tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27544716.post8629062757252819432..comments2021-04-29T10:29:38.411-05:00Comments on Consider the Source: Gentilic jargon with probable transliteration inconsistencyMichael Koplowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07334251239196640565noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27544716.post-16940128931942203522010-02-18T15:25:31.307-06:002010-02-18T15:25:31.307-06:00>Why does the title page of R' Abraham Pric...>Why does the title page of R' Abraham Price's edition of Sefer Hasidim give the place of publication as טאראנטא קנדה, with "Toronto" sp'd Yiddishly and "Canada" sp'd Hebrewly?<br /><br />If I had to hazard a guess, it's this: it is my continual observation that one thing people who think in the <br />Hebrew alphabet (or people who wish they did) do not do is give much thought or care to transliteration. Sometimes it's insufficient education, sometimes it's outright or unstated contempt, sometimes it's just a different set of priorities. It's why Artscroll can have their celebrated "system," "sephardic" vowels and Ashkenazic consonants, but even more so, constantly violate their own system at will. I've had conversations with people who simply could not see a need for some sort of consistent transliteration at all. If I pointed out that a good transliteration can tell the reader how the word is spelled in Hebrew, the rejoinder is "I know how it's spelled in Hebrew."Mississippi Fred MacDowellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02734864605700159687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27544716.post-82727964373231983682010-02-18T15:18:13.419-06:002010-02-18T15:18:13.419-06:00Mike, It's toward the end of the first volume ...Mike, It's toward the end of the first volume of Kitvei Hagry"e Henkin. I'm afraid I lost your email address; I'll just send it to you, as I have a copy. Please email me or write your address so I can send it to you. <br /><br />Here's a taste:<br /><br />BRUNO ברונא<br />OSCAR אָסקר<br /><br />Both of these, of course, presuppose a pronunciation which is not American in the slightest. On the other hand, he allows Franz to be spelled with either a tsade or a zayin!<br /><br />As for Rashi, note that the lo'azim themselves all have the gershayim! It's just pre-modern Hebrew for italics. :-)Mississippi Fred MacDowellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02734864605700159687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27544716.post-56606876633522564032010-02-18T13:24:12.920-06:002010-02-18T13:24:12.920-06:00Fred, I'd noticed this in Hallel. I once asked...Fred, I'd noticed this in Hallel. I once asked a rabbi why Rashi pretended it was an abbreviation. He said Rashi didn't pretend that. Maybe I would have gotten a better answer if I hadn't distracted him by using "pretended."<br /><br />The Henkin pamphlet sounds interesting. If you could send some bibliographic particulars, instead of making me try to find it myself, I'd appreciate it.<br /><br />For gittin purposes. This may be the answer to something I asked back in http://considerthesource2.blogspot.com/2009/06/yiddishkeit-and-hebreishkeit-in-toronto.html. Why does the title page of R' Abraham Price's edition of <i>Sefer Hasidim</i> give the place of publication as טאראנטא קנדה, with "Toronto" sp'd Yiddishly and "Canada" sp'd Hebrewly?Michael Koplowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07334251239196640565noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27544716.post-30003244943111223272010-02-18T11:43:32.691-06:002010-02-18T11:43:32.691-06:00בלע״ז doesn't *really* mean בלשון עם זר, or at...בלע״ז doesn't *really* mean בלשון עם זר, or at least it didn't originally (to the extent that people do understand it as an acronym, that's how they do use it).<br /><br />בלעז a fine Hebrew word, לעז means foreign as in Psalm 114 בְּצֵאת יִשְׂרָאֵל, מִמִּצְרָיִם; בֵּית יַעֲקֹב, מֵעַם לֹעֵז.<br /><br />" are/ were properly used in Hebrew to indicate special characters. <br /><br />Getting to the meat of the post, there is a small pamphlet by R. Eliyahu Henkin on the proper Hebrew spelling of English names for Gittin. Being written in the 1920s, besides for having some hilarious names, he also transliterates with a very heavy accent, probably as much that of most American Jews he dealt with as his own. One is hard pressed to find a single name in his list which should be spelled today as he spells it.Mississippi Fred MacDowellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02734864605700159687noreply@blogger.com