JEWISH ENGLISH
Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language
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1998
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© Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language 1998, originally published by Oxford University Press 1998. (Hide copyright information)
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JEWISH ENGLISH Short form JE. A collective term for several varieties of English spoken and written by Jews, marked by a range of lexical, grammatical, and other linguistic and paralinguistic elements. At present, the most common variety is an English influenced by
YIDDISH and
HEBREW, used chiefly by Ashkenazim (Jews of Central and Eastern European origin or descent). This variety has introduced into colloquial AmE and BrE many neologisms, such as
maven,
nebbish,
nosh,
shlep. Other varieties include a Judezmo-influenced English used by Sephardim (Jews of
SPANISH origin or descent), a 19c variety of AusE, and a formal variety that uses general English words, such as
academy for Yiddish-origin
yeshiva,
skullcap for Yiddish-origin
yarmulka or Hebrew-origin
kipa,
ritual bath or
ritualarium for Yiddish- or Hebrew-origin
mikva. The following characteristics describe mainly the American Ashkenazic variety of JE.
Pronunciation
(1) The following features are traceable to Yiddish influence: the substitution of /ŋg for /ŋ/ in present participles and other words, such as
singing and
singer; a raising of /ɔ/ in words like
off,
cough,
soft; over-aspiration of /t/; confusion of /s/ and /z/ in pronouncing the
PLURAL ending
-s in some environments. Certain features of Eastern Ashkenazic
NEW YORK City English of the immigrant generations (
c.1880–1940) are still sometimes heard: pronunciation of such words as
circle,
nervous,
first as if ‘soikel’, ‘noivis’, ‘foist’, and an intrusive /n/ in words like
carpenter (‘carpentner’),
painter (‘paintner’). (2) A widespread feature of Ashkenazic JE is replacement of Yiddish-origin word-final
-e /e/, as in
pastrame,
khale,
shmate,
tate,
Sore with
-i /i/, as in
pastrami,
khali Sabbath loaf,
shmati rag,
tati daddy,
Sori Sarah. (3) American Ashkenazic JE has numerous stylistic features, including those of pitch, amplitude, intonation, voice quality, and rate of speech, that reflect the influence of the Yiddish conversational style of the immigrant generations.
Grammar
(1) Yiddish and Hebrew
LOANWORDS are integrated into English in four ways: by dropping infinitive endings (
davn pray, from Yiddish
davnen) then giving the verb English inflections (
davns,
davned,
davning); by replacing Yiddish and Hebrew plural forms (
shtetlekh small towns,
Shabatonim Sabbath social gatherings) with English plurals (
shtetls,
Shabatons); by forming new derivatives with English affixes (
shleppy,
shleppily,
shleppiness,
shleppish,
shleppishly); by extending the function of loans, for example, the Yiddish interjection
nebish a pity, used (with the spelling
nebbish) as an adjective meaning ‘pitiful, unfortunate’ (
a nebbish character), and as a noun meaning ‘unfortunate person, poor devil’ (
What a nebbish he is!). (2) Some verbs are used in a nonstandard absolute way:
Enjoy,
enjoy;
Go figure;
I'm entitled. (3) The use of inversions for emphasis is common:
Shakespeare he is not;
A roof over our heads we have. (4) The use of Yiddish-origin constructions is frequent, and has spread into some forms of colloquial AmE:
I want you should do this;
He is a boy is all (that's all);
Don't be a crazy;
Again with the complaints! (complaining again);
Enough with the talk;
Begin already! (So begin!);
They don't know from nothing (Don't know anything). (5) Similarly, Yiddish-origin idioms are often used, have spread into AmE at large, and are becoming increasingly widely used:
Get lost!;
Eat your heart out;
I need it like a hole in the head;
I should live so long (I would need to live a long time to see that);
You should be so lucky (you are never going to be so lucky). (6) The use of rhetorical questions (usually
CALQUES from Yiddish) is frequent and similarly spreading:
Who needs it?;
What's with all the noise?;
So what else is new?;
What's to forgive? (7) Several Yiddish morphological forms have become common formatives: the dismissive
shm- in hundreds of
REDUPLICATIONS:
Oedipus-shmoedipus,
richshmich,
value-shmalue; the agent suffix
-nik:
beatnik,
kibbutznik,
peacenik,
realestatenik,
spynik,
noshnik,
Freudnik; the endearing diminutives
-ele and
-l, often appended to English given names (
Stevele,
Rachele), sometimes with a doubling of
DIMINUTIVES (
Debbiinkele,
Samchikele), sometimes with common nouns (
roomele,
roomkele,
boyele,
boychickl,
storele,
storkele).
