Yiddish and German: The Uneasy Relatives

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2011:

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Objectives, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and the Disability Liaison Unit: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

Yiddish, the language of the Central and Eastern European Jews (Ashkenazim) is a language that has developed out of medieval German. During its development it has incorporated many Hebrew elements, such as its writing system and a lot of its vocabulary, but also elements of many Central and Eastern European languages. During their long co-existence as neighbouring languages as well as within a diglossia situation, Yiddish and German experienced a lot of mutual exchanges as well as other phenomena of language contact. The subject is an introduction to the linguistic structure and the cultural and sociological situation of historical and contemporary Yiddish, from the viewpoint of German linguistics, sociolinguistics and contact linguistics. The centuries of symbiosis between Yiddish and different standards of German as well as the role of Yiddish as a gateway for the transfer of linguistic material from third languages into German sub-languages such as regional and group-specific varieties will provide an understanding of the interaction between neighbouring languages.

Students who have completed the subject will

• have gained knowledge of the diverging linguistic developments of German and Yiddish from the Middle Ages to the present time,
• have gained an insight into the main features of Yiddish as a Germanic language with strong lexical and cultural influences from Semitic and Slavonic languages,
• have an understanding of the factors that made Yiddish, the language of Ashkenasi Jewry, a candidate for “the” Jewish language at the beginning of the 20th century, and largely a minority language of Jewish diaspora today.

A 1200-word class paper 30% (due during semester) and an essay of 4000 words 70% (due at the end of semester).

This subject has the following hurdle requirements:

• Regular participation in tutorials is required with a minimum of 75% attendance.
• All pieces of written work must be submitted to pass this subject.

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

• have acquired skills in research, critical thinking and contextualising information.
• have developed skills in communicating knowledge intelligibly through oral presentations and essays in German.