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"The Hobbit" in Yiddish

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17 messages over 3 pages: 1 2 3  Next >>
geoffw
Triglot
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Speaks: English*, German, Yiddish
Studies: Modern Hebrew, French, Dutch, Italian, Russian

 
 Message 1 of 17
26 December 2012 at 3:08pm | IP Logged 
Didn't see this elsewhere, so for all Yiddish enthusiasts out there, please be advised that a translation of Tolkien's
"The Hobbit" has just been published in Yiddish. It is available at amazon.com (search for, e.g., "hobbit yiddish,"
you can't miss it), and at a few other places, as well.

Edited by geoffw on 26 December 2012 at 3:08pm

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Serpent
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serpent-849.livejour
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 Message 2 of 17
26 December 2012 at 4:41pm | IP Logged 
I'd love to read that one day...
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geoffw
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Speaks: English*, German, Yiddish
Studies: Modern Hebrew, French, Dutch, Italian, Russian

 
 Message 3 of 17
26 December 2012 at 5:32pm | IP Logged 
Naturally, I bought it within an hour or two of making the discovery. I plan to read it right away, but I also feel I
have to do what I can to support the (currently non-existent) translation-into-Yiddish industry.

BTW: Interview (in English) with the translator here: der-hobit-hobbit">link

EDIT: I'm starting to get frustrated with the linking system here. It really seems like a random thing as to whether
or not my links will work on any given day. Here's one more try:

link

Edited by geoffw on 26 December 2012 at 5:34pm

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geoffw
Triglot
Senior Member
United States
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1134 posts - 1865 votes 
Speaks: English*, German, Yiddish
Studies: Modern Hebrew, French, Dutch, Italian, Russian

 
 Message 4 of 17
26 December 2012 at 5:36pm | IP Logged 
If you'd like to start with something smaller, he's posted some other works for free download on his website,
h
ere
, including a translation of the Treebeard chapter from LoTR.
2 persons have voted this message useful



akkadboy
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Senior Member
France
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264 posts - 497 votes 
Speaks: French*, English, Yiddish
Studies: Latin, Ancient Egyptian, Welsh

 
 Message 5 of 17
26 December 2012 at 6:29pm | IP Logged 
Thanks for this, it's great news.

Has someone already read it and has any idea about the quality of the translation (better than the Latin one I hope) ?
1 person has voted this message useful



geoffw
Triglot
Senior Member
United States
Joined 4690 days ago

1134 posts - 1865 votes 
Speaks: English*, German, Yiddish
Studies: Modern Hebrew, French, Dutch, Italian, Russian

 
 Message 6 of 17
26 December 2012 at 7:11pm | IP Logged 
I read a couple of the sample pages at amazon (these were uploaded in reverse order, btw, so scroll to the bottom
of the sample) and I thought it seemed decent, certainly good enough to enjoy and learn from. Based on the
children's crayon illustrations, I was a little worried at first.

In a translator's note in the Treebeard translation he notes that he decided not to Yiddishize the names, the
language style, etc. and it shows. He uses an interesting orthographic convention in which he describes as follows,
in that same note:

"The first time that proper names are introduced in the text, they are presented thus: '[bold]Hobbit[bold]' or 'in the
[bold]large place[bold] [ed: is this a place name in the Hobbit that I don't recognize?]' so that one will know that it
is a proper name and not merely a phrase."

In the Hobbit sample, it appears that he continues with another convention by bolding the first LETTER of proper
names in subsequent appearances.

Based on the interview he grew up in a Yiddish-speaking home but didn't actually speak much Yiddish himself as a
kid.
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songlines
Pro Member
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Studies: French
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 Message 7 of 17
26 December 2012 at 7:40pm | IP Logged 
geoffw wrote:
If you'd like to start with something smaller, he's posted some other works for free download
on his website,
1">h
ere
, including a translation of the Treebeard chapter from LoTR.


Off-topic for The Hobbit, but I notice that Barry Goldstein's site also lists a translation of a chapter from Apsley
Cherry-Garrard's The Worst Journey in the World. I don't read Yiddish, so can't tell what the translation's
like, but the English-language original is one of the classics of the literature of polar exploration.
Picador's hardcover edition (1994) is beautifully made, but - in whatever form you read it - the writing is
excellent: quiet and understated; infused with wry humour. And - assuming you have an interest in that sort of
thing - the narrative is an absolutely fascinating account of a polar expedition. The style is more traditional in a
sense (it was first published in 1922), as is perhaps also its stoic courage.

As a taster, I've put a paragraph of the Cherry-Garrard's introduction online:
Author's
Intro, The Worst Journey in the World
.   I love the opening sentence (and know it by heart), but that first
paragraph will give you a sense of Cherry-Garrard's style.

One note on The Winter Journey (the extract which Goldstein translates): It begins with a page-long list of
supplies, which vocabulary will be more difficult ("portaging harness"? "blubber"?), but you can safely
skim it. PM me if you'd like the list uploaded as well.


Edited by songlines on 26 December 2012 at 7:51pm

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jeff_lindqvist
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 Message 8 of 17
26 December 2012 at 7:56pm | IP Logged 
Fixed link:
http://www.yiddishbookcenter.org/audio/now-yiddish-der-hobit -hobbit


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