If you are living in the United States, click here because this survey is for you!
Linguist Sarah Bunin and sociologist Steven Cohen of Hebrew Union College request all Americans, regardless of racial, cultural, or religious backgrounds, take their survey that asks questions about American Jewish Language:
- What is the depth of your knowledge and speech of Hebrew and Yiddish words like “shmooze,” “kvetch,” “mazel tov,” “chutzpah,” and “goy?”
- Why do you say “temple” when your friends say “synagogue?
- Have you ever visited Israel?
- Have you or your parents ever lived in New York?
- When deciding the name of your child, would you prefer “Christopher,” “Tyler,” “Alex,” “Lev,” “Joshua,” or “Ari?”
You do not have to be Jewish to take the survey, which will last about 15-20 minutes depending on your computer mouse agility.
Many thanks to wordsmith and copywriter Nancy Friedman (who happens to be Jewish) for alerting me about this educational and very enlightening sociocultural survey.
For more on sociolinguistics, you might like perusing through the 2,600 words and images in the Culturally Authentic Pictorial Lexicon.
[Photo credits: nofrills (top) and ncavillones (bottom)]
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Ari Herzog is an online media strategist and Newburyport City Councilor-Elect.
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As I said in their comments box, they should have asked up front whether or not I was Jewish, then provided two separate paths.
I knew (and have used) many of the Yiddish words. I suspect I learned most from comedians or from theater people.
BTW, if you’re interested in this sort of subject, I recommend a new book, “How the Irish Invented Slang”, by David Cassidy. It is very badly written, but its thesis is interesting. He postulates that the Irish who came here in the 19th century were mostly illiterate, but spoke a combination of English and Gaelic (corresponding to today’s Spanglish). He demonstrates that many of our slang words are, in fact, Gaelic. Here are a few:
# Baloney – Béal ónna, meaning silly, foolish talk
# Boss – Bás, meaning boss, best, very good
# Brag – Bréag, meaning a lie, exaggeration, deception
# Cop – Ceap, meaning a protector or chief. The verb “ceap” has meanings including to catch or intercept.
# Daddy – Daidí
Speaking of Spanglish, a new production of West Side Story is being developed by its original producer in which the Sharks will speak Spanish. There will be supertitles as used in opera. I’m hoping they will speak Spanglish, because that’s what Puerto Ricans in New York actually used.
Dick, thanks for the book suggestion; I'll check it out.
I hadn't heard of the WSS production but that reminds me of watching a Greater Lawrence Technical High School production of "Romeo and Juliet" two years ago. It was the school's first drama show in recent memory, I recall.
A friend mine who taught at the school had written and directed an urban parody of R&J, called "Lawtown" or something similar, in English, Spanish, and Spanglish. Naturally, Latino students (and a sprinkle of Asians and Caucasians) were in the play.
It was well-received, very funny, and I enjoyed watching it.
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