thanks joan.
b
At 02:56 PM 12/7/2005 -0500, you wrote:
Vikuah Vis-Vais again raises its head!
It is LC's current practice to romanize Yiddish single yud as "i" even
when anecdotal evidence suggests that "e" or "ey" would be closer to the
intended pronunciation, simply because anecdotal evidence is not specific
evidence.
This is why we romanize the surname vav-yod-samekh as "Vis" if other
evidence* is lacking, though 99% or more of those with this surname
pronounce it "Vais" (cf. German Weiss). There's always the odd "Vis" (cf.
German Wiss). This practice has been questioned many times, and LC has
remained consistent.
For NACO-type purposes, we require a similar practice from
everyone. References from other possible romanizations are desirable for
headings like these.
*Other evidence might be, for example, a found non-standard romanization
of the person's name, or an alternate spelling with yud-yud instead of
single yud.
Joan
>>> [EMAIL PROTECTED] 12/07/05 1:51 PM >>>
Folks:
I have a question regarding how to handle the older single yud in Yiddish
orthography.
I have a number of titles on a microfiche set we recently acquired
(Yyiddish publications from the Netherlands / idc) that have a variant
usage of yud that is apparently not covered in Maher. single unpointed
yud, as it is used, apparently not only has a value of "i" but also
"e/ey." for instance, shin-yud-yud-nun sofit (Weinreich spelling) is
rendered in many cases as shin-yud-nun sofit. Maher says that yud by
itself in a Yiddish context has a value of "i," and only "i." This is a
problem: with this as the only possible value, "sheyn," becomes "shin."
How should i deal with this? What I would like to do is have the option of
substituting an "e" (as in Hebrew) in lieu of "i" when appropriate.
Thanks in advance.
Bob
