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The Story of Yiddish: How a Mish-Mosh of Languages Saved the Jews
by Karlen, Neal
- Used
- Fine
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Fine/Fine
- ISBN 10
- 006083711X
- ISBN 13
- 9780060837112
- Seller
-
Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
New York: William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, 2008 WYSIWYG pricing--no added shipping charge for standard shipping within USA. Pale grey boards, white spine with dark green foil titles, xi, 324 pp, notes, bibliography. DJ in Brodart archival cover. Shipping weight 2 lbs. (International 1 lb., 12 oz.). First Edition. . Fine/Fine. 21 X 14½ cm.
Synopsis
Yiddish—an oft-considered "gutter" language—is an unlikely survivor of the ages, much like the Jews themselves. Its survival has been an incredible journey, especially considering how often Jews have tried to kill it themselves. Underlying Neal Karlen's unique, brashly entertaining, yet thoroughly researched telling of the language's story is the notion that Yiddish is a mirror of Jewish history, thought, and practice—for better and worse.Karlen charts the beginning of Yiddish as a minor dialect in medieval Europe that helped peasant Jews live safely apart from the marauders of the First Crusades. Incorporating a large measure of antique German dialects, Yiddish also included little scraps of French, Italian, ancient Hebrew, Aramaic, the Slavic and Romance languages, and a dozen other tongues native to the places where Jews were briefly given shelter. One may speak a dozen languages, all of them Yiddish.By 1939, Yiddish flourished as the lingua franca of 13 million Jews. After the Holocaust, whatever remained of Yiddish, its worldview and vibrant culture, was almost stamped out—by Jews themselves. Yiddish was an old-world embarrassment for Americans anxious to assimilate. In Israel, young, proud Zionists suppressed Yiddish as the symbol of the weak and frightened ghetto-bound Jew—and invented modern Hebrew.Today, a new generation has zealously sought to explore the language and to embrace its soul. This renaissance has spread to millions of non-Jews who now know the subtle difference between a shlemiel and a shlimazel; hundreds of Yiddish words dot the most recent editions of the Oxford English Dictionary.The Story of Yiddish is a delightful tale of a people, their place in the world, and the fascinating language that held them together.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Twin City Antiquarian Books
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- ETJW00039
- Title
- The Story of Yiddish: How a Mish-Mosh of Languages Saved the Jews
- Author
- Karlen, Neal
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Fine
- Jacket Condition
- Fine
- Edition
- First Edition
- ISBN 10
- 006083711X
- ISBN 13
- 9780060837112
- Publisher
- William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 2008
- Keywords
- Ethnic Jewish Judaica
- Bookseller catalogs
- Judaica;
- X weight
- 32 oz
- Size
- 21 X 14½ cm
Terms of Sale
Twin City Antiquarian Books
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About the Seller
Twin City Antiquarian Books
Biblio member since 2005
Minneapolis, Minnesota
About Twin City Antiquarian Books
We are mail-order sellers of used and out-of-print books, selling on the Web since 2000.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Brodart
- Generally used to refer to a clear plastic cover that is sometimes added to the dustjacket or outside covering of a book. The...
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