"Behema" Meaning in Different Yiddish Dialects

[Barbara Schwedel]

First of all, it's nice to "meet" everyone in this forum.

Second, here's my question: On http://www.jewish-languages.org/jewish-english-lexicon/words/48 -- which is a webpage on the word "behema," its Definition 2 is "an animal, especially a large one." Yet, the Notes on the same page state, "In some Yiddish dialects, beheyme is the neutral word for a cow..." Does anyone know which dialects?

The reason I'm asking is that your answer may give a "clue" to my maternal grandparents' origins. A number of years ago, they had just come back from a Bahamas vacation, and one of them said, "B'hay-mah is the Yiddish word for animal," prompting the other one to say, "No, it means cow." This tongue-in-cheek argument went on for several minutes and of course was never resolved. I've seen "behema" defined as an animal in a number of places, but until I found http://www.jewish-languages.org/jewish-english-lexicon/words/48, I'd never seen it defined as a cow. And it never rains but it pours: Right after that, I found http://www.translationdirectory.com/dictionaries/dictionary004_b.htm, which also gives both meanings.

Any thoughts? Even if they're general, they may be very helpful.

Many thanks in advance for your comments.

[Bochner, Harry]

In Yiddish the literal meaning of "beheyme" is "head of cattle;
cow". That's what you'll find in our "Comprehensive Yiddish-English
Dictionary", as well as Weinreich and Harkavy.

I'm not aware of the word being used for "animal" more
generally. Although you never know ;-) "Mit dialektn tor men keyn mol
nisht zogn keyn mol nisht," as Dr. Schaechter, olev hasholem, used to
say.

I think the issue in the remark in the page at
> http://www.jewish-languages.org/jewish-english-lexicon/words/48

is the distinction between "beheyme" and "ku". In general usage, "ku"
is more specific: "a female head of cattle", while "beheyme" includes
bulls, and I think oxen. Furthermore, "beheyme" has the additional
meaning of "stupid person", and "ku" doesn't have those connotations.

That web page indicates that in some dialects "beheyme" supersedes
"ku" as the everyday word for "cow". I don't know of such
dialects, but I'm no expert. If the Language and Culture Atlas of
Ashkenazic Jewry tested this, that would be the authoritative source.

As far as placing your grandparents on the dialect map, your best bet
is the usual pronunciation differences. [beheyme] with "ey" as in
"they", or [behayme] with "ay" as in "aye"? "kugl", "kigl" or "kiigl"?
etc.

--
Harry Bochner

http://verterbukh.org

[George Jochnowitz]

The Lubavitcher Hasidim whom I studied many years ago spoke Northeastern
Yiddish. They all said "beheyme" Meaning "cow."
Here is something I wrote about the Lubavitchers, although I don't get into
the question of "beheyme."
http://www.jochnowitz.net/Essays/BilingualismAndDialect.html
My parents, who were from Galicia, used "behayme" (Central Yiddish
pronunciation) to mean "domesticated animal," as distinct from "khaye,"
meaning "wild animal."



--------------------------------------------------
From: "Barbara Schwedel" <bsch...@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 08, 2015 8:01 AM
To: <jewish-l...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [Jewish Languages] "Behema" Meaning in Different Yiddish Dialects

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[Andrey Rozenberg]

Yes, beheyme is a neutral term for cow in Belorussian Yiddish and
probably in the North Eastern dialect as a whole (= NEY, = litvish).
I believe, some details were provided in "The field of Yiddish III"
(1968), I can check later.

--
Andrey Rozenberg

Ruhr University Bochum
Department of Animal Ecology,
Evolution and Biodiversity,
Universitätsstraße 150
D-44801 Bochum, Germany

[Isaac Bleaman]

As the person who wrote that footnote on the Jewish English Lexicon, I confirm that this is what I had in mind -- I had either read somewhere or learned in a Yiddish class that Litvish Yiddish has "beheyme" as the typical word for a cow. I should have cited my source, or left that comment out.

On Wed, Apr 8, 2015 at 9:48 AM, Andrey Rozenberg <ja...@yandex.com> wrote:

Yes, beheyme is a neutral term for cow in Belorussian Yiddish and probably in the North Eastern dialect as a whole (= NEY, = litvish).
I believe, some details were provided in "The field of Yiddish III" (1968), I can check later.