Vocabulary
(1) There are thousands of Yiddish and many Hebrew terms used in English that relate to Jewish life:
shadkhn a matchmaker,
hesped a eulogy,
kanehore preserve us from the evil eye,
halevay would that it be so. (2) There are many compounds of Yiddish and Hebrew loanwords with English words:
matse balls round dumplings,
shana tova card a Jewish New Year card,
sforim store a Jewish bookstore. (3) Lexical items formed from general English words:
Jewish Star,
Hebrew School. (4) Semantic shifts in English words, often due to homophony with terms of Yiddish:
learn to study torah (the law), from Yiddish
lernen;
give to take, from
gebn, as in
Give a look;
by with, from
bay, as in
The money is by him. (5) Informal
ABBREVIATIONS for: vulgarisms of Yiddish origin (
TL a sycophant, from Yiddish
tokhes leker ass-licker); pejorative terms with English components (
JAP Jewish American Princess); and Yiddish and Hebrew expressions (
B'H meaning
with God's help,
zal an
ACRONYM meaning
of blessed memory).
Social issues
Speakers and writers of JE generally avoid terms with un-Jewish, especially Christian connotations, such as:
Christian name, the preferred terms being
first name or
given name;
AD and
BC, preferring
CE for
Common Era and
BCE for
Before the Common Era (both JE coinages); idiomatic expressions alluding to Christian themes (
cross one's fingers,
knock on wood/
touch wood,
the gospel truth,
Christ! Jeez!); terms with anti-Semitic denotations or connotations, such as
Hymietown (New York City),
jew down (to bargain sharply with),
Shylock, and
Yid.
See
ARABIC, BIBLE,
DIALECT (UNITED STATES) GERMANIC LANGUAGES, ISRAEL,
PUN,
SCHWA,
SHIBBOLETH,
SLAVONIC LANGUAGES,
YIDDISHISM,
YINGLISH.
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Fatal hypermagnesemia caused by an Epsom salt enema: a case illustration.(Case Report)
Magazine article from: Southern Medical Journal; 2/1/2005; ; 700+ words
; ...hypermagnesemia caused by an Epsom salt enema. A 7-year-old male...2 mg/dL. Discussion Epsom salt was first described in 1695...Grew took water from a well in Epsom, England, and created "Epsom salt." (3) Epsom salt is...
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Treat Summer Ailments with Epsom Salt.
Business Wire; 6/1/2009; 700+ words
; ...Poison Ivy, Oak and Sumac Epsom salt has long been considered...itches or burns the skin, Epsom salt can soothe," says...paste. * Take an Epsom salt bath, by adding two cups...I use it myself." Epsom salt helps draw the moisture...
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Magnesium Sulfate (Epsom Salts) Market In Relative Balance. (Markets: Inorganics).(Brief Article)
Magazine article from: Chemical Market Reporter; 12/10/2001; ; 700+ words
; ...are found in "bathing salts" soaking applications...people are turning to Epsom salt baths as a natural, healthy...says Mr. Dougherty. Epsom salts are also used as a laxative...second largest end use for Epsom salts has been found in...
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Back to Basics: First All-Natural Epsom Salt Provides Arthritis Sufferers With Relief.
