What's Wrong With Neologisms Like "Kompyuteray?"

This "Kompyuteray" page was last revised on: 31 October 2005

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Caveat: Please read about my qualifcations (or lack thereof) as a Yiddish maven in my article About This Website. Then, taking into account the foregoing, please read my analysis hereinbelow. Thank you.

To get a grip on what's wrong with the word kompyuteray, please consider these examples:

A zetser is a typesetter -- i.e., a person that sets type (does typesetting).
So zetseray is the profession of typesetting, or the place where typesetting is performed, i.e., a typesetting shop.

A beker is a baker -- i.e., a person that bakes.
So bekeray is the profession of baking, or the place where baking is performed, i.e., a bakery.

A vesherke is a washer-woman or laundress -- i.e., a person that washes clothes (does the laundry).
So vesheray is the profession or craft of laundering, or the place (shop) where clothes are washed, i.e., a laundry..

A druker is a printer -- i.e., a person that works in the field of printing.
So drukeray is the profession of printing, or the place where printing is performed, i.e., a print shop.

A makher is a maker or worker, i.e., a person that does something.
So makheray is what the person (the makher) makes or does.

By now it appears that a definite pattern has emerged. This is one of countless patterns that have evolved during the 1000-year history of the Yiddish language.

It seems then that the suffix -eray is traditionally only added to a word that represents a person (that engages in some kind of craft), and not to a word that represents an inanimate object (like a computer).

Despite this traditional established pattern, some person who obviously wasn't raised in a Yiddish-speaking environment, and/or who doesn't have a precocious sense nor understanding of traditional Yiddish word-formation (like my humble self), has come along -- and flagrantly violated this established pattern -- by "coining" the monstrosity kompyuteray.

Perhaps the bizarre word kompyuteray was created by a mindless minion of the new Yiddish "Establishment" -- described below.

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The Vaynraykhistn - the New "Yiddish Establishment"

What I deem the new Yiddish Establishment was started by Max Weinreich, and later continued by his son Uriel Weinreich. (!זאָלן זיי ביידע האָבן אַ ליכטיקן גן־עדן)

I refer to the Weinreichs and their present-day disciples as the "Vaynraykhistn" or the "Yidishe Kalikes" (or even the "Yiddish Mafia"). This is because they -- especially Max Weinreich -- were autocratic, even despotic, in enforcing their distorted concept of what Yiddish should be. (!אַלע האָבן פֿאַר זיי געציטערט)

When these yidishe kalikes (Yiddish cripples/incompetents) don't know how to say something in Yiddish, they find it easier to just make up a tasteless word on the spot -- a neologism, rather than try and ascertain how it was actually said by native Yiddish speakers in pre-war Eastern Europe. Yiddish works that have fallen under their control -- especially including the Weinreich Dictionary itself -- have been inundated with countless neologisms that are bizarre, inauthentic, and spurious -- and that flagrantly violate long-established patterns of Yiddish word formation. Kompyuteray is, sadly, but one example.

And the Vaynraykhistn haven't been satisfied with just tampering with the Yiddish vocabulary. They have also set their sights (זיי האָבן זיך געשאַרפֿט די ציין) on Yiddish spelling. (See my article on YIVO Spelling Rules.)

Under the control of the Vaynraykhistn, the esteemed YIVO began to "revise and improve" long established patterns for spelling Yiddish. The impassioned objections of the Yiddish "Gedoylim" of the time fell on deaf ears.

Under the influence of the Weinreichs, the YIVO refused to publish Volume 1 of Yudel Mark's Great Dictionary of the Yiddish Language, because Yudel Mark would not consent to implementing in his Dictionary their bizarre Yiddish spelling rules. (Read the article The Great Dictionary Debacle.)

Poor Nahum Stutchkoff had to endure having his monumental work, the great Thesaurus of the Yiddish Language, edited by Max Weinreich in 1950. This was so that the YIVO would consent to publish it. Thank goodness Max Weinreich didn't pollute Stutchkoff's work too much with Max's "revisions," although some tainted entries, including a few of Max's whacko neologisms, are evident to those who know Yiddish well. (...והמבין יבין)

People have expressed to me privately that these linguistic misfits can barely wait for the last of the old European generation to die out. Then there will be no one left to challenge their distortions of true Yiddish -- in their demented attempt to create a new "Gibber-Yiddish" monstrosity. I find this hard to believe, but sometimes I wonder?