On 04/08/2015 03:39 PM, George Jochnowitz wrote:

The Lubavitcher Hasidim whom I studied many years ago spoke Northeastern Yiddish. They all said "beheyme" Meaning "cow."
Here is something I wrote about the Lubavitchers, although I don't get into the question of "beheyme."
http://www.jochnowitz.net/Essays/BilingualismAndDialect.html
My parents, who were from Galicia, used "behayme" (Central Yiddish pronunciation) to mean "domesticated animal," as distinct from "khaye," meaning "wild animal."



--------------------------------------------------
From: "Barbara Schwedel" <bsch...@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 08, 2015 8:01 AM

To: <jewish-languages@googlegroups.com>

Subject: [Jewish Languages] "Behema" Meaning in Different Yiddish Dialects

First of all, it's nice to "meet" everyone in this forum.

Second, here's my question: On http://www.jewish-languages.org/jewish-english-lexicon/words/48 -- which is a webpage on the word "behema," its Definition 2 is "an animal, especially a large one." Yet, the Notes on the same page state, "In some Yiddish dialects, beheyme is the neutral word for a cow..." Does anyone know which dialects?

The reason I'm asking is that your answer may give a "clue" to my maternal grandparents' origins. A number of years ago, they had just come back from a Bahamas vacation, and one of them said, "B'hay-mah is the Yiddish word for animal," prompting the other one to say, "No, it means cow." This tongue-in-cheek argument went on for several minutes and of course was never resolved. I've seen "behema" defined as an animal in a number of places, but until I found http://www.jewish-languages.org/jewish-english-lexicon/words/48, I'd never seen it defined as a cow. And it never rains but it pours: Right after that, I found http://www.translationdirectory.com/dictionaries/dictionary004_b.htm, which also gives both meanings.

Any thoughts? Even if they're general, they may be very helpful.

Many thanks in advance for your comments.

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Andrey Rozenberg

Ruhr University Bochum
Department of Animal Ecology,
Evolution and Biodiversity,
Universitätsstraße 150
D-44801 Bochum, Germany

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[Sabar, Yona]

>The discussion about beheyme reminded me an Israeli anecdote:
>
>A Yemenite met in Hadassah Hospital's elevator a Yeke (Jecke) doctor who
>had operated on him a few years before. So he greeted him: Shalom
>Professor Hamor (donkey)!. The doctor corrected him: My name is not
>Professor Hamor. I am Doctor Professor Schor (bullock). The Yemenite: Oh,
>I am sorry, I remembered that you were some kind of a behemah, but I
>couldn't remember which one.
>PesaH sameaH!

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[Andrey Rozenberg]

So, in Uriel Weinreich's article "Geographic makeup of Belorussian Yiddish" (FoY III), on p. 85 " behejmes || ki(en) 'cows' " is listed among isoglosses roughly defining Belorussian Yiddish. Southern part of this particular isogloss, in fact, goes deeply into Ukraine and encircles Zhitomir, Kiev and even some territories outside of the major "greyser || groyser" isogloss.

On 04/08/2015 03:54 PM, Isaac Bleaman wrote:

As the person who wrote that footnote on the Jewish English Lexicon, I confirm that this is what I had in mind -- I had either read somewhere or learned in a Yiddish class that Litvish Yiddish has "beheyme" as the typical word for a cow. I should have cited my source, or left that comment out.

On Wed, Apr 8, 2015 at 9:48 AM, Andrey Rozenberg <ja...@yandex.com> wrote:

Yes, beheyme is a neutral term for cow in Belorussian Yiddish and probably in the North Eastern dialect as a whole (= NEY, = litvish).
I believe, some details were provided in "The field of Yiddish III" (1968), I can check later.

On 04/08/2015 03:39 PM, George Jochnowitz wrote:

The Lubavitcher Hasidim whom I studied many years ago spoke Northeastern Yiddish. They all said "beheyme" Meaning "cow."
Here is something I wrote about the Lubavitchers, although I don't get into the question of "beheyme."
http://www.jochnowitz.net/Essays/BilingualismAndDialect.html
My parents, who were from Galicia, used "behayme" (Central Yiddish pronunciation) to mean "domesticated animal," as distinct from "khaye," meaning "wild animal."



