The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-03-20
Announcing the Latest News From the Seat of War;

pedimenta of their travels. Starting
with popular dialect of German, min
gled with some Hebrew from their own
sacred books and time honored litera-
ture, they have added words from the
language of every country trayersed in
their journeys.
How Yddish Was Encouraged
The longer the Jews remained in any
country the more words they absorbed,
Of course, from the language of that
country. But oppressive laws, re-
straining the wanderers from accumu-
lating the means for an education, or
from securing an education at any
cost, encouraged the use Of Yiddish.
Forced to associate almost entirely
with each other, and cut off from all
familiarity with national literature 9TH
er than their own, majority of the
Jews In question have continued to
read and write Yiddish, and, above all,
to talk Yiddish, even when surrounded
for generations by neighbors employ
ing language wholly different.
Thus the only effect of propinquity
upon the ancient "jargon' is that the
Russian Jews mix more Russian in
their Yiddish, the Polish Jews more
Polish. But Yiddish Is understood
easily by well nigh all the Jews Of
Western Europe. 1t is also understood,
with some difficulty, by most Germans,
both Jew and gentle.
Before presenting a fragment of this
interesting composite-this tongue Of
the faith fidelity and sorrow-seme re-
marks upon the Hebrew might suit
ably be prefaced. Now, all Northwest
ern divinity students. all clergymen,
read r he G / o b e. But other readers
may not recall that the Hebrew alpha
bet contains. no vowels. Novels, in
deed, have been added in the way of
supplementary, specks or points, al
though stenogFaphers, pretty and plain,
will agree that such assistance is re-
CURED for children only or for learn
ers. What can be clearer than this in
quiry: 'W-I v ac-pt b-x m-r-c-n
b-t-s?"'s Certainly she will-either
American Beauties or even vioIets.
Modern Languages Written Back
wards. s.
Hebrew letters, then. include no VOW
els. But. Hebrew, we mustn't forget, is
always written baek4aard zt44a4lfsat is to
say, Hebrew has been written for thou
sands of years straight ahead, for
wards, from right to left, while Eng
lish and other upstart, modern tongues
are written backwards, from left to
right
This venerable and perfectly natural
method, no dOubt-Slnce some or the
earliest people fell into it unconscious
ly-is preserved by the Yiddish, which
is written backwards" as perverted
eyes would guess. But when Hebrew
letters are used for foreign words
whose pronunciation has not been fix
ed by usage from the beginning VOW
els cannot be easily laid aside. The
points or vocals, then, inserted subor-
dinately, like stenographfc dots, are
employed in Yiddish side by each"
with the fullf1edged consonants, when
ever German or other modern words
are written; when pure Hebrew words
are represented, consonants alone are
generally shown. No capitals are used
| in Hebrew or In Yiddish.
Now, we will sit down behind the
counter; after a good orthodox dinner,
in which no meat was eaten with milk,
and not an egg was used that revealed
a speck Of blood, and we will open our
latest. copy of the Jewish World, print
ed at No. 9 Rutgers street, New York.
Our eyes will turn naturally to the
headlines -"All about the War" These
headlines are printed with the present
article; any G o be reader can help
us peruse them; but he may catch their
spirit better If we remind him that