|
Moroccan Jews trying to learn their mama loshen
Envoyé par jero
|
Moroccan Jews trying to learn their mama loshen 05 mai 2004, 16:15 |
Administrateur Membre depuis : 19 ans Messages: 462 |
Moroccan Jews trying to learn their mama loshen
By Tsahar Rotem
The first course of its kind in Israel, and probably the
world, will start on Friday in Tel Aviv - the language of
Moroccan Jews. A score of Israelis in their 20s and 30s,
most of Moroccan origin, will take part in the course and
try to find the roots they took such pains to avoid in their
childhood.
Ofer Sheetrit, the 34-year old owner of a public relations
agency who in recent years has become active in reviving
Moroccan culture, initiated the course. Among other things,
he is spokesman for the Israeli-Moroccan theater and Israeli
Andalusian Orchestra and has co-produced six Morocco
festivals in Eilat.
Sheetrit recently noticed a growing desire to learn
Morroccan, the dialect of the old country's Jews, when he
started going with his mother to see theater performances in
Moroccan. "In my childhood, like many others, I forbade my
parents to speak Moroccan, both because I wanted to help
them fit in and because I was afraid my social status would
be harmed. I asked them not to speak Moroccan near my
friends and even at my Bar Mitzva. I would only let them
speak French or Hebrew," he says.
Sheetrit first tried to learn the language with the help of
his mother, Hannah and began writing words she taught him in
a notebook. "At some stage I realized I couldn't be the only
one who wanted to learn the language," he says.
After inquiring among friends and acquaintances, he soon
found that many of them were indeed interested. Yitzhak
Eshel, chairman of the Association of Moroccan Jews in
Israel, volunteered office space for the course and put ads
in local papers.
Among those who registered for the course are three women of
Ashkenazi origin. Two of them want to go on a tour of
Morocco and the third misses her childhood in Netanya, where
many of her neighbors spoke Moroccan.
The teacher, Yonatan Yifrah, 75, came to Israel in 1951 and
was a Knesset member for the Alliance (Labor-Mapam) Party
between 1969 and 1975. Afterward he served as Sderot council
head for 20 years. In Morocco he was a guide in the Bonim
youth movement.
Yifrah finds an "amazing analogy" between Moroccan and
Yiddish. Both consist of a jumble of languages developed by
Jews, both were shunned by the immigrants' children, and
both are in danger of extinction.
"The tongue of Morocco's Jews consists of Berber, which was
the predominant language in Morocco until the Arabs arrived,
literary Arabic, Spanish, French, Aramaic and even Hebrew.
When the Jews in Morocco didn't want the goyim to understand
them, they spoke Hebrew," he says.
In Moroccan, pronunciation is extremely important. A slight
change in pronunciation changes the word's meaning. "That is
why you cannot speak Moroccan with an Ashkenazi diction. Het
is guttural and gimel is pronounced `r'h', for example,"
says Yifrah. The language's greatness is in its ability to
extrovert feeling and it is filled with proverbs and
expressions. For example, Yifrah believes that the
expression "Zei bousso Ama" is a fitting description of
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's situation after his defeat in
the Likud referendum. It means, "he came to kiss, but they
took his eye out."
Yifrah will try to teach his students their parents tongue
by means of conversations, tales, jokes and epigrams which
will be translated from Moroccan to Hebrew, and vice versa.
The course's cost is symbolic, for it is non-profit. In
addition to the language, participants will learn about
Moroccan culture with guest lecturers in some of the
lessons.
Sheetrit hopes he will soon be able to sit with his aunts
and understand what they are saying for the first time.
Language, he says, is key to returning to one's roots, which
is so important to him and the members of his generation.
It's in the spirit of the saying "San'at Bouk, Leir'l Bouk"
- "no one can beat you at your father's profession."
