| abstract
| - At the beginning of the book, Rosten states that The Joys of Yiddish is not a text book for learners of Yiddish or a scholarly study of the language. He further states that it is not in fact a book about the Yiddish language but about Yiddish words that have been used in English. The book's introduction gives a brief outline of the Yiddish language, explains that there is no such language as "Jewish" and that not all Jews understand Yiddish. It also states that Yiddish speakers have influenced the English language to the extent that many native-speakers of English can understand such non-standard forms as "I should live so long!" "Smart, he isn't", "By Momma, he's a spy. By Poppa, he's a spy. But by spies, he's no spy" and "Who said that? Charlie? Charlie shmarlie! What does he know?" and also detect a Jewish influence in the phrases. The bulk of the book consists of an alphabetical listing of Yiddish words that have entered the English language. Rosten categorizes these words as either "Yinglish", words used in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and other English speaking countries, or "Ameriddish", words derived from Yiddish that were invented in the United States, such as "shnook" and "shmo", that are unknown outside of North America. The list includes many words connected to the practice of Judaism, such as Bar Mitzvah, Bat Mitzvah, Hanukkah, Pesach, Purim, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Some of the words and phrases that Rosten lists, such as "bagel", "nosh", "shm-" to negate the meaning of a word ("Oedipus shmoedipus! So long as he loves his mother!) are familiar to many people in English-speaking countries. Others are more obscure. Each word is transliterated following the conventions of English spelling rather than German, from which many of the words are ultimately derived. For example, Rosten writes, "shlep" and "shlemiel" rather than "schlep" and "schlemiel". The reason that Rosten gives for this is because most English words that begin with "sch" are pronounced with a /sk/ sound, as in "scholar" and "school". The Hebrew alphabet is not used in the book. Each word also has a guide to pronunciation giving English words that rhyme with it, for example, Rosten says that Yom Kippur rhymes with "hum dipper", Etymologies are given for the words, when they are known, speculative etymologies are discussed when they are not. Rosten explains the meaning of each word, advises the reader on how and when to use the word, avoiding any possible double meanings. In a few cases the reader is advised not to use the word because it is offensive. A distinguishing feature of The Joys of Yiddish is that the majority of the definitions are accompanied by at least one proverb, quote from a famous Jewish person or joke. Often several jokes are used to demonstrate the meaning of a word. For this reason The Joys of Yiddish has become a valued treasury of Jewish humor. Appendices at the back of the book discuss the relationship between Yiddish and Hebrew and between Yiddish and German and provide introductions to various topics related to Jewish culture and Judaism, including the Tanakh, religious holidays, Sephardic Jews and the Ladino language and the Jewish communities of Ethiopia and India.
- At the beginning of the book, Rosten states that The Joys of Yiddish is not a text book for learners of Yiddish or a scholarly study of the language. He further states that it is not, in fact, a book about the Yiddish language but about Yiddish words that have been used in English. The book's introduction gives a brief outline of the Yiddish language, explains that there is no such language as "Jewish" and that not all Jews understand Yiddish. It also states that Yiddish speakers have influenced the English language to the extent that many native-speakers of English can understand such non-standard forms as "I should live so long!" "Smart, he isn't", "By Momma, he's a spy. By Poppa, he's a spy. But by spies, he's no spy" and "Who said that? Charlie? Charlie shmarlie! What does he know?" and also detect a Jewish influence in those phrases. The bulk of the book consists of an alphabetical listing of Yiddish words that have entered the English language. Rosten categorizes these words as either "Yinglish", words used in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and other English speaking countries, or "Ameriddish", words derived from Yiddish that were invented in the United States, such as "shnook" and "shmo", that are unknown outside of North America. The list includes many words connected to the practice of Judaism, such as Bar Mitzvah, Bat Mitzvah, Hanukkah, Pesach, Purim, Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. Some of the words and phrases that Rosten lists, such as "bagel", "nosh", "shm-" to negate the meaning of a word ("Oedipus shmoedipus! So long as he loves his mother!) are familiar to many people in English-speaking countries. Others are more obscure. Each word is transliterated following the conventions of English spelling rather than German, from which many of the words are ultimately derived. For example, Rosten writes, "shlep" and "shlemiel" rather than "schlep" and "schlemiel". The reason that Rosten gives for this is because most English words that begin with "sch" are pronounced with a /sk/ sound, as in "scholar" and "school". The Hebrew alphabet is not used in the book. Each word also has a guide to pronunciation giving English words that rhyme with it, for example, Rosten says that Yom Kippur rhymes with "hum dipper", Etymologies are given for the words, when they are known, speculative etymologies are discussed when they are not. Rosten explains the meaning of each word, advises the reader on how and when to use the word, avoiding any possible double meanings. In a few cases the reader is advised not to use the word because it is offensive. A distinguishing feature of The Joys of Yiddish is that the majority of the definitions are accompanied by at least one proverb, quote from a famous Jewish person or joke. Often several jokes are used to demonstrate the meaning of a word. For this reason The Joys of Yiddish has become a valued treasury of Jewish humor. Appendices at the back of the book discuss the relationship between Yiddish and Hebrew and between Yiddish and German and provide introductions to various topics related to Jewish culture and Judaism, including the Tanakh, religious holidays, Sephardic Jews and the Ladino language and the Jewish communities of Ethiopia and India.
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