Can you talk the (Jewish) talk?

Tip of the hat to JSpot contributor Rabbi Jill Jacobs' posting, Shmoozin' like a Jew. . . or not? for alerting me to this "Survey of American Jewish Language."



I just took it, and it's quick, easy, and interesting.



Jacobs wrote:

Do American Jews speak a special brand of English? Do Americans speak Jewish? What about New Yorkers? (cue your Lenny Bruce here.)

For a totally fun 10 minutes, try this survey on language (see below for details). Did you know that shmooze has at least three potential meanings? Find out more. . .

You are invited to participate in an interesting and entertaining survey about language. Essentially, we’re asking about the spread of Yiddish (and some Hebrew) among English speakers in North America. We’re turning to both Jews and non-Jews to answer questions like these: Who uses Yiddish words like “shmooze” and “daven” and phrases like “Money, shmoney”? Why do some people say “temple” while others say “shul”? Who prefers biblical names for their babies? Your responses will help us answer these and other questions, and you might learn something about yourself in the process. Please set aside 15-20 minutes, and click on this link to participate.



surveymonkey



Please forward this e-mail to your friends and family. We are hoping to get thousands of responses from people of all religions, ages, and regions of the United States and Canada. If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail Prof. Sarah Bunin Benor <sbenor@huc.edu> or Prof. Steven M. Cohen <Steve34nyc@aol.com>.

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