My Specific Ukrainian Yiddish Accent

Naftali Ejdelman speaks about his accent and dialect of Yiddish, giving examples of various vowels changes.
To see the full interview and learn more about the Yiddish Book Center’s Wexler Oral History Project, visit:
www.yiddishbookcenter.org/col...

[@nickbarber2080]

As a speaker of East-Austrian German I can understand about 80% of what he says...perhaps more. He even say "Bisscherl" which is pure Austrian. If we met,we could easily have a conversation,and be fluent in an hour or so.

[@LA-cm9uo]

As a Hebrew speaker, I can understand that 20% that's lacking for you. I wonder if we get together could we figure out 100% of what he's saying!

[@margaritas516]

I don't speak Yiddish, but I speak German and I understood most of what he said. I know these languages are similar, but some Yiddish speakers are very hard for me to understand, whereas this guy seems quiete easy to understand.

[@morehn]

it just depends on the dialect and pronunciation. Lithuanian Yiddish would sound closer to German than Polish. German Yiddish even more so.

[@totointernational3493]

@@morehn Maybe, yes

[@morehn]

@@totointernational3493 he speaks slowly and cleanly so maybe that's actually why

[@steven117]

so delightful. to hear..my first German teacher was Ukrainian.

[@era512]

Ich bin begeistert! Danke für dieses coole Video!!!

[@ldgd4773]

I can understand him much better, than most I heard

[@romantkachenko3188]

Моя бабуся знала трохи їдиш. В нас були сусіди євреї. Бабуся казала, що вони ніколи не сварились і жили дружно. Дуже порядні і чемні люди. דאַנקען פריינט🤝

[@Zachary-Rosenberg]

So his accent is like a mix of all of them. The Polish dialect pronounces מײַן as 'mahn' and not 'mayn', which he does here. The Litvish dialect pronounces אַזוי as 'azey', compared to 'azoy' in Ukranian and Polish dialects. So, it's a real mix. Then again, considering how Yiddish dialects are, there is no line where certain Yiddish dialects begin and end.

[@ArturoStojanoff]

My grandad was the son of Ukrainian Jews. He died when I was really little and as far as I know he never spoke Yiddish or Ukrainian to my mom. I wonder if this is what they spoke to him growing up...

[@orrling]

Sounds so much like Dutch!

[@siyabongamviko8872]

but do you understand him (assuming you don't speak German)?

[@Victims_Vox]

Yes Germanic for sure

[@MrLaizard]

"Guit" was used everywhere in old russian terrritories, not only in Ukraine

[@Inanitas_]

I didn’t know that the word “git” comes from Yiddish. I and my friends used it quite often in spoken Polish: instead of saying “jest dobrze” we said “jest git”.

[@ulexite-tv]

There may be subtle differences in vowel sounds, but i understood every word he said -- because it sounded quite a bit like my mother's Bavarian-Jewish accent.

[@inquisitorilyaal3959]

My grand parents spoke yiddish and I recall a fair deal, but i´ve forgotten a lot to...Is this someform of Yiddish learning channel? I live in sweden and would love to learn more.

[@seanosull2884]

They're working on a Yiddish programme on duolingo which should be available shortly hopefully (and it's free)

[@TheRaeffel]

@@seanosull2884 good to know, many thanks!

[@-so4im]

Eftersom Jiddisch är ett minoritetsspråk i Sverige borde det finnas kurser eller något liknande, jag är inte helt säker dock men den här hemsidan kanske hjälper lite. www.jiddischforbundet.se/404-nyborjarkurs-i-jiddisch-i-stockholm www.sol.lu.se/jiddisch/kurser-i-jiddisch-hosten-2020

[@Lagolop]

@@seanosull2884 Ya but they use Hebrew script so that is another huge hurdle for somebody like me.

[@anthonyehrenzweig1635]

He actually now speaks his version of Yiddish with an English accent

[@anthonyehrenzweig1635]

Sorry - American accent

[@juniorcrusher2245]

His own version? How can you make your own version

[@haroldgoodman130]

Sorry. He speaks a perfect, flisige idish.

[@rabbiboazmarmon7723]

He’s talking about dialect, not accent. I agree with you that his “R”s in particular sound very American-accented to my ear, though my ears are more attuned to this in Hebrew than in Yiddish.

