NOTE: All information from the folkhögskola will be sent in Swedish.
YIDDISH SUMMER PROGRAM – INTENSIVE LANGUAGE COURSE 2023
Welcome to the Intensive Yiddish Summer Program 2023 in Stockholm. You have a unique opportunity to learn Yiddish in intensive four days under the leadership of experienced teachers. The Intensive Yiddish Summer Program will take place from August 14–17 in Stockholm, from 09:30–17:00 including lunch breaks. There are two levels that participants can apply to: Yiddish for Beginners Level & Yiddish for Advanced Level. Please read more about the courses below. Number of places is limited.
The Program is in English and Yiddish.
The Intensive Yiddish Summer Program is organized by Paideia folkhögskola, Paideia – The European Institute for Jewish Studies, Jiddischsällskapet i Stockholm with support from ISOF.
Program cost
1200 SEK (discount for participants under 25 years of age) including lunches, study material and coffee. Accommodation & travel is not provided.
YIDDISH BEGINNERS LEVEL
Course Description
In this course the participants will take their first steps in a millennium old language, part and parcel of Ashkenazi Jewish civilization and a pathway to a rich cultural treasure. Whether you have heard the language at home but can’t yet speak it, or you come with no background at all – we will begin from the basics: Reading and writing the Yiddish alphabet, conjugation of verbs, construction of sentences, and building an initial vocabulary. To the extent possible in a beginners’ course, we will enrich the experience of learning with stories and songs, and place the language also in its wider cultural and historical contexts. Participants are encouraged to form their own personal bond with the language, as this, more than anything, is the best motivation to commit to the hard work required for learning a new language.
Course Materials
All course literature is not included in the course cost. The book “College Yiddish” (Uriel Weinreich, YIVO) is recommended as a textbook for basic Yiddish grammar, but is not required to attend the course. You will receive information about the course book that you need to purchase yourself, if you get accepted to the course.
The course is accompanied by a notebook put together by the teacher from different sources. Reading material in the notebook includes original texts for beginners written by the teacher, learning booklets for Yiddish speaking kids from the twentieth century, Yiddish popular songs and texts from Uriel Weinreich’s book “College Yiddish” (it is recommended to purchase this book as a textbook for basic Yiddish grammar, but it is not required). Grammar summary of the main subjects is also included in the notebook. The course will also make use of available online resources: music, clips and interactive language tools.
All materials will be provided.
Prior knowledge
No previous knowledge is required, however it is strongly recommended to know the Hebrew alphabet.
About the teacher
Dr. Yaad Biran got his Ph.D. in Yiddish literature in the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He teaches Yiddish language and culture in Beth Shalom Aleichem in Tel Aviv, in Haifa University and in the Tel Aviv summer course. He is also a writer and a translator, the author of a short stories book “Laughing with Lizards” (Hebrew) and the writer of “Esther’s Cabaret“, a contemporary Yiddish Cabaret in Tel Aviv. He is also guiding Yiddish tours in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
YIDDISH ADVANCED LEVEL
During the four days of studying together, we will concentrate on ameliorating your speaking skills. This will be based on certain topics for which vocabulary lists will be provided and will be done both in small and bigger groups. The topics will vary between every-daily subjects and more literary/philosophical ones. In addition, we will read and discuss the poetry of Rivka Basman Ben-Haim, the last Yiddish poetess “from the old heym” who passed away recently in Israel. Her poems are written in an easy and clear language, which makes her poetry very accessible for everyone. The main aim will be to use her texts as a stimulation for discussion in Yiddish – not to provide a “perfect literary analysis” – no worries!
On the other hand, working with texts will also give us a good opportunity to immerse a little bit more into some grammatical issues, which will be explained and practiced both in an oral way and through some written exercises. Thus, we will repeat and practice the different tenses and standard forms of conjugation of verbs and declination of adjectives, as well as some more stilistic pitshevkes.
This course will be conducted entirely in Mame-loshn!
All materials will be provided.
Prior knowledge
This level is only in Yiddish. The participant must understand and speak Yiddish. You are also welcome if your knowledge of grammar is limited. Basic knowledge of reading Yiddish is required.
Kumt gezunterhayt – es vet zayn a mekhaye!
About the teacher
Miriam Trinh is a teacher in Yiddish and Yiddish literature in Israel, US and many European cities. She is a researcher in literature and has done postdoc studies in Yiddish literature during the Holocaust. Miriam and her husband Eliezer Niborski speak Yiddish at home and their children are fluent in Yiddish. They are both devoted to Yiddish. Miriam is popular among the participants at the Yiddish summer seminars in Sweden where she is a recurrent speaker
Photo: The motif is painted by Jean Hessel.
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