Reviews for Yiddish Dictionary SourceBook

The average rating for Yiddish Dictionary SourceBook based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2013-01-31 00:00:00 Ryan Ladouceur Somewhat interesting... Occasionally funny... Sloggy & Dry at times To understand Yiddish, one must understand the Yid and the deep tie to Torah and observance. Author Michael Wex gives us history - explanations - and interpretations of the Yiddish language -from ancient roots to present day kibitzing. When looking at Yiddish Heritage from the Eastern European Jews, ....Wex covers a wide range of topics and themes: Marriage & sex, money, disease, literature, cursing, nature, births, deaths, Kosher foods, shiksas and goys, ....often describing phonetic changes in Yiddish [I was ready to take a nap through these parts], --- and an overview of Ashkenazi life. I'll be discussing this book in further detail with my local Jewish book club soon! Liked some of it....wanted to sleep during parts too!

Review # 2 was written on 2015-05-02 00:00:00 Stephen Rutledge I really wanted to like this book and like the curate's egg, it was good in parts. Wex tells us early on that Yiddish is the language of complaint and sets out to prove that statement the entire rest of the book. The book is very scholarly and much of it is of interest but still, towards the end I was so depressed it was a struggle to finish it. Yiddish may be the language of complaint but its complaints turned humorous in possibly the most onomatopoeic language in the world. (Does schmuck sound anything but a stupid person? Does a schloff not sound like the nap you need after too big a lunch?) Jewish humour is a very strong strand in the humour of the US. Where the prevailing paradigm is to be on the side of the winner, always to have great self-esteem and to look good in the eyes of the world, the humour is the opposite: the small man who triumphs despite the odds. Two of the most well-known proponents of this are Woody Allen and Mel Brooks and where would they be without their joyous use of Yiddish? Indeed where would New Yorkers be if all the yiddish words were taken from their slang? The book would be best enjoyed by dipping into it now and again, no point in being heroic and finishing it straight through. A good book, a worthy book, but enjoyable - hmmmm?