PR Newswire; 10/13/2009; 700+ words
; ...For hundreds of years, Epsom Salt has provided relief to...for 32 ounces. Epsom Salt is made up of magnesium...soaking in an Epsom Salt bath is one of the most...your body needs. Epsom Salts also contain sulfate...Soaking in a bath with Epsom Salts is one ...
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GARDENSCAPE: ; Epsom salts remedy magnesium deficiency
Newspaper article from: Sunday Gazette-Mail; 5/6/2001; ; 700+ words
; ...huge pile of boxes of Epsom salts. And they were packaged...packaging of the Epsom salts - they come with directions...the only one. The Epsom Salt Industry Council estimates...Europe, consumers use Epsom salts mostly on their gardens...
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Gag Gift No More - Epsom Salt is Good Company; Movie Character Played by Dennis Quaid Should Celebrate Epsom Salt Gift.
PR Newswire; 1/24/2005; 500 words
; ...gift for his birthday: a box of Epsom Salts. "We're shocked, absolutely shocked that someone would think of Epsom Salt just for 'old' people," quipped...Hill, spokesperson for the national Epsom Salt Council. "Frankly, the young...
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EPSOM SALTS SOLUTION A BOON FOR 'BLOOMS'
Newspaper article from: Post-Tribune (IN); 12/23/1998; 610 words
; ...holiday plants blooming with a pinch of Epsom Salts - Christmas plants boast bright...coaxed to bloom again next year. The Epsom Salt Industry Council offers these tips...with a solution of 2 teaspoons of Epsom salt per gallon of water. When the...
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Epsom salt sales encourage holiday plants to flourish
Newspaper article from: Post-Tribune (IN); 1/13/2002; ; 501 words
; ...dandy information sheet that the Epsom Salt Industry council sent to us. It...solution consisting of 2 teaspoons of Epsom Salts per gallon of water. When the...the blooming plant with a water/Epsom Salt solution-but only enough to keep...
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Epsom Salt Producers Seek A $12 Increase to Cover Costs.
Magazine article from: Chemical Market Reporter; 9/6/1999; ; 700+ words
; ...OF MAGNESIUM sulfate heptahydrate (Epsom salt) are seeking a $12 per ton price...The biggest impediment to raising Epsom salt prices is thc maturity of its...Calif.-based SRI Consulting. Epsom salt is also used as a specialty fertilizer...
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EPSOM SALT.
Magazine article from: Chemical Market Reporter; 8/23/1999; 573 words
; EPSOM SALT--Effective October 1 or as terms and...for technical and agricultural grades of Epsom Salt by $12 per ton. Also effective October...prices for magnesium sulfate heptahydrate (Epsom Salt) to all list and off-list customers...
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Epsom salt(s)
Book article from: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology
Epsom salt(s) XVIII. orig. the salt obtained from Epsom water , the water of a mineral spring at Epsom in Surrey.
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Epsom salts
Book article from: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition
Epsom salts common name for magnesium sulfate heptahydrate, MgSO...first prepared from the waters of mineral springs at Epsom, England; it also occurs as the mineral epsomite. Epsom salts is used medicinally as a purgative; it is also...
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Epsom and Ewell
Book article from: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition
Epsom and Ewell , city and district (1991 pop. 66,000), Surrey, SE England. Epsom salts were first prepared in 1618 from the mineral waters there. Epsom was a popular spa in the 17th and 18th cent...
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salt
Book article from: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition
...are a special kind of double salt. Complex salts, e.g., potassium ferricyanide...in solution. A hydrate is a salt that includes water in its solid crystalline form; Glauber's salt and Epsom salts are hydrates. Salts are often...
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Sensory Deprivation
Encyclopedia entry from: Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine
...the person is suspended in a solution of warm water and Epsom salt without sound or light. This relaxation technique produces...1960 and 1970, allowing subjects to float freely in an Epsom salt and water solution contained within a dark soundproof...
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