By Tsahar Rotem
The first course of its kind in Israel, and probably the
world, will start on Friday in Tel Aviv - the language of
Moroccan Jews. A score of Israelis in their 20s and 30s,
most of Moroccan origin, will take part in the course and
try to find the roots they took such pains to avoid in their
childhood.
Ofer Sheetrit, the 34-year old owner of a public relations
agency who in recent years has become active in reviving
Moroccan culture, initiated the course. Among other things,
he is spokesman for the Israeli-Moroccan theater and Israeli
Andalusian Orchestra and has co-produced six Morocco
festivals in Eilat.
Sheetrit recently noticed a growing desire to learn
Morroccan, the dialect of the old country's Jews, when he
started going with his mother to see theater performances in
Moroccan. "In my childhood, like many others, I forbade my
parents to speak Moroccan, both because I wanted to help
them fit in and because I was afraid my social status would
be harmed. I asked them not to speak Moroccan near my
friends and even at my Bar Mitzva. I would only let them
speak French or Hebrew," he says.
Sheetrit first tried to learn the language with the help of
his mother, Hannah and began writing words she taught him in
a notebook. "At some stage I realized I couldn't be the only
one who wanted to learn the language," he says.
After inquiring among friends and acquaintances, he soon
found that many of them were indeed interested. Yitzhak
Eshel, chairman of the Association of Moroccan Jews in
Israel, volunteered office space for the course and put ads
in local papers.
Among those who registered for the course are three women of
Ashkenazi origin. Two of them want to go on a tour of
Morocco and the third misses her childhood in Netanya, where
many of her neighbors spoke Moroccan.
The teacher, Yonatan Yifrah, 75, came to Israel in 1951 and
was a Knesset member for the Alliance (Labor-Mapam) Party
between 1969 and 1975. Afterward he served as Sderot council
head for 20 years. In Morocco he was a guide in the Bonim
youth movement.
Yifrah finds an "amazing analogy" between Moroccan and
Yiddish. Both consist of a jumble of languages developed by
Jews, both were shunned by the immigrants' children, and
both are in danger of extinction.
"The tongue of Morocco's Jews consists of Berber, which was
the predominant language in Morocco until the Arabs arrived,
literary Arabic, Spanish, French, Aramaic and even Hebrew.
When the Jews in Morocco didn't want the goyim to understand
them, they spoke Hebrew," he says.
In Moroccan, pronunciation is extremely important. A slight
change in pronunciation changes the word's meaning. "That is
why you cannot speak Moroccan with an Ashkenazi diction. Het
is guttural and gimel is pronounced `r'h', for example,"
says Yifrah. The language's greatness is in its ability to
extrovert feeling and it is filled with proverbs and
expressions. For example, Yifrah believes that the
expression "Zei bousso Ama" is a fitting description of
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's situation after his defeat in
the Likud referendum. It means, "he came to kiss, but they
took his eye out."
Yifrah will try to teach his students their parents tongue
by means of conversations, tales, jokes and epigrams which
will be translated from Moroccan to Hebrew, and vice versa.
The course's cost is symbolic, for it is non-profit. In
addition to the language, participants will learn about
Moroccan culture with guest lecturers in some of the
lessons.
Sheetrit hopes he will soon be able to sit with his aunts
and understand what they are saying for the first time.
Language, he says, is key to returning to one's roots, which
is so important to him and the members of his generation.
It's in the spirit of the saying "San'at Bouk, Leir'l Bouk"
- "no one can beat you at your father's profession."
|
Re: Moroccan Jews trying to learn their mama loshen 06 mai 2004, 09:43 |
Membre depuis : 19 ans Messages: 151 |
|
Re: Moroccan Jews trying to learn their mama loshen 06 mai 2004, 11:51 |
Membre depuis : 19 ans Messages: 1 966 |
|
Re: Moroccan Jews trying to learn their mama loshen 06 mai 2004, 13:15 |
Membre depuis : 19 ans Messages: 281 |
Seuls les utilisateurs enregistrés peuvent poster des messages dans ce forum.
