Title: The revolutionary roots of modern Yiddish, 1903-1917 /
Authors: Trachtenberg, Barry.
Publisher: Syracuse University Press,
Year: 2008
Subjects: Niger, Samuel,; Borochov, Ber,; Shṭif, Naḥum,; Yiddish language Russia History; Yiddish language Social aspects Russia.; Jews Russia Intellectual life
Abstract: "At the beginning of the twentieth century, Yiddish was widely viewed, even by many of its speakers, as a corrupt form of German that Jews had to abandon if they hoped to engage in serious intellectual, cultural, or political work. Yet by 1917 it was the dominant language of the Russian Jewish press, a medium for modern literary criticism, a vehicle for science and learning, and the foundation of an ideology of Jewish liberation. The Revolutionary Roots of Modern Yiddish, 1903-1917 investigates how this change in status occurred and focuses on the three major figures responsible for its transformation."--BOOK JACKET.
Contents: Yiddish as instrument and ideology -- The Jewish revolution of 1905 -- From jargon to visnshaft -- Shmuel Niger and the making of Yiddish high culture -- Ber Borochov: science in service of the revolution -- Nokhem Shtif: a contrarian's Yiddishism.