[@SuperHartline]

Yiddish has vanished from the Czech Republic. But it was very funny to hear for other Yiddish speakers. As an example, I smoke was...Ahk Rahk. I smoke too...Ahk Rahk Ahk. My grandmother was from the Ukraine. Born in Lubeen (Novo Labun) and at the age of 8 moved to Slavuta. I understood every word she spoke. But she spoke PAVOLYA slowly. this guy redt vi di ganz pisht. Talks like the goose pisses, that is fast. Understood him totally after the second time I listened,.

[@Lagolop]

"redt vi di ganz pisht" that is one I have not heard ... lol. Remind me of "nit pishn oyf meyn fus, un zog mir s'iz regn" ;)

[@nicholasbakos]

Could you call it Galizianer or Besarabets Yiddish? Would his grandparents have called it "Ukrainian" Yiddish?

[@halnelson5936]

Podolian and bukowiner yiddish

[@brooklyndave5596]

So it's more than a Litvak v Galitzianer thing.

[@totointernational3493]

MaçaAllah 🤩😍🥰😇

[@NicolaiM654]

It's VERY strange!!! But i'm a native russian can understand this dialect of Yiddish! if this speaker will be speaks some slowly!!!

[@mashroomoleg]

Sounds like German, but something from Ukrainian I hear too.

[@carramba111]

Not a single Ukrainian word he said, not a sound, nothing 🙂(it’s my second native language after Russian, so...) I’d rather believe he’s a German Jew, not Ukrainian 😁

[@Wayfarer570]

@@carramba111 He said "Tate" which is similiar to the ukrainien "Tato"

[@ChildrenOfRadiation]

@@Wayfarer570 English "dad" is translated "טאַטע", no matter the dialect.

[@halnelson5936]

@@Wayfarer570 tate like bobe are in all eastern yiddish and come from polish where jews were first before to extend easter

[@kattestein]

I heard him say mame, zeyde, bobe, tate and take.

[@greyskyghost9164]

It‘s great that he‘s so fluent and that the lexis he possesses is so rich - he notices differences and similarities to other regional dialects. I love it, but what‘s killing me is the American accent - it ruins the magic

[@haroldgoodman130]

What accent? His Yiddish is perfect.

[@MrLaizard]

@@haroldgoodman130 He has a heavy american english accent

[@mlfconv]

bratislava

[@mlfconv]

svicerlaender

[@TheRanaro]

Sorry bro..your accent is so NOT Ukrainian. It's very American. It's an Americanisher Yiddish.

[@TheRanaro]

@Marco Ba Why? It just is.

[@samuel0851]

True

[@henningbartels6245]

Could it be, that he falls into Standard German instead of Yiddish a few times?

[@morehn]

no. He was raised on Yiddish, not German.

[@jazura2]

No

[@acidrain9606]

Isn’t Yiddish a bit like water downed german

[@nh2204]

No. They are both Germanic languages (both classified as High German), though as spoken exclusively by Jews, Yiddish has a heavy Hebrew influence with some Aramaic and Slavic influences too. German speakers can often understand a lot of Yiddish but the differing dialects have differing degrees of comprehensibility.

[@Lagolop]

There is nothing watered down about Yiddish.

[@HayaRubin]

Yiddish is a pidgin language that incorporates medieval German, Slavic, Hebrew and Aramaic words. Germans cannot understand the words that come from Hebrew and Aramaic. It is a great, great language and one in which it is very easy to be humorous. People from Switzerland and Netherlands can understand the Germanic words in the way that many Yiddish speakers say them pretty easily, but they don't understand the Hebrew and Aramaic words that are incorporated in them. Like "kimot" for example, which comes from Hebrew.

[@cufflink44]

@@HayaRubin Thank you for this useful comment. But may I offer a correction? It's possible Yiddish began as a pidgin language, but it is definitely not that now. This Wikipedia article clearly explains the difference between a pidgin and a creole, which is what Yiddish has evolved to be: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pidgin

[@westhoboken8167]

@@HayaRubin People from Germany,Austria,Switzerland and Holland also would have trouble with the Slavic element in Yiddish in addition to the Hebrew and Aramaic element.