Tell Me Why

Hebrew, Yiddish, Jenisch?

Does this obscure lansuace have a Jewish connection?

Elizabeth Applebaum
AppleTree Editor

I Q: Is it true that the phrase
"the melting pot" originated
1 with a Jewish playwright?
1 A: It is true indeed. Israel Zangwill
(1864-1926) was a leading play-
wright and author — not to mention
an outspoken Zionist. In 1908, he
!wrote a play called The Melting Pot,
I which inspired the phrase used to
I describe the United States as the
place where all cultures meld into one.
Interestingly, Zangwill was not him-
I self an American; he was British. Born
1 in London, Zangwill wrote many sto-
ries about life in the city's East End,
I where thousands of Jewish immigrants
1 (including his own parents, natives of
Russia) had settled. His books, such
I as Children of the Ghetto and Dream-
: ers of the Ghetto, told of a Jewish
I community that loved the comfortable,
1 familiar Old World lives they knew so
well, but also yearned to reach out to
I the rest of modern society.
In addition to writing, Zangwill was
a dedicated Zionist who visited pre-
1 State Israel and met often with
I Theodor Herzl.

I

The origins of such groups are
0: I have an interest in
obscure. In some cases, such as the
obscure languages and
Irish Travelers, they probably are the
cultures. Can you tell me
descendants of tenant farmers driven
anything about Jenisch? It
from the land by high rents. Some his-
is listed on the Web Ethno-
torians have speculated that Travelers
logue as a Syncretic lan-
may be descended from indigenous
guage (a combination of
populations that refused to assimilate
Yiddish, German and
into the conquering Indo-Europeans.
Romani). Who speaks it?
Travelers are known in almost every
Where did it originate? I
European country. Aside from the Tin-
believe it is known as
kers in Ireland, they include the Quin-
Yeniche. I only have seen
quis in Spain, the Polari and Shelta in
from the Web that its
Britain and the Reisende in Norway.
speakers are not
The Jenisch (or Yenish) are known in
"Romani" (Gypsies).
Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
— From reader K.R. in Oak Park
Travelers are not Gypsies (Romani).
A: Jenisch has nothing to do with the
However, the Iwo populations have
Jews. The language may contain
been known to travel together, and
some elements of Yiddish, but Jenisch
there is evidence of cross-cultural influ-
is not a form of Yiddish. The people
ences. In fact, during World War II,
I and culture it represents have, at best,
the Nazis persecuted the Jenisch,
I a coincidental relationship to Jews.
regarding them as a Gypsy tribe.
1 Jenisch belongs to that group of Ian-
That the Jenisch language is known
! guages, cultures and population
to have Yiddish elements is not surpris-
groups of Europe known generically
ing. Through the centuries, Travelers
1 as "Travelers." These are nomadic or
came to be regarded as outcasts liv-
itinerant populations, sometimes
ing on the fringes of society. They
regarded as separate ethnic groups.
could very well have had contact with
Among the best known are the
Jews, who also were unwanted in
1 Travelers of Ireland, also known as
I European society, residing in ghettos.
the Tinkers.
As the Jews had their own languages

— Hebrew and Yiddish — the Travel-
ers also developed distinct languages,
which could have incorporated Yid-
dish words. Like the Jews, whose lan-
guages made them unique, Traveler
languages often developed as a form
of secret communication (some words
in Irish Traveler, for example, are Eng-
lish words pronounced backwards).
The Jenisch are thought to have
I emerged in the 17th century. If so,
! they could have encountered itinerant
Jews from whom they may have
I acquired Yiddish words. In 1726,
I Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI intro-
! duced the Familiantengesetze, laws
I intended to diminish the Jewish popu-
I lation of Bohemia, Moravia and Sile-
sia. In addition to severe marriage
I restrictions, the laws permitted Jews to
I reside only in places to which they
had been admitted before 1726. As
a result, hundreds of Jews suddenly
found themselves homeless. They
I wandered about the countryside, sus-
1 taining themselves by begging. If
Jenisch populations existed in the
lands of the Familiantengesetze, they
may very well have come in contact
with the homeless Jews and thus been
linguistically influenced. ❑

The BiG Story

I vah of loving your fellow Jew — well,
that's what can be next to impossible.
While Jewish children's books are
almost as ubiquitous as monotone
telemarketers who can't pronounce
your name, only a very few of them
focus on middot, or character traits.
You'll find a million new Passover or
Chanuka. books a few weeks
before the holidays, but you would
be hard-pressed to ever find one
that talks about being respectful or

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loving of another Jew. (One notable 1 arduous journey across the desert. His
test: would Rivka offer water to both
exception: the highly recommended
1 him and his thirsty camels? Indeed,
Hanna's Sabbath Dress by Itzak
she does.
Schweiger-Dmi'el.)
Parents may be a bit on edge when
Kind Little Rivka is the story of the
Eliezer
gives jewels to Rivka because
biblical Rivka, or Rebecca, and it
1 of her kindness — the reward of a
nicely tells about her as a little girl
1 mitzvah is supposed to be simply
who was always loving to those
doing the mitzvah. Most young chil-
around her. Later, she so impressed
i
dren
aren't going to make the obvious
Eliezer, in fact, that he asked her to
connection her act implies: that if you
become the wife of his son, Yitzchak.
do something nice, you're going to
Eliezer had just come on a long,

get something back.
Kind Little Rivka is thoughtfully writ-
ten and the illustrations are pleasant
enough. Be forewarned, however,
that you will find errors in this copy
I (no commas where they clearly are
needed, a misplaced semicolon).
I Still, if you're not a stickler for punc-
1 tuation and simply want to show
your children the importance of
being kind toward others, this is a
1 nice little book. ❑