# Yiddish: Meine Yidishe Mit beerger fun der Shtot New York



## lapittenger

Hi all, I am working on a stage play about Mayor LaGuardia, and there is a short Yiddish passage in the text that I think was written phonetically, only to be pronounced. We think the rough translation is as follows: "My Yiddish friends from the state of New York, your support for Fiorello LaGuardia will do you good." However, we'd like a more accurate translation so we can put it in the program.

Meine Yidishe Mit beerger fun der Shtot New York, Ich vill helfen deenaytn fun der Yiddisher bafelkerun eier shtim far Fiorello La Gvardia vet helfn bafreedikn deedozeeke naytn mit frayd un libshaft. 

Please contact me if you have any thoughts. Thanks!


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## Frank78

It's not phonetically written but Yiddish as it looks like. 

I did a one-on-one translation (since it's closely related to German) but I have to admit it does not make much sense.  
I don't know if any Yiddish speakers are here. They could probably be more helpful.

"My fellow Yiddish citizen of the city of New York, I want to help (on) the 9th of/from the Yiddish population, your voice/vote for FLG *(will?)* help to satisfy (to make it a sucess?) this 9th with joy and love."

"vet" is actually "bet" but I think "will" is meant.

Could the 9th refer to any kind of celebration on that day or was it an election day? Can you give some background information. I'm not sure if FLG asks for help or offers help.

I hope I could, at least, help a bit.


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## CapnPrep

"9th" doesn't make much sense, does it? I think _dee naytn_ means "the needs". I want to help the needs of the Jewish population, your vote will help satisfy these needs with etc. etc.


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## duvija

Funny!
'vet' is 'are going to' (a kind of future you use when you're sure it'll happen)
 bafreedikn (I believe it's 'liberate', or 'make happy')
'deenaytn' is a mistery. It may be the 'needs' , or the date (9th of some month), or the neighborhood. I'll try to look it up better.


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## fdb

Yes, “naytn” is clearly “Nöte”.

“My Jewish co-citizens of the City of New York! I want to help the needs of the Jewish population. Your vote for FLG will help (me) to satisfy these needs gladly and graciously.”


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## duvija

Now it makes sense. And transcribed using the YIVO transliteration, which is now the standard in the US (not in Spanish, though): 

Mayne Yiddishe mitberger fun der Shtot New York, ikh vil helfn di naytn fun der Yiddisher bafelkerung. Ayer shtim far Fiorello La Gvardia vet helfn bafridikn di dozike naytn mit freyd un libshaft.

(the last words should be: with happiness and love). I can't find 'gladly'...


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## CapnPrep

duvija said:


> Mayne Yiddishe mitberger fun der Shtot New York, ikh vil helfn di n*ey*tn fun der Yiddisher bafelkerung. Ayer shtim far Fiorello La Gvardia vet helfn bafridikn di dozike n*ey*tn mit freyd un libshaft.


It's apparently the word נויטן _noytn_ with Northeastern Yiddish pronunciation (so with the same vowel as פֿרייד _freyd_).


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## duvija

CapnPrep said:


> It's apparently the word נויטן _noytn_ with Northeastern Yiddish pronunciation (so with the same vowel as פֿרייד _freyd_).



You're totally right. My problem is that my parents spoke Polish/Ukranian Yiddish, but in Uruguay, all of my friends' parents spoke very different varieties - they came from all over Europe, of course. Somehow they managed to create a 'standard', different from the one called 'standard', needless to say. Then, in school, I was taught that 'proper standard' (the one nobody ever spoke... Like [punkt capoyer], that was either 'pinkt kapoyer, or punkt capeyer'), and now my vowels got totally mixed up. I discovered I never realized my friends' parent spoke other dialects. As a child, you simply listen to what you need...


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## lapittenger

You guys are fantastic. Seriously, thank you. I do hope you enjoyed the process of narrowing this speech down, as it was very helpful to us!


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## berndf

duvija said:


> bafreedikn (I believe it's 'liberate', or 'make happy')


"Satisfy". The root is German "Frieden" (peace). You probable don't recognize the root because in Yiddish the Herbrew "Shalom" replaced the German word.


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## duvija

berndf said:


> "Satisfy". The root is German "Frieden" (piece). You probable don't recognize the root because in Yiddish the Herbrew "Shalom" replaced the German word.



