Yiddish phonology

Yiddish phonology

There is significant phonological variation among the various dialects of the Yiddish language. The description that follows is of a modern Standard Yiddish that was devised during the early 20th century and is frequently encountered in pedagogical contexts. Its genesis is described in the article on Yiddish dialects.

Consonants

In addition, the sonorant consonants IPA|/l/ and IPA|/n/ can function as syllable nuclei:
*אײזל IPA|/ˈɛɪzl̩/ 'donkey'
*אָװנט IPA|/ˈɔvn̩t/ 'evening'

IPA| [m] and IPA| [ŋ] appear as syllable nuclei as well, but only as allophones of IPA|/n/, after bilabial consonants and dorsal consonants, respectively.

The syllabic sonorants and IPA| [ə] are always unstressed. IPA| [ə] can be analyzed as the unstressed allophone of IPA|/ɛ/.Fact|date=April 2008

Comparison with German

In vocabulary of Germanic origin, the differences between Standard German and Standard Yiddish pronunciation are mainly in the vowels and diphthongs. Examples are the German long "a" as in "Vater" 'father', which corresponds to "o" in the Yiddish פֿאָטער "foter", and the German long "e" and long "o" which are diphthongized in Yiddish to "ey" and "oy". As in many Germanic languages, and even in many dialects of German itself, Yiddish lacks the German front rounded umlaut vowels "ö" and "ü". They are replaced in Yiddish by "e" and "i" respectively. Diphthongs have also undergone divergent developments in German and Yiddish. Where Standard German has merged the Middle High German diphthong "ei" and long vowel "î" to "ei" (pronounced [ai] ), Standard Yiddish has maintained the distinction between them as "ey" and "ay" respectively. The German "au" (as in "kaufen" 'buy') corresponds to the Yiddish "oy" (in קױפֿן "koyfn"); lastly, the German "eu" (pronounced [oi] , as in "Deutsch" 'German') corresponds to "ay" in Yiddish (in דײַטש "daytsh"). Consonantal differences between German and Yiddish include the smoothing of the German affricate "pf" to plain "f" (as in פֿונט "funt") or "p" (as in קאָפ "kop") in Yiddish, and the fact that Standard Yiddish (but not Standard German) allows word-final voiced obstruents.

References

Bibliography

*

Birnbaum, Solomon A., "Yiddish: A Survey and a Grammar", University of Toronto Press, Toronto, 1979, ISBN 0-8020-5382-3.

*
Herzog, Marvin, et.al. ed., YIVO, "The Language and Culture Atlas of Ashkenazic Jewry", 3 vols., Max Niemeyer Verlag, Tubingen, 1992-2000, ISBN 3-484-73013-7.

* cite book
last=Jacobs
first=Neil G.
title=Yiddish: A Linguistic Introduction
publisher=Cambridge University Press
place=Cambridge
year=2005
ISBN=0-521-77215-X
*citation
last=Kleine
first=Ane
year=2003
title=Standard Yiddish
journal=Journal of the International Phonetic Association
volume=33
issue=2
pages=261-265

Further reading

*cite book
last=Jacobs
first=Neil G.
year=2005
title=Yiddish: A Linguistic Introduction
publisher=Cambridge University Press
ISBN=0-521-77215-X

External links

* [http://www.jewish-languages.org/yiddish.html Jewish Language Research Website]


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