The Joys of Yiddish
Encyclopedia
The Joys of Yiddish is a book containing the lexicon
of common words and phrases in the Yiddish language, primarily focusing on those words that had become known to speakers of American English
due to the influence of American Ashkenazi Jews. It was originally published in 1968 and written by Leo Rosten
.
The book distinguished itself by how it explained the meaning of the Yiddish words and phrases: almost every entry was illustrated by a joke
. This made the book not only a useful reference, but also a treasured collection of Jewish humor
.
As is inevitable with any book that references popular culture
, it quickly became dated due to the dramatic changes that American culture
(and Jewish-American culture) underwent over the next 30 years. Rosten published revised versions of the book with different titles: Hooray for Yiddish! (1982) and The Joys of Yinglish (1989). In 2001, a new edition of the original book was published. Titled The New Joys of Yiddish, it was revised by Lawrence Bush
, with copious footnotes added to clarify passages that had become outdated. Some material was also rearranged.
Lexicon
In linguistics, the lexicon of a language is its vocabulary, including its words and expressions. A lexicon is also a synonym of the word thesaurus. More formally, it is a language's inventory of lexemes. Coined in English 1603, the word "lexicon" derives from the Greek "λεξικόν" , neut...
of common words and phrases in the Yiddish language, primarily focusing on those words that had become known to speakers of American English
American English
American English is a set of dialects of the English language used mostly in the United States. Approximately two-thirds of the world's native speakers of English live in the United States....
due to the influence of American Ashkenazi Jews. It was originally published in 1968 and written by Leo Rosten
Leo Rosten
Leo Calvin Rosten was born in Łódź, Russian Empire and died in New York City. He was a teacher and academic, but is best known as a humorist in the fields of scriptwriting, storywriting, journalism and Yiddish lexicography.-Early life:Rosten was born into a Yiddish-speaking family in what is now...
.
The book distinguished itself by how it explained the meaning of the Yiddish words and phrases: almost every entry was illustrated by a joke
Joke
A joke is a phrase or a paragraph with a humorous twist. It can be in many different forms, such as a question or short story. To achieve this end, jokes may employ irony, sarcasm, word play and other devices...
. This made the book not only a useful reference, but also a treasured collection of Jewish humor
Jewish humor
Jewish humour is the long tradition of humour in Judaism dating back to the Torah and the Midrash from the ancient mid-east, but generally refers to the more recent stream of verbal, self-deprecating, crude, and often anecdotal humour originating in Eastern Europe and which took root in the United...
.
As is inevitable with any book that references popular culture
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
, it quickly became dated due to the dramatic changes that American culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
(and Jewish-American culture) underwent over the next 30 years. Rosten published revised versions of the book with different titles: Hooray for Yiddish! (1982) and The Joys of Yinglish (1989). In 2001, a new edition of the original book was published. Titled The New Joys of Yiddish, it was revised by Lawrence Bush
Lawrence Bush
Lawrence Bush is the author of several books of Jewish fiction and non-fiction, including Waiting for God: The Spiritual Explorations of a Reluctant Atheist and Bessie: A Novel of Love and Revolution....
, with copious footnotes added to clarify passages that had become outdated. Some material was also rearranged.