What a great study!

When I took your survey, I got a better sense of where I stand with my Judaism. Now reading your paper I understand it even more.

I hope schlemiel, klutz, schlock and schmatte are included in the Yiddishisms.

I saw, on a firetruck the other day, a sign that said "putzmeister"!

Thanks for the study!

In my family of origin we have noticed that we having an idiosyncratic usage of "inside": "I'm going inside" can mean "I'm going into the the other room" ; "Where's Sam?" "He's inside" can mean Sam is in another room of the house (or even, small apartment) that I'm in. In other words, we use the adverb 'inside' both the way other people do, to mean 'indoors,' and to mean 'in another room of the place I'm in' - not necessarily any more 'interior' than the room I'm in myself.

We were wondering where this usage comes from, whether it has some kind of NY Jewish / Yiddish connection, and whether anyone else has seen it.

The online lexicon doesn't display easily in firefox. window too small unless the type is shrunk drastically.

But very interesting.

I would like to offer a comment on the reason why young people speak "New Yorkish."  My children are 4th generation Baltimoreans (i.e. from "Balmer" in the local lexicon).  They speak New Yorkish, while the previous three generations of our family speak "Balamorese."  Why is that? 

I can tell you why -- my children were the first generation in our family to attend an Orthodox Hebrew Day School where they were influenced by their teachers from morning until night.  Those teachers, raised in the yeshiva system, speak New Yorkish even though they may not be from New York. 

New Yorkish is the accent of the yeshiva/seminary, and that accent is perpetuated to the next generation.  Every child in the system speaks that way regardless of where they or their parents were raised. 

Thanks for an informative survey.

There are so very many issues confronting American Jews:  assimilation, affiliation, pride in their Jewish heritage, attachment to the Jewish State of Israel, etc.  I often wonder whether those of us who have an affinity for "Yiddishisms" and "Hebrewisms" feel a greater responsibility to protect our heritage and Israel.

Of course, one can say that those same environmental and cultural influences that nurture our Jewish language comfort also encourage the sense of Jewish responsibility, but in these times, when we look for different knots to bind us to our Judaism, maybe emphasis on the "homey---- haimish," vernacular can help the process to accomplish more substantive Jewish goals.  Our tradition has informed us that language does matter.  Certainly it creates a sense of intimacy with culture for which so many yearn.

Thank you for sending the results-I remember how much I enjoyed taking the survey.  It also provoked conversation and discussion with many of my friends and acquaintances who also took the survey.  I find I use Yiddish terms more as I am getting older -not sure why.  Even using these terms with my non-Jewish friends.  I figure that at this point in their lives they should know them already!  I tended to avoid many Yiddish terms and in some ways "looked down" on and was embarassed by coworkers and friends who used them frequently.  Now I use mensch, haimish, maven, schmutz, beshert, oy gevalt, yutz, kvetch, kibitz, etc.

I took this survey and am glad I got the opportunity to see the results.  I thought that one category of observance, which could lead to further interesting analysis, is that of Jews who have become less observant.  What happens when a black-hatter leaves his community?  I understand that this would not contribute to the overall trends discussed in the survey, but it would show how one adapts his speech to American English...

One thing you have to keep in mind, regarding pronounciation, is the prevalence of nationwide radio and television.  Preferences were made regarding what is easier to understand over the air, for example.  Thus you may hear AH-range, as opposed to AW-range.  (I was taught HAH-rid, TAH-rid FAHR-head.  My teacher, incidentally, was a shiksa.)

I remember an ad for AW-range juice, spoken by Anita Bryant, followed by the announcer:  "Brought to you by the FLAH-rida AH-range Juice Commission."

Harriet,  This makes the point of the study.  FLAH-rida is a New Yorkish.  Here in Texas we say FLOOR-ida. Notice Jay Leno (from BAH-ston) says FLAH-rida.

"Gimme the kahkis. The What? The kahkis. I need to staht the kah."

Dear Drs. Benor and Cohen,

I was forwarded the survey months ago and was happy to fill it out. I appreicate the email providing the results of the survey and the conclusions you draw from it. Thank you so much for including your survey respondents in your announcement of the results. The report is fascinating, and I see myself, my friends, and family represented in the results.

