Yiddish Resources
General Sources
- Stutchkoff, Nahum.
Thesaurus of the Yiddish Language. New York: YIVO
Institute for Jewish Research, 1991.
492.44 St9o1991 (Main Stacks)
- Lötzsch, Ronald.
Duden Jiddisches Wörterbuch. Mannheim; Leipzig; Vienna;
Zurich: Dudenverlag, 1992.
437.947 L919j1992 (Main Reference)
- This slender volume serves as a quick reference source for those wanting German equivalents to
Yiddish words. Additional information contained at the start and end of the book discuss the
history of Yiddish from medieval German, grammar of the Yiddish language and a Hebrew
alphabet.
- Wolf, Siegmund A.
Jiddisches Wörterbuch: Wortschatz des deutschen Grundbestands der
jiddischen (jüdischdeutschen) Sprache: mit Leseproben
. Hamburger: Helmut Buscke Verlag, 1993.
492.49 W88j1993 (Main Stacks)
- Wolf’s book collects together early examples of Yiddish literature, from folktales to religious
writing. All samples are in Roman alphabet. For readers unfamiliar with the Yiddish language there
is an appended glossary (Yiddish to Middle High and modern German). An introduction to the Yiddish
language and Yiddish literature opens the book.
- Hilgert, Wilfried with Illustrations by Ehrhard Hütz.
Mores Zores un Mashores: Jiddisch-Hebräisch in unsere Mundart
. Bingen: Hilgert Verlag, 1997.
- Hilgert attempts in this delightfully illustrated small dictionary to show the influence of
Yiddish and Hebrew on Hessian German (from the area of Frankfurt). Each Hessian word receives a
modern German equivalent as well as a Yiddish and Hebrew one. The book is organized
thematically.
Bibliographies
Saltzman, Roberta.
Isaac Bashevis Singer: a bibliography of his works in
Yiddish and English, 1960-1991
. Lanham, Md. : Scarecrow Press, 2002.
892.49 Si6Vs (Oak St. Facility)
- Bibliography of Singer's works in Yiddish; includes 55 short stories, 11 novellas and 11 novels
that have not been translated into English. The book mostly indexes writings appearing in
Forverts or the
Jewish Daily Forward (which became a weekly in 1983). This bibliography is essential for
navigating Singer's work as
Foreverts is not indexed and Singer often wrote under pseudonyms.
Online Resources
-
The Jewish Daily Forward
(Forverts)
- This publication is a weekly American Jewish newspaper published in Yiddish. If you want to try
reading some practical, everyday Yiddish, this paper is a go-to source. The Yiddish alphabet is
used, not transliteration. The website offers both Yiddish and English versions. UIUC does not
currently carry this publication in print, but some archival films of the paper from the first half
of the twentieth century are available in the History, Philosophy, and Newspaper library.
Information about the microfilm is available
here.
-
The Yiddish Voice
(Dos Yidishe Kol)
- This weekly program is a Yiddish language radio show broadcasted from Boston. The website
offers recent programs via MP3 download as well as a collection of Yiddish links on the web.
-
National Yiddish Book Center
- The Center offers educational events, a searchable collection, a physical and digital store,
and even a top 1000 list of Yiddish books.
-
National Yiddish Book Center's
Spielberg Digital Yiddish Library
-
Yiddish
Music
- Listen to samples of Yiddish songs provided by savethemusic.com - a non-profit based in San
Diego that seeks to preserve and promote Jewish music.
-
Yiddish Radio Project
- The exhibits page tells the history of Yiddish radio in the United States during the
1930s-1950s. Classic recordings are available using RealPlayer.
-
YIVO Institute for Jewish Research
- Information about the Institute's research collections and programming in NYC are posted here.
There is also a link to the online version of the
YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe.
-
Mendele Forum for Yiddish Language and Literature
- A free, moderated email discussion group about Yiddish language and literature (not Judaism in
general). The links page is also an excellent resource.
-
Der Bay
- This website accompanies the monthly Anglo-Yiddish newsletter in the USA. Information about the
International Association of Yiddish Clubs (IAYC) is available.
-
The National Center for Jewish Film
- Includes information about purchasing the preserved films as well as DVDs for research,
etc.
-
Index to Yiddish Periodicals
- This online database is searchable in English as well as Hebrew. This database is maintained by
the Yiddish Department at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in cooperation with the Jewish
National and University Library.
-
Der Groyser Verterbuch
- Volumes 1-4 of this Yiddish dictionary are now searchable online. This site has been made
available by Raphael Finkel of the University of Kentucky. His other Yiddish web resources are
available
here.
-
Harkavy's Yiddish-English
dictionary
-
League for Yiddish
- This site includes membership information as well as an online store for Yiddish
materials.
-
The Yiddish Press:
Select Bibliography
- A bibliography prepared by Hugh Denman of University College in London. This bibliography is
available on Stanford Library's website.
-
Google in Yiddish
Please direct all comments or requests for information to
Literatures and Languages Library
217-333-2220 •
litlan@library.illinois.edu
