sf wrote:
> On Sat, 1 Jun 2013 17:18:03 -0400, "Steve Freides" >
> wrote:
>
>> Any Yiddish word written in the Roman alphabet
>> is, by definitioin, an approximation - transcription,
>> transliteration, or what have you.
>
> Have you found out if more than one spelling variation was acceptable?

I have not, but the process of rendering a Yiddish word in the Roman
alphabet really cannot rightly be limited to a single spelling. And we
haven't even discussed dialects of Yiddish. I know at least two main
dialects exist, or at least existed, but that's about the extent of my
knowledge.

FWIW, my paternal grandparents spoke Yiddish at home and my father,
although he almost never spoke it, understood it completely. Like many
children in a similar situation, when his parents (my grandparents)
spoke to him in Yiddish, he answered in English. Somehow, even a little
bit of it made it through to me - there are a few words, particularly
the names of some kitchen items, that my father never bothered to call
anything except their Yiddish names. Here's one:

http://translate.google.com/#en/yi/grater

It's pronounced "ribaizn" and it's still what I call a grater to this
day. Note that there is no vowel between the "z" and "n" sounds at the
end of the word, so it might be rendered at ribaizen or reebaizn or any
of several other variations.

OK, Google spells it like this: Rybyyazn - <sigh> - go figure ...


-S=