When I took the survey I was amazed at how many Jewish words and expressions I really knew and used with out realizing it. Unfortunately my parents used Yiddush as the "secret" language. I wish they hadn't done that as there is so much color in Yiddush expressions. It is a missing link to my historical background. But anyway at 82 years of age I have survived so far without the benefit of having the Yiddush humor component. Even with this deficiency I see humor in most everything. And I have always taught my children that it is important to be able to laugh at oneself and at life in general.......an Americanized condition of a Yiddush Kup.

How fascinating. As the author/cartoonist of the popular 2001 kosher graphic novel called "Hoppel Poppel" this study would have been of keen interest to me, and to many of my readers. (The glossary of Yiddishisms in the back of my book, for example, would have been considerably enhanced.) One thing I learned on my cartoon journey: the word plotz, as my father used it, always seemed to mean to my brother and me "to fall down unconscious," as in "...he should only plotz." Maybe because of the sound of the word. I have learned since that it means to explode. Ha! Much more graphic. Anyway, thanks for your hard work. You had fun, no?

Thanks for doing the survey. The results are really timely, as I had been thinking about Yiddish lately, having just seen the Coen Brothers' new movie, "A Serious Man."  I was lamenting how long it had been since I actually heard Yiddish being spoken, since that generation has died out, and how great it sounded. 

I think maybe Jews have finally become comfortable enough in the United States so that they can allow themselves to use the word shul rather than synagogue without fear that it will make them seem "too Jewish."  Remember when people used to change their names so they would seem more American and less Jewish?  I don't think that happens anymore, or at least not much.  To me, this is one of the most interesting findings in the survey and one I would like to learn more about -- by becoming totally comfortable with and accepting of our "differentness" it seems we have made a whole lot of people a little more like us.  Did it start with the bagel becoming as Amerrican as apple pie, with Barbra Streisand becoming a superstar or with Saturday Night Live introducing a younger, non-Jewish demographic to fahrklempt? 

Much to contemplate.

I too thought the survey was fasinating and I do speak with the New York accent even though I haven't lived there in more than 60 years.  I know this because one of my bosses said that I say "WARSHington."  I was told by a customer once that I also speak Spanish with an Italian accent.

Go figure!

Regarding the use of 'ima' as a term for mother:  Among Jewish lesbian couples with children, 'ima' has become a popular term to differentiate one mother, who is often called 'mommy' from the other, who is then called 'ima'.

The survey results to not appear on my computer after clicking on Summary of Survey Results. Please advise as I participated & very much would like to read the results.

Thank you.

"Balagan" is not Hebrew. It's borrowed from Russian.

Great idea Sarah,

It is important and interesting work. Contratulations and I look forward to the webinar. There is already a synagogue locally that has expressed interest in discussing the subject.

Miriam Isaacs

I have a question. I wonder if the Yiddish spoken by the orthodox communities is having any perceivable influence on the American language. I would think that their rather closed way of life would restrict linguistic contact that would favor such influence (see Weinrich) but I have no true evidence one way or another.

Your numbers and trends confirm all my undocumented experience.  Do you ever wonder what our speech patterns would be if the immigrant generation were given the "bi-lingual" treatment like the Latinos today?

Your numbers and trends confirm all my undocumented experience.  Do you ever wonder what our speech patterns would be if the immigrant generation were given the "bi-lingual" treatment like the Latinos today?

Thank you for your work! I love the Yiddish  language but hate how some of the curses and demeaning words  are used by non-Jews as well as Jews.  When I hear such usage I explain it's not proper Yiddish.  A non-Jewish friend loves learning new Yiddish words so I teach him proper and meaningful words...I wish more people did the same and desisted from using gutter language.  Thanks again.  

Throughly enjoyed the survey, study and notes! !!

The Summary of Survey Results does not appear on my computer either.  I enjoyed participating in the survey.  It gave me much food for thought and I would like to read about the results. I appreciate your follow-up to those of us who did participate.  I am using a Mac, not a PC.  Do you think that might have something to do with the fact that I get a blank page when i click on your links? Strange?

This survey raises so many fascinating questions!

Is there any substantive difference between the use of Yiddish/Hebrew/Aramaic words, and the use of Yiddish grammar in English, which is likely to be used with less deliberateness (e.g. one of the previous comments to this survey writes: "You had fun, no?")

Will you take into account the fact that some of your respondents actually are Canadian?

Will you look at Jews who live in smaller, predominantly non-Jewish places versus big cities?