Click here to read a laudatory Yiddish article on the Columbia University website about the history of Columbia's Yiddish program, started in 1952 by Uriel Weinreich ע"ה.

Getting back now to the subject at hand, please hert zikh ayn mit kop (pay careful attention) to the following analysis:

If kompyuter were a person that computes, then kompyuteray would correctly refer to the profession of computing, or the place where computing is performed. But, unfortunately, a computer is not a person, but a machine .

On the basis of the foregoing, I suggest that the word kompyuteray be replaced by either kompyuter-keneray, kompyuter-nitseray, kompyuter-forshung, kompyuter-visnshaft, kompyuter-kentshaft, or whatever.

Unless someone can provide an example of a Yiddish word which represents an object, rather than a human being, that takes the suffix -eray, I would strongly urge that the word kompyuteray be discarded.

(Please disregard for the moment the word khazeray. It represents a special usage of the suffix -eray, and a discussion of this particular usage will hopefully be included in a future revision of this web page.)

Bottom Line (the Clincher): Note that there does exist theYiddish word bikher-keneray. It means the field of study of bibliography or the knowledge of literature. So tell, me -- why didn't the Yiddish language, in its infinite wisdom, not create the word bikheray instead of bikher-keneray??? Doesn't this illustrate the fallacy inherent in the word kompyuteray?

By the way, isn't there a Yiddish word komputator meaning computer (like transformator for transformer)?

I would warmly welcome any feedback on this subject. Please submit your opinion on my comments page.

Bamerkungen fun a Forsher fun Yidish

(After having read the above, a scholar of Yiddish sent to this website the feedback below.
Do reagirt der forsher af di meynungen vos vern uysgedrikt af der-doziker veb-zayt.)

Un vos lemoshl zol zayn a bileray (a biler iz nit keyn mentsh), a gikheseray (vu men koyft gikhesn, nit vu di gikhesers gefinen zikh), a fayferay (khotsh der fayfer iz yo a mentsh, iz fayfn nit keyn fakh), a foreray (vi oybn), a gevalderay (vi oybn), un khazeray?

Di endung '-eray' hot etlekhe taytshn, zet mir oys:

1. dos ort vu an arbeter tut zayn arbet, geveyntlekh, loshn-nekeyve, geveyntlekh nokh dem nomen fun arbeter.

apteykeray (pharmacy profession?)
bekeray
blekheray (brewery)
broyeray
drukeray
gikheseray [nit fun arbeter]
garberay
graferay ["county"; a graf iz dokh nit keyn arbeter]
mekleray - the profession or activity
shloseray
shmideray
shusteray
stolyeray

2. di arbet aleyn fun an arbeter, oder di tuung fun a tuer bekhlal, geveyntlekh loshn-neytral.

barimeray
bileray
shifboyeray => shif boy
dineray (???)
farlegeray => farlag vezn (publishing field)
fayferay gefayferay
fidleray
foreray
gevalderay gvalderay (teyg nit -- Kosher Yiddish website)
gertneray
hureray
kokheray
zeyger-makheray
moleray
patsheray (hand-patsheray = applause)
plapleray
ployderay
shaferay
geltshaferay
shiseray
shnitseray
shrayberay
hantverkeray
zamleray
zelneray
zingeray
zukheray

3. der efekt fun a tuung, oder a matsev vu di tuung gefint zikh shtark. oft shver untertsusheydn fun numer 2.

grageray
zuzheray
khaperay
geklaperay
klingeray geklingeray
krigeray
kvitsheray
filmeneray [polyandry]
genareray
rayseray gerayseray
roysheray
shklaferay
geshpritseray
geshreyeray
tumleray
tuperay
geveyneray
yogeray
yomeray
zidleray

4. zakhn vos hobn a shaykhes mit der tuung oder mit a zakh.

