Yiddish is alive and well.*
Michael Chabon’s The Yiddish Policemen’s Union revives the in-danger-of-dying language in a most creative way: the author imagines an alternate history, where Jews fleeing Hitler’s Europe are granted refuge in the Alaskan wasteland. The local language is Yiddish, and Chabon has “updated” the language for the 21st century.
In an interview with the New York Times, Chabon gives readers an inkling as to how he created his Yiddish slang. “…a sholem is a gun — a bit of wordplay, as ‘sholem’ in Yiddish means peace, and ‘piece’ is slang for gun in English.”
Below is a small selection of Chabon’s Yiddish jargon. Have a go – can you figure out Chabon’s thinking process?
Noz…(detective)
Latka…(beat cop)
Papiros…(cigarette)
Shoyfer…(cell phone)
Aside from the rather obvious Shoyfer we’re having difficulties determining the etymology of the others.
*Yiddish is alive and well. The YIVO institute recently launched an online portal for the Education Program on Yiddish Culture, where users can take a tour of Eastern European Jewish life.
