Born to Kvetch

<p><strong>From <em>The Three Stooges</em> to <em>Seinfeld</em> <em>Born to Kvetch</em> is a smart and witty portrait of Yiddish and its relationship to both Jewish culture and American life.</strong></p><p>An earthy romp through the lingua franca of Jews.... This treasure trove of linguistics sociology history and folklore offers a fascinating look at how through the centuries a unique and enduring language has reflected an equally unique and enduring culture.<strong>--Publishers Weekly starred review</strong></p><p>The main spoken language of the Jews for more than 1000 years Yiddish offers a comprehensive picture of the mind-set that enabled them to survive a millennium of unrelenting persecution across Europe. Through the idioms phrases metaphors and fascinating history of this wonderful tongue Michael Wex gives us a moving and inspiring portrait of a people and a language in exile. </p><p>From tukhes to goy meshugener to bobe mayse (cok-and-bull story) <em>Born to Kvetch </em>offers a wealth of material some that has never appeared in English before on all elements of Yiddish life including food nature divinity humanity and even sex.</p>