Flemish and Yiddish

by ROBERTA NEWMAN

Soon after YIVO’s establishment in Vilna in 1925, its Philological Section was organized to focus on the study of Yiddish language and literature. Much of the research materials amassed by its scholars was lost in World War II, but part of it that was looted by the Nazis was recovered and sent to YIVO in New York in the late 1940s.

Other research materials were hidden from the Nazis and later from Soviet authorities and came to light in the late 1980s. These are now housed at the Lithuanian Central State Archives and are being digitized for the YIVO Vilna Collections Project.

The interests of the Philological Section scholars ranged far and wide. Among the documents at the Central State Archives is this clipping from the American Yiddish daily, Forverts (Forward), from June 13, 1921. It’s an excerpt from a humorous article entitled “Mass Conversions of Christian Girls in Belgium,” by Dr. N. Katzenellenbogen. 

And so a young Jewish man has no difficulties in communicating with the object of his affections. First of all, love has its own special language, one that is effective all over the world. Secondly, the Jewish immigrant makes himself familiar with the Flemish language, which is similar to German. And what Jew isn’t proficient in German? In fact, our Jews even consider Flemish to be a sort of Yiddish… Sometime they complain about the Flemish,”Why do they mercilessly butcher our Yiddish…?”

Roberta Newman is YIVO’s Director of Digital Initiatives.