Politics of Yiddish: Studies in Language, Literature and Society

(Paperback)

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The geolinguistic aspects are obvious, especially in terms of preserving the culture 'of our fathers, ' government language policies and social developments antithetical to Yiddish, and so on....It is undeniable that Yiddish serves as a busy battleground for liguists with strong opinions and also as a subject for non-Jewish siciolinguists interested in the conflicts between favored and less favored languages growing and others fading in popularity or prestige, etc. The Yinglish if I may call it that, in which this book is now and then written, Yiddish words and expressions popping up with great regularity in a basically English text, is also fascinating. That is still another linguistic phenomenon in which sociolinguists ought to take more interest than they have heretofore done.

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The geolinguistic aspects are obvious, especially in terms of preserving the culture 'of our fathers,' government language policies and social developments antithetical to Yiddish, and so on....It is undeniable that Yiddish serves as a busy battleground for liguists with strong opinions and also as a subject for non-Jewish siciolinguists interested in the conflicts between favored and less favored languages growing and others fading in popularity or prestige, etc. The Yinglish if I may call it that, in which this book is now and then written, Yiddish words and expressions popping up with great regularity in a basically English text, is also fascinating. That is still another linguistic phenomenon in which sociolinguists ought to take more interest than they have heretofore done. * Geolinguistics *
This volume will introduce students of Yiddish and Jewish Studies to some of the important researchers, issues, and methodological and stylistic approaches in the field and will be a useful introductory text for language and culture courses where the teacher wants to extend the students' view beyond basic literary and linguistic material. The professional will find useful additions to a number of familiar discussions and may also find completely unexpected directions of considerable interest and value. The two essays translated from the Yiddish are an important resource and to some may be a revelation. All in all, Politics of Yiddish is a rich sampling of first rate work that extends the field. -- David Goldberg, Modern Language Association

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University of Oxford