--------------------------------------------------
From: "Barbara Schwedel" <bsch...@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 08, 2015 8:01 AM

To: <jewish-l...@googlegroups.com>

Subject: [Jewish Languages] "Behema" Meaning in Different Yiddish Dialects

First of all, it's nice to "meet" everyone in this forum.

Second, here's my question: On http://www.jewish-languages.org/jewish-english-lexicon/words/48 -- which is a webpage on the word "behema," its Definition 2 is "an animal, especially a large one." Yet, the Notes on the same page state, "In some Yiddish dialects, beheyme is the neutral word for a cow..." Does anyone know which dialects?

The reason I'm asking is that your answer may give a "clue" to my maternal grandparents' origins. A number of years ago, they had just come back from a Bahamas vacation, and one of them said, "B'hay-mah is the Yiddish word for animal," prompting the other one to say, "No, it means cow." This tongue-in-cheek argument went on for several minutes and of course was never resolved. I've seen "behema" defined as an animal in a number of places, but until I found http://www.jewish-languages.org/jewish-english-lexicon/words/48, I'd never seen it defined as a cow. And it never rains but it pours: Right after that, I found http://www.translationdirectory.com/dictionaries/dictionary004_b.htm, which also gives both meanings.

Any thoughts? Even if they're general, they may be very helpful.

Many thanks in advance for your comments.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Jewish Languages" group.

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--

Andrey Rozenberg

Ruhr University Bochum
Department of Animal Ecology,
Evolution and Biodiversity,
Universitätsstraße 150
D-44801 Bochum, Germany

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[ajaviram]

My Yiddish is from Grodno a town that at various times was part of Russia,
Poland, Lithuania, etc.
"Beheyme" in proper polite Yiddish is simply a head of cattle, whether cow,
sheep or goat, etc.
A mild curse in Yiddish, is "du bist a beheyme betzures ferd" (You're an
animal in the form of a horse...).
No language is more expressive than Yiddish... May it live long!
Jerry Aviram

----- Original Message -----
From: "Bochner, Harry" <hboc...@post.harvard.edu>
To: <jewish-l...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 08, 2015 4:12 PM
Subject: Re: [Jewish Languages] "Behema" Meaning in Different Yiddish
Dialects

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> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
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> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an
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הודעת דוא"ל זו נבדקה לאיתור וירוסים על ידי תוכנת האנטי-וירוס של avast.

http://www.avast.com

[manast...@yahoo.com]

How do u know that no language is more expressive than Yiddish? Have you checked?

[Barbara Schwedel]

Initial thoughts: Although my grandparents translated behema differently, that wasn't true of its pronunciation--both used '"ey" as in "they"' for the second syllable.

I don't remember them having any other "disagreements" on Yiddish, so I tend to think they spoke the same or similar dialects. Both had Lithuanian roots (both of their mothers and probably my grandfather's father; my grandmother's mother's naturalization papers have her place of origin as "Pokroi," Lithuania), with my grandmother's father emigrating from the Ukraine. Unfortunately, they didn't speak too much Yiddish around me, and the only other "characteristic" I'm able to remember (for now, at least) is that my grandmother's mother said her Rs (when she spoke English) like a Hebrew resh. Presumably, she pronounced her Yiddish resh that way as well. Hmmm...a lot of "pieces" to integrate into the "puzzle"...

[Barbara Schwedel]

Wow! What great information, everybody--thanks so much! More specific responses as soon as I can get to them...

[Barbara Schwedel]

Very amusing, Yona. Thanks for contributing!

[Barbara Schwedel]

Although I usually prefer that people cite the sources of their statements, I'm glad you didn't leave out your uncited footnote in this case. It was the first written documentation I'd found of "cow" as a meaning given to "behema" and spurred me on to finding this forum/posting my question. And perhaps acceptable documentation may now be found among the various very informative responses in this thread, either "as is" or with additional consultation with its author?