Blessings, Curses, Hopes, and Fears: Psycho-Ostensive Expressions in Yiddish

ISBN-13: 9780804733946 / Angielski / Miękka / 2000 / 200 str.

James A. Mattisoff; James A. Matisoff

Opis

In this delightful book, the author enumerates and classifies the formulas Yiddish speakers use to express their emotions. It is a rarity among scholarly books, for it brings joy while it teaches; it makes us smile, sometimes roar with laughter, while it develops the most rigorous linguistic argumentation. The author analyzes the many kinds of Yiddish -psycho-ostensives---ranging from blessings and thanks to lamentations and curses. To a person who mentions something horrible you can say: Zalts dir in di oygn, fefer dir in noz (-Salt into your eyes, and pepper into your nose -). Or to a child you might tenderly murmur: A gezunt dir in yeder eyverl (-A health to all your little body-parts -). The author illustrates how these formulas can be used to fulfill social conventions, to keep away evil, to show off--or even to deceive the listener. Comments 1999] -I have known and profited from this book for many years, and its interest for linguistics and Yiddish studies has grown steadily. The book will have three audiences: specialists in Yiddish; linguists, psychologists, and anthropologists who are interested in the emotional side of language; and general linguists familiar with Matisoff's outstanding contributions, both witty and insightful, in other linguistic fields.- --William Labov, University of Pennsylvania -Matisoff's book was pathbreaking, innovative, and crucially important when it was first published and remains so today. It is as relevant as it was then, if not more so. Matisoff is a consummate scholar and also an excellent writer: clear and weighty but also whimsical and witty.- --Deborah Tannen, Georgetown University