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June 30, 2000/27 Sivan 5760, Vol. 52, No.43
Does obscure language have Jewish connection?Tell Me WhyQ: Jenisch is listed on the Web Ethnologue as a Syncretic language (combination of Yiddish, German and Romani). Where did it originate? Who speaks it?A: Although Jenisch may contain some elements of Yiddish, it is not a form of Yiddish and the people and culture it represents have, at best, a coincidental relationship to Jews. Jenisch belongs to a group of European languages, cultures and population groups known generically as "Travelers." These nomadic or itinerant people are sometimes regarded as separate ethnic groups. Among the best known are the Travelers of Ireland, known as Tinkers. The origin of such groups is obscure. Some may be descended from tenant farmers driven from the land by high rents. Historians speculate that they may be descendants of indigenous populations that refused to assimilate into the conquering Indo-Europeans. Travelers include the Quinquis in Spain, Polari and Shelta in Britain, and Reisende in Norway. The Jenisch, or Yenish, are known in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. That the Jenisch language is known to have Yiddish elements is not surprising. Travelers were regarded as outcasts living on the fringes of society. They could very well have had contact with Jews, who also were unwanted in European society, residing in ghettos. As the Jews had their own languages - Hebrew and Yiddish - the Travelers also developed distinct languages, which could have incorporated Yiddish words. The Jenisch are thought to have emerged in the 17th century. If so, they could have encountered itinerant Jews from whom they may have acquired Yiddish words. In 1726, Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI introduced the Familiantengesetze, laws intended to diminish the Jewish populations of Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia. As a result, hundreds of Jews suddenly found themselves homeless and wandered about the countryside. If Jenisch populations existed in the lands of the Familiantengesetze, they may have come in contact withthe homeless Jews and thus been linguistically influenced. Q: Is it true that the phrase "the melting pot" originated with a Jewish playwright? A: Israel Zangwill (1864-1926) was a leading playwright and author. In 1908, he wrote a play called "The Melting Pot," which inspired the phrase describing the United States as the place where all cultures meld into one. Zangwill was British, lived in London and wrote many stories about life in the city's East End, where thousands of Jewish immigrants (including his own parents, natives of Russia) had settled. His books, such as "Children of the Ghetto" and "Dreamers of the Ghetto," told of a Jewish community that both loved the comfortable, familiar Old-World lives they knew so well, but also yearned to reach out to the rest of modern society. Zangwill was a dedicated Zionist who visited pre-State Israel and met often with Theodor Herzl. Q: I have heard that Rabbi Leo Baeck had the chance to leave Nazi Germany, but did not. Why? What was his fate there? A: Rabbi Leo Baeck (1873-1956), Reform Jewry's most prominent - and much-loved - figure in pre-Nazi Germany, did have the chance to leave when Hitler came to power. No doubt because Baeck had an international reputation, the Nazis in 1938 told him he could leave. But he refused to abandon his congregation and was consequently sent to Theresienstadt, where he was a prisoner for five years. He survived, and after the war he settled in England. Send your general-interest questions about Jewish life, history and religion to Elizabeth Applebaum, Tell Me Why, 14420 Vernon, Oak Park, MI 48237. Include your name and address. |