iberkhaperay [snack food] (teyg nit -- Kosher Yiddish website)
khazeray
kompyuteray (teyg nit -- Kosher Yiddish website)
nasheray
gornishteray
shtuseray (nonsense)

After reading the above, the Kosher Yiddish sent to that scholar the following article:

Derekh Erets farn Loshn Fun Folk - Artikl fun Yankl Gutkowicz ע"ה

In Februar 1977 hot Yankl Gutkowicz funem "CYCO" ongeshribn an artikl inem zhurnal "Zukunft" mitn nomen, "Derekh Erets farn Loshn Fun Folk." In dem artikl, pasl't Gutkowicz af an elegantn un visnshaftlekhn oyfn, a shlal neologizmen, bsoychem undzer vort "kompyuteray."

After reading Gutkowicz's article, the scholar submitted the following response:
(Der forsher iz nit ingantsn maskem mit Gutkowicz'n)

"A sakh fun zayne (Gutkowicz's) dugmes fun gelumperte nayshafungen (oykh aleyn a nayshafung!) zaynen take komish un gor umbakant. Men zet zey oykh nit bay Stutshkov'n. Andere (nayshafungen) zaynen yo gerotn, lemoshl 'derhayntikn'; keyn gute sinonimen ken ikh nit. Oykh iz 'talentarnye' gerotn, un leygt zikh gringer oyf der tsung vi 'talant-forshtelung'."

"Benegeye '-eray,' farshtey ikh az Gutkowicz vil fargrenetsn di produktivkayt fun afiksn vi '-eray' un '-varg.' Ober ikh halt az er geyt a bisl iber der mos. S'iz yo do a grupe dugmes vu men meynt mit -eray zakhn vos hobn an algemeynem shaykhes mit epes, vi 'boykhrederay', 'fraydenkeray', 'shtuseray', 'opgeteray', un 'khazeray'."

"Nit er (Gutkowicz) aleyn halt zikh far a poysl. (Dos heyst, Gutkowicz iz nit der eyntsiker vos pasl't nit-pasike yidishe verter. -- Kosher Yiddish website) Oykh Mordkhe Shekhter hot a rubrik 'Laytish Mame-Loshn,' vu er tret AROYS kegn a sakh verter, befrat daytshmerizmen (vi 'derfarung')."

[D"r Mordkhe Shekhter זג"ז meg zayn gerekht vos-shaykh daytshmerizmen. Ober dos kasher't nit zayne meshune'dike neyologizmen vos vern dermont in Gutkowicz's artikl! -- Kosher Yiddish website]

Comments on Spelling -- by the "Kosher Yiddish" Website
Vegn dem Uysleyg fun Gevise Verter

Azoyne verter vi GIKHESEN oder SHPRAKHATLAS -- MUZ men shraybn mit bind-shtrikhlekh -- nit gekukt af der meshunedike trafn-tseyleray in di Takones funem YIVO.

Farvos?

Der seykhel iz a poshet'er:

GIKH endikt zikh mit a konsonant, un ESEN heybt zikh on mit a vokal.

SHPRAKH endikt zikh mit a konsonant, un ATLAS heybt zikh on mit a vokal.

Kedey tsu fargringern dem leyener, hobn yidishe shrayber un redaktorn tomed arayngeshtelt in azelkhe faln dem bind-shtrikhl.

Un ba yidn iz do a klal: "מטבּע שטבֿעו חכמים ־־ אין לשנוֹת."

Dos heyst, a matbeya -- a nusakh, a furem -- vos es hobn avek-geshtelt undzere khakhomim (in dem fal, di Yidishe shrayber un redaktorn), tor men nit meshane-zayn.

Un loyt vos me hot eybn dermont, darf men oykh shraybn MAME-ERD un FORSH-ARBET mit bind-shtrikhlekh .

Dos vos di meshugene Vaynraykhistn-pedantn hobn opgeton (zen do) iz MAMESH farkert fun seykhel. Az me lozt-durkh dem bind-shtrikhl in azelkhe faln iz kimat vi UMMEGLEKH ibertsuleyenen di verter.

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