I am impressed with your knowledge of Yiddish. Do you know what the Old English word was for a person. It was menisch. It is a cognate to Mensch in German and Mensch in Yiddish. Schande in German is disgrace and related to the Yiddish word.
Charles, in my youthful farming years I used to help my father buy and sell our livestock at an auction barn in the heart of a very Amish county. About half of the parking lot next to the sale barn was occupied by Amish buggies. I could sometimes tell when the hogs and cattle we bought had come from an Amish farm. Some of those animals were as tame as pets. I well remember a boar from an Amish farm which behaved much like a family dog. He would run up to me and want his ears scratched. Of course, hogs are well known for being far smarter than dogs and other farm animals. They are amazing animalsâand despite public perceptions, very clean and prone to âgood sanitation practicesâ if given the opportunity.
I didnât yet speak German in those days of my interaction with the Amish, much to my disappointment now. I wanted to know how their language had changed after their migration from Europe.
I know that you would agree that people who have some kind of multi-lingual background have a far easier time understanding important exegetical issues in the Biblical text. American monolingualism has brought many extra obstacles in educating many evangelicals to step beyond tradition-bound interpretations of the Bible. I well remember when universities used to require two years of a foreign language for every undergraduate. I assume that those requirements have almost universally disappearedâbut I would still like to see something required like a one semester course overview of comparative linguistics and historical linguistics. I found that students quickly forgot anything they learned in a Spanish or French course, due to lack of use and inadequate instruction approaches. So I think there would be more retention of the most important aspects of languages if a âlinguistics for non-majorsâ course was required of undergrads. It should also include a good grounding in Latin and Greek morphemes for English speakersâas well as coverage of how the English language developed. (That would also give students a better grasp of how our culture and language is an amalgamation of Latin/French/Norman, Anglo-Saxon, Jute, Scandanavian, etc. etc. influences from important historical events that few high school students ever hear about!)
I donât push linguistics because of my background. I just know that it would tremendously help students to understand the morphemes of our language and ease their learning of terminology in countless fields as well as enable them to understand other cultures/languages in general waysâincluding the Bible.
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Miller: Ich glaube, das klingt wirklich sehr interessant. Haben Sie in Pennsylvanien gelebt, als Sie Junge waren.
Woher kommen Ihre Millers? Meine Millers kamen aus Schottland, aber als ich in Bayern war, habe ich herausgefunden, dass es nicht nur Muellers und Moellers in Deutschland gibt. Ich habe ebenfalls erfahren, dass es Millers dort auch gibt. Welche Uni haben Sie besucht? Als ich meinen BA in Germanistik gemacht habe, absolvierte ich an Old Dominion Universitaet in Norfolk, Virginia. Das war einmal ein Teil von William und Mary College in Williamsburg, Virginia. Sie sind jetzt an der Reihe, Auskunft ueber sich selbst zu geben, wenn Sie wollen. Es tut mir Leid, aber meine Gemahlin wollte den Computer benutzen. Ich bin eben zurueckgekommen.
Oh, koennen Sie Fraktur auch lesen?
Ich bin Ihr Bruder in Christus,
Miller
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Iâm the one who spun off this thread under the title âNEPHESH, RUACH, PNEUMAN, & good exegesisâ but it has really become more about linguistics in general as a good backdrop for sound Biblical exegesis. This thread quickly morphed into a casual discussion of language studies as a good preparation for Biblical interpretation and an understanding of other cultures. And I think that is perfectly ok in this case. If someone wants to discuss more of the details concerning the spirit and soul vocabulary of Biblical Hebrew and Greek, feel free to resume those topics here or in a new thread.
@Charles_Miller, Iâm going to address many of your questions of general interest (which you posed in German) here on this public thread because they have instructive value in historical linguistics and Biblical hermeneutics. Your questions which involve more personal information I will address by private message. (Due to privacy issues and identity theft risks, I donât want to publicly post overly detailed personal information.)
Even though Charles questions (expressed in German) may initially seem like a divergence from this threadâs topic, they actually relate to the kinds of linguistics factors which far too many Biblical scholars and hermeneutics students fail to grasp. So Iâm going to addressâin Englishâsome of Charlesâ questions as important âcase studiesâ of how language phenomena operate. They remind us to think much more broadly when we read the scriptures and not to assume that every Bible translation has captured every nuance (and has considered every possibility) for a given passage.
Charles, my German grammar is not what it used to be so I will be posting in English for more than just reasons of general appeal in a public forum. Also, Iâm tied up for much of today so my linguistics discourse in response to your questions will be delayed for a little while.
Meanwhile, Iâll just say that much of what one can learn about linguistics in general can be extremely helpful in better understanding the Bible!
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My knowledge is just from having Jewish friends and being exposed to Jewish culture while growing up in urban/suburban New Jersey.
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You have collected a great deal of Jewish knowledge. I am happy that you are interested in their culture and history. Oh, I just noticed that I left the c out of Schande.
And I just love going Kosher deliâs with the pickle bar and brisket to die for. And those Knishes.
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They are good, and I like the soup too. I was at Churchland Baptist Church for a time and most of the people that were there had Jewish ancestry. Therefore, we would celebrate sedar every year as well as Christian holidays. I like kosher hot dogs. What about you? Take care. Do you know any Jewish Cowans in NewJersey?
My great-grandfather was Charles Edward Cowan.
I am glad you enjoy other cultures holidays. Perhaps I can invite you to Atheist Good Friday here in New Jersey. Because all the Fish restaurants and the Pizza Places are so crowded with Catholics on Good Friday.
Our family and other atheist families celebrate our Good Friday with Steak and Ribs night out. The steak places are usually empty and serve us thinking we might be Jewish. But at the Pork Ribs Barbecue Places, on Good Friday by ordering Pork Spare Ribs we can be go against the doctrine and dogma of all three of Abrahamic Religions. If you and your family are in the area on Good Friday we would love to include you in our celebrations.
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That would be nice. It would depend on how Nancy and I are doing at that time. Take care and have a good day. Unfortunately, it is raining here in Hampton Roads, Virginia; otherwise, Nancy and I would go to the movies after 12:00 today. She and I stay home on a rainy day, and I watch services on my computer. I hope you donât mine me saying so, but I do like Catholic serves at times. I believe you and I are getting to be good friends. That is the way it should be. The world would be a better place. Again, take care. Perhaps we can discuss linguistics again soon.
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As you probably realize, I meant kosher hot dogs and not kosher hog days. I believe I made a joke there. Have a good laugh on me. I once had a friend who was a professor at Old Dominion. I really enjoyed his philosophy. My wife and I went to see him at his Temple in Norfolk, There is a large Jewish community. He was also a Rabbi in the Reform Jewish Temple. We used to get together and talk. He was a nice old fellow, and we were always welcome to visit him.
Have a nice Sunday with your wife. Enjoy the day.
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