. Don’t forget to bring a sweater. Click the image below for a full-size PDF.
Read MoreRemembering Soviet Yiddish
Two new books shine a light on the shadowy memory of Soviet Yiddish culture and literature.
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