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Complete Idiot's Guide to Learning Yiddish
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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Whether you're getting back to your roots or getting ready for your first
seder, it couldn't hurt to get a little help with your Yiddish, and the
formidable Rabbi Benjamin Blech is here to lend a hand with the
self-deprecatingly named Complete Idiot's Guide to Learning Yiddish.
This language has been a strong influence on American English and pop
culture, so even if you're a hundred miles from the nearest synagogue you
can learn plenty just from browsing the Rabbi's words of wisdom. It's not
just vocabulary lists and pronunciation guides, either--that would be far
too boring for such a vibrant language. You'll learn why a culture that
typically uses two languages (Hebrew and whatever's local) needed to develop
a third, and why it stuck. There's also lots of Jewish history and
contemporary Yiddish American crossovers to put the language in its
context--and, given the importance of humor in Jewish culture, there's a
liberal helping of jokes and funny moments to help you grasp words and
concepts. Chapters on holidays, travel, food, family, health, entertainment,
and more round out your Yiddish experience. If you want to gossip with your
local yenta, understand Lenny Bruce routines, or get to know one of our
nation's founding cultures a little bit better, The Complete Idiot's
Guide to Learning Yiddish will make you a maven. --Rob Lightner
From the Back Cover
You're not idiot, of course. You can serve up a mean s'il vous plait in a
French bistro, live la vida loca for a night of margaritas, and manage a
sayonara! after sushi, sake, and karaoke. But when it comes to throwing
around a little Yiddish, you feel like a total nebbish! Don't throw your
hands in a helpless "Oy, vey" just yet! The Complete Idiot's Guide to
Learning Yiddish is your guide to this unique tongue, whether you're
tackling rules of grammar or just throwing around some key phrases so you
sound a little less goyish. In this Complete Idiot's Guide you get a
fascinating explanation of how and why Yiddish developed, an easy
introduction to the Yiddish alphabet, as well as the distinctive sound of
Yiddish, and all the Yiddish you'll need for communicating with family and
friends or for bargain-hunting on New York's Lower East Side. This book
contains a treasury of Yiddish words and phrases for every occasion.
Product Details
- Paperback: 352 pages
- Publisher: Alpha Books; 1st edition (January 19, 2000)
- ISBN: 0028633873
- Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 0.9 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds.
- Average Customer Review:
based on 8 reviews.
Spotlight Reviews
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
best
introduction to yiddish yet, July 23, 2001
Yiddish isn't really one of those languages you can just go out and
learn. There isn't a nation where Yiddish is the official language.
There aren't Yiddish language institutes that you can go study at. The
best you will get is a few courses at college, or learning from your
jewish family (that is if they speak it). This leaves the rest of us in
sort of a dillema, which is the reason why I laud the Complete Idiot's
Guide to Learning Yiddish.
Nowhere else can you find such a user friendly introduction into a
language such as Yiddish. The reader will find a brief history of the
language, useful tips on how and when to use certain Yiddish phrases,
and grammar that doesn't scare you away.
I recommend this book to anyone Jewish. I also recommend this to
anyone who speaks the English language. Yiddish has had a tremendous
impact on English, and the individual wanting to master the English
language would do well to learn a little Yiddish. |
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
Rabbi
Blech, YOU RULE! Thanks!, June 19, 2002
This book is totally awsome! It is the funniest, most enjoyable
learn-a-language book you will ever come accross. Rabbi Blech is
completely on-the-ball with his Judaic knowledge which is interspersed
within the book. And why shouldn't he be? He only wrote two Idiots
Guides to Judaism, one which I have read and also highly recommend! (The
Complete Idiot's Guide to Jewish History and Culture)
On page 84 he says "Ask your Yiddish-speaking bobe [grandmother] or
zeyde [grandfather], and I can almost guarantee they'll be able to sing
['Di Grine Kuzine'] to you" and so I did. He was right! My Yiddish
speaking grandparents got about half way through the song until they
needed the bi-lingual printing of the song in The Idiots Guide to
Learning Yiddish to help them remember the words!
Expect to read this book and learn the Yiddish language, culture and
everything that goes with it (including why your Yiddish Mama won't let
you go out in the cold without a sweater.) You will also increase your
knowledge of the history of European Jews, laugh greatly (in some cases,
so you do not cry) and have an overall great time reading the stories,
songs, history, grammer lessons and vocabulary teachings.
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Customer Reviews
Avg. Customer Review:
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
 learn
a language without hearing it?, November 23, 2004
I bought this book because I've enjoyed Benjamin Blech's other
contributions to the "Complete Idiot's Guides": The Complete Idiot's
Guide to Understanding Judaism and the Complete Idiot's Guide to Jewish
History and Culture. After reading these books, I was primed to learn
some Yiddish--especially because it was the same author. When I picked
the book up in the bookstore, I quickly noticed that it didn't have a
CD, which I found odd. But with my faith in Blech, I forged ahead and
bought the book. Maybe it didn't need a CD. Well, it does. I'm not
Jewish, and I've never heard anyone speak Yiddish except for a few words
here and there on a TV show or a movie. THIS BOOK NEEDS A CD. I guess
most people who pick this book up have a bubbe somewhere that spoke
Yiddish to them, or they can ask for help on pronounciation. But I'm not
that person. Benjamin Blech is still a wonderful writer, and I would
find no fault with this book if it was accompanied by a CD. I'm giving
this 3 stars, however, because I feel that the omission of a CD for a
LANGUAGE BOOK is a grave oversight on the part of the publisher. |
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
For
the Jew or the Goy, April 28, 2003
I have been attempting to learn Hebrew, but I could never find a book
that gave information on Yiddish. When I discovered this book in my
local bookstore my heart did a dance, I absolutely love it. Rabbi Blech
did a wondrous mitzvah in writing this instruction book for the Goy or
the Jew. :) |
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8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
Fun
and Easy, September 10, 2002
Reviewer: A reader
This is a great book, it was very enjoyable and easy to learn from. It
will definitely give you a working start with Yiddish. |
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
Charming
and fun, March 13, 2002
Reviewer: A reader
I gave this book to my twelve-year-old daughter, who just started
learning Spanish as well -- she's half-Hispanic and all Jewish -- and
she's been quoting it to me ever since. Thank you, Rabbi Blech, for such
an enjoyable read. This book and "Haiku for Jews" are the current
favorites in our house. |
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