Do you mean _'peace'_? In which case it could be 'liberate'?


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## berndf

duvija said:


> Do you mean _'peace'_?


Yes of course, sorry for the typo.


duvija said:


> In which case it could be 'liberate'?


I couldn't see how this connection should be possible. The morphological analysis _be-fried-ig-en_ (in German; I am not sure about the Yiddish spelling, so I stick to German). _-en_ is the infinitive ending, _-ig_ is a suffix for adjective derivations, cognate and equivalent to English_ -y_ (like in _louse-lousy, hand-handy, fruit-fruity_, &c). The prefix_ be-_ when used to construct a (always transitive) verb from an adjective usually means _to make/render XXX_, like in English _to belittle = to make little_. Hence _befriedigen _could, semantically less accurately but displaying the logic of the construct better, be translated _to appease_. I.e. if you_ satisfy needs - Nöte befriedigen_. you "appease" them, you _put them to rest_. That is the logic of the word.

One more thing: you would actually normally translate _needs_ as _Bedürfnisse _and not as_ Nöte_ because _Nöte_ has a more specific meaning than its English cognate _needs_: It specifically means _emergency needs, sorrows_ or _worries_ and not _needs_ in general. I don't know in how far Yiddish נויטע (_noyte_) more closely follows the German or the English meaning.


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## duvija

berndf said:


> Yes of course, sorry for the typo.
> I couldn't see how this connection should be possible. The morphological analysis _be-fried-ig-en_ (in German; I am not sure about the Yiddish spelling, so I stick to German). _-en_ is the infinitive ending, _-ig_ is a suffix for adjective derivations, cognate and equivalent to English_ -y_ (like in _louse-lousy, hand-handy, fruit-fruity_, &c). The prefix_ be-_ when used to construct a (always transitive) verb from an adjective usually means _to make/render XXX_, like in English _to belittle = to make little_. Hence _befriedigen _could, semantically less accurately but displaying the logic of the construct better, be translated _to appease_. I.e. if you_ satisfy needs - Nöte befriedigen_. you "appease" them, you _put them to rest_. That is the logic of the word.
> 
> One more thing: you would actually normally translate _needs_ as _Bedürfnisse _and not as_ Nöte_ because _Nöte_ has a more specific meaning than its English cognate _needs_: It specifically means _emergency needs, sorrows_ or _worries_ and not _needs_ in general. I don't know in how far Yiddish נויטע (_noyte_) more closely follows the German or the English meaning.




_Bafrayen_, in Yiddish, is to free some(one), to liberate some(one). 
(from an old song)
Alzo mutik in di reyen, reyen (or 'rayen')
in di reyen tsu bafrayen, bafrayen
tsu bafrayen, tsu banayen, banayen
undzer alte velt.


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## berndf

duvija said:


> _Bafrayen_, in Yiddish, is to free some(one), to liberate some(one).


The root of this verb, German spelling _befreien_, morphological analysis _be-frei-en,_ is the adjective _frei_ pronounced [fʁaɪ] < Old High German _frī_, cognate and semantic equivalent of English _free_. There is no connection to _befriedigen _and its root _Frieden _pronounced [friːd(ə)n] < Old High German _fridu_, cognate to English _frith_. The two roots look superficially similar because they eventually trace back to the same PIE root (*_pri-_ = _to love_) but apart from this common origin in a very distant past, the two roots are completely unrelated in usage and meaning.


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## duvija

berndf said:


> "Satisfy". The root is German "Frieden" (peace). You probable don't recognize the root because in Yiddish the Herbrew "Shalom" replaced the German word.



Sorry, in Yiddish 'peace' is 'fridn' and 'sholem', both. The one I'm referring to is 'fridn', of course.


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## duvija

At some point, I got lost. I still believe we are talking about a cognate of 'freedom'.


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## berndf

duvija said:


> Sorry, in Yiddish 'peace' is 'fridn' and  'sholem', both. The one I'm referring to is 'fridn', of course.


If you are familiar with both "fridn" and "fray" then I am surprised that you associate the two words.





duvija said:


> At some point, I got lost. I still believe we are talking about a cognate of 'freedom'.


Than explain me what "fridn" and the derived "befridign" (remember, the sentence is for an AE speaker, therefore the outlandish transcription "bafreedikn") has to do with "fray".


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## duvija

I'll keep on checking.


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