What is the #1 PROBLEM facing Yiddish students today?
The #1 problem is NOT with finding a way to learn the language. Yiddish is taught at many American and European universities. There are numerous online Yiddish classes and private tutors, in addition to summer programs and immersive events.
In 2020, it is easy to find ways of learning Yiddish.
The #1 problem is ALSO NOT with finding ways to use the language. Tens of thousands of free Yiddish books are available online, thanks to the Yiddish Book Center's digitization projects. YouTube is full of Yiddish music videos, comedy sketches, and films. You can play Yiddish computer games at YiddishPop, subscribe to the feminist Yiddish podcast Vaybertaytsh, read the Forverts's online Yiddish newspaper, and examine archival materials from a variety of digitized institutional collections.
In 2020, it is easy to find ways of using Yiddish.
In 2020, it is easy to find ways of learning Yiddish.
The #1 problem is ALSO NOT with finding ways to use the language. Tens of thousands of free Yiddish books are available online, thanks to the Yiddish Book Center's digitization projects. YouTube is full of Yiddish music videos, comedy sketches, and films. You can play Yiddish computer games at YiddishPop, subscribe to the feminist Yiddish podcast Vaybertaytsh, read the Forverts's online Yiddish newspaper, and examine archival materials from a variety of digitized institutional collections.
In 2020, it is easy to find ways of using Yiddish.
The #1 PROBLEM facing
Yiddish students today is
ACCESS TO OTHER YIDDISH SPEAKERS
Yiddish is a living, thriving language. Every year, Chassidic bookstores fill up with newly-published comic books, toddler books, and novels in Yiddish. Every year, enthusiasts from around the world gather for immersive Yiddish-language summer retreats. Yiddish is a native language for thousands of children, and the numbers are growing exponentially. For those who need it, the United States census and tax forms are available in Yiddish translation.
If you live in a major Yiddish center such as Brooklyn or Jerusalem, it is easy to find other people to speak Yiddish with.
And if you have the money to travel, and the time to attend Yiddish-language retreats, then it is easy to find people to speak Yiddish with.
But most people don't live in Brooklyn or Jerusalem.
Most people don't have the money or time to attend Yiddish retreats.
And despite the exponentially-growing Yiddish-speaking population in a limited number of cities, it is near impossible to find fluent Yiddish speakers in the vast majority of the world.
If you live in a major Yiddish center such as Brooklyn or Jerusalem, it is easy to find other people to speak Yiddish with.
And if you have the money to travel, and the time to attend Yiddish-language retreats, then it is easy to find people to speak Yiddish with.
But most people don't live in Brooklyn or Jerusalem.
Most people don't have the money or time to attend Yiddish retreats.
And despite the exponentially-growing Yiddish-speaking population in a limited number of cities, it is near impossible to find fluent Yiddish speakers in the vast majority of the world.
But thanks to the internet, we can engage in #SocialYiddishing
As the coronavirus wraps the world in its hands, forcing whole communities and even entire countries to cloister ourselves in our houses, a number of unprecedented initiatives have popped up online to connect Yiddish speakers from around the globe.
Dr. Sosye Fox, host of the feminist Vaybertaytsh podcast, has begun hosting a weekly Yiddish discussion group via Zoom, along with an open, 24/7 video chat room that anyone can sign up to join.
Dr. Jessica Kirzane, an Assistant Professor of Yiddish at the University of Chicago, is also organizing online video chats, as well as video-based reading groups.
For my part, I have been organizing several exciting endeavors with the aim of helping Yiddish speakers, who are scattered all over the world and locked up in their homes for fear of the coronavirus, to interact with each other in real-time:
Dr. Sosye Fox, host of the feminist Vaybertaytsh podcast, has begun hosting a weekly Yiddish discussion group via Zoom, along with an open, 24/7 video chat room that anyone can sign up to join.
Dr. Jessica Kirzane, an Assistant Professor of Yiddish at the University of Chicago, is also organizing online video chats, as well as video-based reading groups.
For my part, I have been organizing several exciting endeavors with the aim of helping Yiddish speakers, who are scattered all over the world and locked up in their homes for fear of the coronavirus, to interact with each other in real-time:
- Yiddish Harry Potter Reading Groups. Every week, I'm getting together a few dozen Yiddish speakers from around the world to read the new Yiddish translation of Harry Potter via Zoom. Given the large number of interested participants, I'm currently offering three different groups – and may there be more!
- Yiddish Flipgrid for Children. Every few days, I'm posting discussion topics for Yiddish-speaking children on Flipgrid. The kids post video recordings of themselves discussing the topic in Yiddish, and then they can reply to each other's videos with additional video responses. Currently, around 10 Yiddish-speaking families from around the globe are participating and interacting with each other through this endeavor!
Additionally, I am in the process of organizing a live reading/singing/chat group for Yiddish speaking children via Zoom and a similar Flipgrid for my adult students.
How about you?
At this time of social distancing, how are you going to engage in #SocialYiddishing?
Have you checked out the video chat rooms run by Sosye Fox and Jessica Kirzane?
Are you organizing or participating in other projects that I might not yet know about?
Would you like to participate in my virtual Harry Potter reading group, children's group, and/or Flipgrids?
I would love to hear from you!
We are living in a time of great potential, even as our communities are ravaged by a global pandemic. Now, more than ever before, Yiddish speakers need to find and connect with each other. If you'd like to be in touch with me, please fill out the form below, or tweet to me @ShuliElisheva with the hashtag #SocialYiddishing.
Ikh kuk shtark aroys af tsu hern fun – un b'h tsu farbrengn durkhn kishuf fun dem internets mit – aykh!
Have you checked out the video chat rooms run by Sosye Fox and Jessica Kirzane?
Are you organizing or participating in other projects that I might not yet know about?
Would you like to participate in my virtual Harry Potter reading group, children's group, and/or Flipgrids?
I would love to hear from you!
We are living in a time of great potential, even as our communities are ravaged by a global pandemic. Now, more than ever before, Yiddish speakers need to find and connect with each other. If you'd like to be in touch with me, please fill out the form below, or tweet to me @ShuliElisheva with the hashtag #SocialYiddishing.
Ikh kuk shtark aroys af tsu hern fun – un b'h tsu farbrengn durkhn kishuf fun dem internets mit – aykh!