LATEST NEWS:

On Dreading Netflix's Upcoming Depp v. Heard Documentary

A few weeks ago, Netflix announced its new documentary, Depp vs. Heard, set to premiere later this month. The promises made were lofty: to re-examine the trial, to analyze the mass hysteria it provoke

Equitable Contraceptive Responsibility: Pioneering Gender-Neutral Contraceptive Solutions

If it takes two to tango, why does only one have to suffer? There should be more safe and effective methods available for men so that we can all equitably share the contraceptive responsibility.

“We’ve botched this campaign”—NUS calls for a student led 'Yes' campaign in Voice referendum

The National Union of Students (NUS) is calling for a more grassroots approach to the ‘Yes’ campaign for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament after a heated debate at June's Education Conference (EdCon)

Union House to become new Science Building; six buildings to be demolished in new Estate Master Plan

Union House is set to become a new Science Building and several Faculty of Arts and FMDHS buildings will be redeveloped amongst sweeping changes announced in the University of Melbourne's Estate Maste

Seven suspended, but no action on clubs or colleges: UniMelb 2022 Sexual Misconduct Report released

The University of Melbourne has released their 2022 Sexual Misconduct Report, revealing that four staff members have been removed from the University after being found to have committed serious miscon

 

Article

The Mazel Tov

<p>My experience with Yiddish is limited to exposure to the odd word thrown around during Friday night dinner conversations at my boyfriend’s place. He’s Jewish, and since I’m not, he’s my translator. In fact, not long ago, I found myself in the attic of an antique shop in Victoria’s southeast testing his knowledge through the [&hellip;]</p>

Columnsnonfiction

My experience with Yiddish is limited to exposure to the odd word thrown around during Friday night dinner conversations at my boyfriend’s place. He’s Jewish, and since I’m not, he’s my translator. In fact, not long ago, I found myself in the attic of an antique shop in Victoria’s southeast testing his knowledge through the glossary section of a book I found. The attic itself was so strewn with books that you couldn’t set foot into it without standing on one. Said book caught my eye because of its stark white cover and huge black letters reading The Mazel Tov by Sarah Ebenor (also known as Bronwen Lichtenstein). Upon flicking through it, what struck me most about this book was that just like our dinner conversations, Yiddish words were every so often planted in the middle of grammatical English sentences.

Cross-referencing the meanings of these Yiddish words with the glossary provided, I realised the words were not only a substitute for everyday English phenomena, but they were also onomatopoeic, meaning that the words sounded like what they described and were even better versions of their English counterparts!

My favourite of these was schvitzing, meaning to sweat profusely and schlep, meaning to lug or carry something unwanted or awkward around (including yourself). I’ll also give an honourable mention to chutzpah (the ch is pronounced as an h), a Yiddish word that comes from Hebrew and means having the guts, cheekiness or nerve to do something that is perhaps against the norm or just downright silly. More commonly, words like bagel, glitch, klutz and schmuck have made it into the English language and there’s no doubt that you’ve been using them all along without knowing it.

Happy speaking Yiddish!

 
Farrago's magazine cover - Edition Two 2023

EDITION FOUR 'MULTIVERSE' AVAILABLE NOW!

What would you find if you walked through the looking glass into another time? Why are all the plastic googly eyes you spilt over your bedroom floor following your every move? The entire universe and beyond is your disco ball of scintillating possibility.

Read online