Nanu Nanu

I was reading somewhere online about the vast majority of indigenous languages still spoken in the United States that are on the verge of extinction.

Taken aback, I thought other than perhaps the Native-American tribes who speaks anything other than English in this country? I think that Americans are afraid of languages and resist learning them.  Its part of not wanting to give up control.  The melting pot  encourages a fusion of culture and language when it’s far richer to expand and motivate your left brain function. Our whole consciousness is framed by language and the loss of it serves as a break from identity. 

Linguist Elizabeth Little spent two years driving all over the country looking for the few remaining pockets where indigenous languages are still spoken — from the scores of Native American tongues, to the Creole of Louisiana. The resulting book is Trip of the Tongue: Cross-Country Travels in Search of America's Lost Languages.

Speaking three — okay truth be told, maybe only two and a half but having a good ear whenever I even say the word “schmootzik” Yiddish for dirty to my Coco when we’re at the doggie park I get blank stares as if I’m from outer space. http://www.bubbygram.com/yiddishglossary.htm

For anyone who speaks more than one language, some words have more power and pizzazz in a foreign tongue. It brings to mind, when I was growing up name-calling was “verboten” in our household and grounds for punishment.  Telling my brother who was eleven months older, that he gave me “asco” Spanish for nauseate was the ultimate insult and would leave me feeling very satisfied.

If I were to embark on learning a language facing extinction, I would choose Yiddish and here’s why.  

Before I met my husband I went on a blind-date with a man who spoke it fluently.  We were at an upscale restaurant breaking bread for the salad. I wasn’t the least bit impressed by his looks but I was about to find out what a wonderful conversationalist he was.  He told me that his father had said (in Yiddish) that he was so forgiving that a person could spit on his face and he would say it was raining.  I snorted my bread from laughter!   

There is a depth of Yiddish that shows complexity and humor.  It’s loaded with a secret code of expressions, including terms of endearments, complaints and insults. And although it is fading fast since the Jewish European wipe-out, my wish is that it lives on. So I’ll end with a Yiddish proverb: If one man calls you a donkey, ignore him. If two men call you a donkey, think about it. If three men call you a donkey, buy a saddle.