By Eric George Tauber
SAN DIEGO — Any of us who have listened to KPBS radio have heard Richard Lederer (aka The Verbivore, the Wizard of Idiom, Attila the Pun & Conan the Grammarian). “A Way With Words” –which he hosted from 1998 to 2006- is must listen radio for folks who delight in etymology and clever turns of phrase. Semi-retired, Dr. Lederer writes a syndicated column “Looking at Language” in the Saturday U~T. His spiel, “The Joys and Oys of Language” was presented at the Lyceum as part of the 23rd San Diego Jewish Arts Festival.
His mother, Leah, was born in Eastern Europe and Yiddish was her first language. She taught, “If you have something nice to say, say it. But if you have something mean to say, say it in Yiddish.” And he noted that many of the sh- words are perjorative:
Sheygetz, shiksa, shikker, shlemiel, shlemozzel, shlep, shlock, shlump, shmuck, shmutz, shnook, shnorrer, shtunk, shtup …etc.
He describes the Yiddish language as “egalitarian and democratic” because –like English- it eagerly absorbs words from other languages and is governed by the people, not an academy. If you’re not familiar, Yiddish is a mish-mosh of tongues derived primarily from German, Hebrew, Russian and Polish.
His jokes were pretty corny, but the house was appreciative and listening so attentively that he was corrected when he made a mistake.
He then took questions from the audience, fielding some pet peeves from people who were taught an old-school way to say something and bristle at what they’re hearing now. Sorry Lady, but “these ones” is acceptable Standard English. Also, some usages have changed since many of us were in school.
His main point is that English is constantly evolving, especially as English-speaking countries absorb more immigrants and assumes its place as the global language of trade. Rather than fight the current, maybe we should just enjoy the ride. To navigate the risks and falls, we have the wise and learnèd Richard Lederer to guide us.
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Tauber is a freelance writer specializing in coverage of the arts. He may be contacted via eric.tauber@sdjewishworld.com. Comments intended for publication in the space below MUST be accompanied by the letter writer’s first and last name and by his/ her city and state of residence (city and country for those outside the United States.)
A good summary of what took place. I, too, thought the jokes were “corny,” or, maybe it’s because I
heard them all before.
–Eileen Wingard, San Diego