Why do you think you had more female respondents?

How do you account for the wild success of the number of responses you received? Would a similar number of responses have been received, do you think, had a survey of another ethnic/lilnguistic group been conducted? Do Jews have a particular interest in seeing such results? 

My goyishe ex-husband kept saying he was waiting in a break in the conversation for him to say something.  I told him it was never going to happen, he would be lucky if he only had to interrupt 2 concurrent speakers.

Now I realize it is cultural.   We are hard coded to interrupt.

I feel so much better.

I notice the venerable NY Times now uses the word "maven" rather routinely instead of "knowlegable expert", and "shlepp" must be in Websters already.

Thanks for sending the results.  Would love to have the fun of digging through the data for connections.  Big ah-ha for us is your finding that the use of "shul" is in the ascendancy.  We thought so, but we thought maybe its just our little Suburban Conservative microcosm of the world.  We had heard more fellow Jewish people around us using shul in casual conversation among both Reform and Conservative Jews, and surprisingly even among people who don't actually GO to shul.  What is different is the use of the word shul - now not so much associated with specifically the place for prayer or the act of going to a play to pray, but a broader use as a community gathering place.  And Temple, among both Reform and Conservative friends, has become a shunned word, a disdained word, even among those who don't go much.  I hear people say that Temple is more associated with other exotic religions, like Buddism and Shintoism.  But the foreigness and exoticness doesn't seem to explain the disdain for the word, like an involuntary cringe when non-Jews ask if you go to Temple because they think they are using the right word for it.  Temple seems to be a word that outsiders use more than insiders.  And among "shul goers", it connotes being a Jewish "lightweight."  And even those who aren't actually all that invovled don't seem to want to be associated with the word Temple.  "Shul" suggests regular attendance and involvement and "Temple" suggests the once-in-a-while attendance and invovlement.  I am wondering about the use of language to make others perceive you are more involved than you are.  A generation ago, that perception would have flowed in the reverse, you would feign a lower level of connection and involvement to fit in socially.  Now maybe using language to feign a higher level of invovlement suggests cultural aspirational changes??  I am thinking of a similar phenomenon as the taking on of specific words and phrases among the Ba'alei Teshuvah to seem more authentic, except here it becomes stratifications within Reform and Conservative Jewish identity (or aspirational, if not achieved, identity).

Thanks again!

As I understand it you allowed anyone who wanted to, to take the survey. (I took it after it was called to my attention by an email from a friend.) So how do you know that the results reflect a representative sample?

I really enjoyed reading the summary, which was forwarded to me from a co-worker after we had the "shul/temple/synagoge" conversation.  I too, am an interrupter, however was never told this as a child growing up in a conservative family with both Yiddish and German influences.  I look forward to reading more from you.  I will be looking up some of your other publications at the library.

Very exciting work!  I took part in Shikl Fishman's survey of radio programming around 30 years ago.  Please send him best wishes from Yankl in Portland -- and keep up the good work.

What a useless study.  By using a survey people self select the content and the linguistic verasitude of the study is destroyed.

Too bad, this could prove to be very interesting and possibly relevant if the study was done in a different manner.

Not to kvetch about it....

I found the results very interesting. I want to know more about the New York things you asked about on the survey, like "waiting in line" and "waiting on line." I signed up for the "webinar" next week, and I hope you'll talk about them there. Thanks.

Cursory look at words make me doubt some derivstions as too narrow.  E.g. 'zaftig' "plump" is taken directly from the German meaning 'JUICY'---not plump.

I had never heard of shmooze meaning "kiss up". To me it just means talking informally. Well you learn something new every day.

VERY INTERESTING STUDY

Well, that would certainly explain a lot, Gina. Perhaps you should contemplate the implications of that on your life, dear.

How about "Yucht?"  In my family it meant juice or fluid from cooking

I am a secular Jew, as were my parents. Yiddish was their secret language so I would not  ("lo mayveern)  what they were saying. However, after living in Israel and my daughter reversing our family's secular trend by marrying a conservative Rabbi has, to my utter amazement, made me check almost every entry as understood by me...only th most religious exprssions escaped me.  I know about the twirling of the chicken, but not the language.  I must say that some of the Israeli expressions spelled out lacked the Israeli emphasis and I did not recognize the words until I sounded them out. The most used expression by the children in Israel?  "Ze Lo fair" and it means what you think it means.