Yiddish : : A Survey and a Grammar, Second Edition / / S.A. Birnbaum.

• VerfasserIn: Birnbaum, S.A.,
• MitwirkendeR: Baumgarten, Jean,; Birnbaum, David,; Birnbaum, Eleazar,; Weiser, Kalman,
• TeilnehmendeR: Baumgarten, Jean.; Birnbaum, David .; Birnbaum, Eleazar.; Weiser, Kalman.
• Place / Publishing House: Toronto : : University of Toronto Press, , [2021]; ©2016
• Year of Publication: 2021
• Edition: Second Edition
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (544 p.)

One of the great Yiddish scholars of the twentieth century, S.A. Birnbaum (1891–1989) published Yiddish: A Survey and a Grammar in 1979 towards the end of a long and prolific career. Unlike other grammars and study guides for English speakers, Yiddish: A Survey and a Grammar fully describes the Southern Yiddish dialect and pronunciation used today by most native speakers, while also taking into account Northern Yiddish and Standard Yiddish, associated with secularist and academic circles. The book also includes specimens of Yiddish prose and poetic texts spanning eight centuries, sampling Yiddish literature from the medieval to modern eras across its vast European geographic expanse.The second edition of Yiddish: A Survey and a Grammar makes this classic text available again to students, teachers, and Yiddish-speakers alike. Featuring three new introductory essays by noted Yiddish scholars, a corrected version of the text, and an expanded and updated bibliography, this book is essential reading for any serious student of Yiddish and its culture.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Preface to the New Edition -- Section A: Introductory Essays -- 1 A Brief Account of Solomon Birnbaum’s Life -- 2 Yiddish: A Survey and a Grammar in its Historical and Cultural Contex -- 3 Solomon A. Birnbaum: An Appreciation of a Lifetime of Scholarship on Yiddish -- Section B: Solomon A. Birnbaum’s Yiddish, a Survey and a Grammar (1979) -- Preface -- Contents 2 -- The transcription alphabet -- Abbreviations -- Part one. Introduction -- 1 Jewish languages -- 2 The cultural structure of east Ashkenazic Jewry -- Part two. A biref survey of the Yiddish language -- 1 The external history of Yiddish -- 2 The age of Yiddish -- 3 The Elements of Yiddish and their phonological history -- 4 Synthesis -- 5 Spontaneous Development -- 6 The Dialects -- Appendix 1: Old Yiddish or Middle high German? -- Appendix 2: Double U, Double Waw and Double Yodh -- Appendix 3: The sources of the New East Yiddish Vowels -- Appednix 4: Toponymical List -- Part three: Specimens of Yiddish over eight centuries -- Specimens of Yiddish over eight centuries -- Central Yiddish -- East Yiddish -- Part four: An outline of Yiddish grammar -- Note to part four -- Contents 3 -- Script and sounds -- Morphology -- Syntax -- Part five: Bibliography -- Contents 4 -- Prefactory Note -- Abbreviations -- 1 Yiddish as a Jewish language -- 2 Introduction to the language -- 3 Grammar -- 4 The linguistic inheritance of Yiddish and its development -- 5 Phonology -- 6 Spelling -- 7 Transcription -- 8 Dialects and regional matters -- 9 Vocabulary, etymology, semantics -- 10 Onomastics -- 11 Texts in transcription -- 12 Texts in Hebrew characters -- 13 About texts -- 14 Various linguistic and philological matters -- 15 Miscellaneous -- 16 Influence of Yiddish on other languages -- 17 Folklore -- 18 Literature -- 19 Bibliographical writings -- Supplement to the bibliography -- Index to the Bibliography -- Section C. 2016 Bibliography and general index -- 2016 Supplement to the bibliography -- General index to the 2016 edition