Yiddish vs. Yinglish?

[Henry Musikar]

On  6 Jul 97 at 0:09, davemarc <davemarc at panix.com> wrote:
<snip>
> So, is this a mistake?  It depends what you think the joke is.
> What's funnier: (1) that George Washington, a non-Jew and the first
> US president, would imitate Yinglish, or (2) that he would utter a
> phrase of Yiddish "vi an alte yidene" (as well as any old Jewish
> lady)?  If you think (2), then I think you'd have to conclude that
> this is a mistake.  I find (2) funnier, so I conclude this is a
> mistake.

Its been popular for a long time for New Yorkers to laugh at an out of
towner gentile looking for a "nish" instead of a "k(i)nish) or
pronouncing "hutzpah" as "chutzpah," or saying "Oy, vey!" or  with a
Midwestern, southern, best example of all, English accent (Washington
would have had an English accent, wouldn't he?).

So Washington, Revolutionary though he was, is not shown to be down
with the people. He cares, but he isn't really cool. Just because he's
upper class and perhaps a little phony doesn't make him a "bad"
character/person. We have seen relevant personalities elsewhere in
Pynchon.

AsB4,
Henry Musikar

Keep cool, but care. -- TRP
Moderation in moderation. -- Husky Mariner
DON'T PANIC! -- Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
What, me worry? -- A. E. Newman