Say.............what?

[lwien]

A group of people are "you" ...

Kinda like moose, fish and deer, eh?

 

[CarolKing]

I realize the American language is difficult with all the rules and exceptions to the rule. I love all the different accents from different areas of the U.S, I guess I shouldn't say all. I don't like the ghetto language. Its sometimes hard to understand if you don't hear the accent very often or you don't hear it day by day.

I love listening to English language in other parts of the World like Australia, Scotland and many other places like of coarse England. Many different dialects in England. So many ways to say the same thing and it's all English.

 

[lwien]

Many different dialects in England.

I don't know how to speak Chinese but I've heard that the amount of different dialects in China is astounding. I guess considering it's land mass and population, it shouldn't come as a surprise, eh?

 

[arf777]

It is a fascinating and emotionally expressive language including elements of Hebrew, German, Russian, Polish and other local dialects. Many people use words from it without knowing that is what they are saying. Many words have entered common English like Schmuck and Putz, two Yiddish words for penis that most people use without realizing what they are saying.
Kind of like people like John McCain commonly calling people scumbags. Do you think he really knows that a scumbag is a used prophylactic? I think if he did he wouldn't use it as much, but then again its John McCain...

My favorite import from Yiddish to English that people do not realize came from it is 'Meh'. The closest English is 'baah'. Like 'baah' is the English for the sound a sheep makes, 'meh' is a version of the Yiddish for the noise a goat makes. It came to be a stand-in for any obnoxious noise, or a reaction to people saying things you find meaningless. My baba (grandmother) used to say it whenever one of us would sing an American pop song or quote a TV show or movie at her. While we'd say it to her when she began singing 'Romania, Romania' or 'Mein Yiddishe Momme' (or when she drank too much slivovitz and started babbling incoherently).

In some ways it isn't surprising- 'meh' was first popularized in English in the geek and IT communities, in both of which there are lots of Jews.

 

[arf777]

I don't know how to speak Chinese but I've heard that the amount of different dialects in China is astounding. I guess considering it's land mass and population, it shouldn't come as a surprise, eh?

There are actually over 100 languages native to China, not counting dialects. What is usually called Chinese by Americans is Mandarin (a dialect of Gan).

 

[lwien]

My favorite import from Yiddish to English that people do not realize came from it is 'Meh'

Here are a few other common ones:

Klutz
Nudge
Schlock
Glitch
Nosh
Schmooz
Schtick

 

[arf777]

Here are a few other common ones:

Klutz
Nudge
Schlock
Glitch
Nosh
Schmooz
Schtick

I did not know glitch was from Yiddish. That's kinda cool. Here are some more-

gesundheit
gelt
kitsch
nudnik
meshuggenah/mishigas/mishigoyim
keyne horrah
nu
kibitz
latkes
plotz
lox
megillah (most know this thanks to the gorilla, who actually used the word properly a couple of times)
mensch (Yiddish rather than German meaning)
kugel (Mr. Burns said it so it must count as quasi-Enlgish- "I've brought noodle kugel" - season 4 episode 2)
pipik/pupik
schlemiel / shlimazel (classic definitions- A shlemiel is somebody who often spills his soup; a shlimazl is the person the soup lands on)

 

[lwien]

schlemiel / shlimazel (classic definitions- A shlemiel is somebody who often spills his soup; a shlimazl is the person the soup lands on)

I know of no other language that has one word to describe soup spillage let along a word that describes the spiller and another word that describes the spilie.

 

[His_Highness]

My ex said "Yous" all the time. I worked hard to try to teach the kids that it IS NOT A WORD!!

Ewes are mommy sheep. A group of people are "you" ...

If I'm not paying attention I can slip into some pronunciations that aggravate my wife. Sometimes when asked where I'm from I will say Jersey but the pronunciation comes out Joy-Zee. This is shortly followed by my wife saying 'Don't mind him...he means Jersey but he says it that way to aggravate me'. To which I reply 'That not true...aggravating you is just added value'.

I know of no other language that has one word to describe soup spillage let along a word that describes the spiller and and another word that describes the spilie.

Yiddish was spoken in my home growing up when the intent was to hide what the adults were talking about in front of the kindelah. To this day my brothers call me Tatti or Tattila when they want to good naturedly play the mom-always-liked-you-best-card. One of my daughters made me proud by handling something perfectly the way my mother would have and I said...If Grandma were alive she would be kvelling over such nachas. My daughter didn't understand what it all meant so I explained what it meant and that I used Grandma's words because that's how she would have wanted it said and there wasn't a dry eye in the room.