the Germans are insulted by Yiddish.
I imagine there would be some. Most are surprised that it is so close to German. I guess most assume it is derived from Hebrew or some such.
There is Hebrew mixed in with Yiddish..........its alphabet is based on the Hebrew script..........and there is some other languages thrown in as well. As you know, German is hard to learn and to speak. Yiddish was a 'modernization' of the language.....reducing some of the archaic constructs that exist in German. I think the Jews refer to Yiddish as the mother tongue and Hebrew as the holy tongue. As for the Germans........at least my friends...........they are very proud of their language and don't consider Yiddish to be a Germanic language. lol.
There are a number of German words that have made their way into American English via Yiddish.
Maybe.........but I think many words came directly from German immigrants. Remember..........Americans of German descent are the largest ethnic group in this country. Words like kaput, kindergarten, wunderbar, zig-zag, wanderlust, blitz, flak, gestalt, etc..........I think probably came directly from the German language.
I think Yiddish probably introduced words mostly with the s sound or z ending.......schmuck, gelt, goy, spritz, putz, spiel, schnook, schlep.
BTW whenever I bring up the fact that Germans were the largest ethnic group in the US, my German friends stop talking. Its very odd. Its like it embarrasses them. |
