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Yiddish as a Second Language: Difference between revisions

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Yiddish as a Second Language (view source)

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|'''Kaye Ballard'''}}
 
This trope goes back quite a ways in American televisionentertainment, almost to the point of being a [[Dead Horse Trope]], without passing through the stages of Clever Idea -> Trope -> [[Subverted Trope]] -> [[Discredited Trope]]. (Mainly because its roots are another fifty years back, in vaudeville[[Vaudeville]].) The characters—some portrayed as being Jewish, [[Ambiguously Jewish|some not]]—will pepper their dialogue with words and phrases in Yiddish (or more specifically, in Yinglish). Translations and subtitles are not provided, and meanings must be inferred from context. This occurs in both dramas and sitcoms, sometimes without regard to the setting city of the show, though it most often appears in shows set in [[Big Applesauce|New York]], where it's most common in actual speech, and [[Los Angeles]], where ''schmooze''—a Yiddish word if ever there was one—is a way of life. The criminal argot of East End [[London Gangster]]s has also absorbed a few Yiddish words.
 
Thanks to this trope, however, several Yiddish terms have become a standard part of American English vernacular. Concentrated in large American cities and spreading out worldwide, common Yiddish terms like "putz," "schmooze," "[[Word Schmord]]," are slowly becoming standard English words. This trope evolved from the early movies and TV—censors were aggressive in editing out curses, sexual references, etc. However, most of these early censors did not speak Yiddish, so the writers, actors, and producers ([[You Have to Have Jews|who often did]]) used Yiddish curse words as a way of [[Getting Crap Past the Radar]].
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{{quote|'''Lars Olfen:''' The ''naches''<ref>joy</ref> that I'm feeling right now... 'cause your dad was like ''mishpoche''<ref>family</ref> to me. When I heard I got these ticket to the Folksmen, I let out a ''[[Squee|geshreeyeh]]'',<ref>squee</ref> and I'm running with my friend... running around like a ''vilde chaye'',<ref>wild beast</ref> right into the theater, in the front row! So we've got the ''shpilkes'',<ref>nervousness</ref> 'cause we're sittin' right there... and it's a mitzvah,<ref>good deed</ref> what your dad did, and I want to try to give that back to you. ''Okeinhoreh'',<ref>not the word he meant to use; ''alav hasholem'' means "rest in peace," this is more along the lines of "knock wood"</ref> I say, and God bless him.}}
* A common gag in [[Mel Brooks]] films, usually doing them himself.
** The Yiddish-speaking Indian chief in ''[[Blazing Saddles]]''. His headdress actually reads "Posher l'Kesach" in Hebrew: roughly, "Posher for Kassover." When he meets Bart's family, he says in Yiddish, "Blacks!" When one of the other Indians raises his tomahawk, Brooks says, "No, no, don't be crazy. Let them go!" After Bart's family has ridden away, Brooks mutters, "Have you ever seen in your life?" He finishes in very Yiddish-accented English, "Dey darkuh den us! Wuff!"
** [[Mel Brooks]] as Yogurt in ''[[Spaceballs]]'' drops some Yiddish, such as, "The ring was bupkus!" Also, when about to translate the words on the medallion, he makes a bunch of croaking noises that are probably supposed to lampoon the fairly guttural sound of Yiddish. He's just clearing his throat.
** Rabbi Tuckman in ''[[Robin Hood: Men in Tights]]''.
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* In ''[[Independence Day]]'', Judd Hirsch plays a Jewish man and drops a lot of Yiddish.
* Used by every Jewish adult in ''[[A Serious Man]],'' and justified by that they are all conservative Jews in the late 60's.
* ''[[Top Secret! (film)|Top Secret!]]'' uses Yiddish dialogue and signage to stand in for [[As Long as It Sounds Foreign|actual German]].
* In ''[[Robin and the Seven Hoods]]'', Frank Sinatra at one point feels like he's being noodged. "It's an old Italian word."
* In ''[[City Hall]]'', Mayor's aide John Cusack (who's supposed to come from Louisiana) mispronounces "schtick" as "stick", prompting Bridget Fonda to snap at him to "get the cornpone out of your Yiddish" if he's going to get anywhere in New York City politics.
* In ''[[Mary and Max]]'' Max says a phrase in Yiddish whilst mailing a letter to his penpal Mary.
 
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