6.1584, FYI: Lg learning lab, Hypercorrection in Jewish tradition

Thu Nov 9 18:23:44 UTC 1995

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LINGUIST List:  Vol-6-1584. Thu Nov 9 1995. ISSN: 1068-4875. Lines:  124

Subject: 6.1584, FYI: Lg learning lab, Hypercorrection in Jewish tradition

Moderators: Anthony Rodrigues Aristar: Texas A&M U. <aristar at tam2000.tamu.edu>
            Helen Dry: Eastern Michigan U. <hdry at emunix.emich.edu>

Associate Editor:  Ljuba Veselinova <lveselin at emunix.emich.edu>
Assistant Editors: Ron Reck <rreck at emunix.emich.edu>
                   Ann Dizdar <dizdar at tam2000.tamu.edu>
                   Annemarie Valdez <avaldez at emunix.emich.edu>

Software development: John H. Remmers <remmers at emunix.emich.edu>

Editor for this issue: dizdar at tam2000.tamu.edu (Ann Dizdar)

---------------------------------Directory-----------------------------------
1)
Date:  Wed, 08 Nov 1995 17:23:55 EST
From:  RDHOBERMAN at ccmail.sunysb.edu ("R. Hoberman")
Subject:  Language learning lab

2)
Date:  Wed, 08 Nov 1995 22:35:53 CST
From:  pdaniels at press-gopher.uchicago.edu (Peter Daniels)
Subject:  creeping hypercorrection in Jewish tradition

---------------------------------Messages------------------------------------
1)
Date:  Wed, 08 Nov 1995 17:23:55 EST
From:  RDHOBERMAN at ccmail.sunysb.edu ("R. Hoberman")
Subject:  Language learning lab

I am posting the following on behalf of Prof. Mikle Ledgerwood, the
director of the new Language Learning Center at Stony Brook.  Please
do not respond to me, R. Hoberman, but to Ledgerwood, whose address
appears at the bottom.

For anyone interested in learning about Language Labs, Language Media
Centers, Language Resource Centers or the like, there is a great
organization which has this subject as its area.  The International
Association of Learning Laboratories has its own listserved e-mail
list, LLTI at Dartmouth.edu, has books, videos, and sponsors conferences,
including regional conferences.  In fact, the person in Allentown just
missed a good regional conf. in Lancaster, PA, last month.  IALL has,
for example, a lab design kit and a lab management manual as well as
videos showing off model centers.  I would also like to suggest that
this person and any others consider hiring a consultant to come in to
help educate faculty and administration in the area of language center
design.  IALL has a list of members who consult as well.  IALL can be
joined by writing a message to Browne at macalstr.edu and getting info.
LLTI can be joined by sending a sub message to listserv at dartmouth.edu
with the message, SUB LLTI your name.

For other info. I can be contacted at
MLedgerwood at ccmail.sunysb.edu.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
2)
Date:  Wed, 08 Nov 1995 22:35:53 CST
From:  pdaniels at press-gopher.uchicago.edu (Peter Daniels)
Subject:  creeping hypercorrection in Jewish tradition

The following message was posted to the Ancient Near East List (in the
context of the pronunciation of the divine name in Jewish tradition),
and it includes interesting information about what I see as "creeping
hypercorrection"--I thought it would interest our correspondents who
have been discussing prescriptivism recently. I've added a few
clarifications in square brackets. Please send comments directly to
the author.

[The letter transliterated with capital K is the uvular stop. Z
represents Tsade, voiceless affricate (they pattern with the emphatic
consonants).]

The Jewish tradition of not pronouncing the tetragrammaton [the four
consonant letters that stand for the name of God in the Hebrew Bible]
is well known. You may be interested in the current state of the
practice. Orthodox Jews will, of course, not pronounce YHWH. But they
won't pronounce Elohim ['God'] either, always saying eloKim. In
addition, the abbreviated form of the four-letter name, Yah, is
pronounced Kah, even in bound constructions such as Hallelujah, which
will be articulated HalleluKah. It's gotten to the extant that I am
expecting some of these people (of which I am one!) to start
pronouncing the traditional wish "leshanah habba'ah birushalayim
habbenuyah" ('next year in rebuilt Jerusalem') as ".... Yerushalayim
habbenuKah"! Other divine appellatives too are intentionally
mispronounced, so Zeva'ot becomes ZevaKot. I've heard ignorant rabbis
say Zevakot even when referring to armies, which is the basic meaning
of the word. A common blunder is to say 'eloKim' when reference is to
a foreign god. So the second commandment is mistakenly pronounced lo
yihyeh leka eloKim aherim ... The reluctance to pronounce the divine
name has, of course entered writing too. In English we write G-d
(except for dyslexics, who write D-G). In Hebrew YHWH is traditionally
written either H' (=Hashem= 'the name') or D' (=adonoay pronounced
adoshem!= 'Lord') or YY. El is often printed by combining the letters
alef and lamed. Orthodox Jews, of course pronounce it Kel, and people
always joke about drinking Ginger Kel! The infamous Artscroll prayer
book [published in a Brooklyn Hasidic community], used in hundreds of
benighted shuls, translates YHWH as Hashem, because this is how it is
pronouced in the dialect of Yinglish. (Don't be offended out
there. I'm frum [observant, pious] too so I permit myself to be
politically incorrect when discussing these matters, but Oy vaYoy to a
Gentile who will write in such an irreverent tone.) It has become
customary to avoid writing the combination alef+lamed or yod+heh even
in cases where these combinations have nothing to do with the name of
G-D. This practice has recently starting to show up in official
publications in Israel, probably under the influence of an influx of
orthodox into the civil service. My son's name Daniel is written by
his teachers Danie-l although they don't call him, baruch Hashem,
Danikke-l.

YHWH immak! ['G-d be with you!']
Victor Avigdor Hurowitz
Dept. of Bible and ANE
Ben Gurion University
Beer sheva, Israel

victor at bgumail.bgu.ac.il
------------------------------------------------------------------------
LINGUIST List: Vol-6-1584.