How to Talk Jewish [Paperback]

Jackie Mason (Author), Ira Berkow (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 15, 1991

Jackie Mason has built his Tony Award-winning career out of the culture and language of Jewish people, so who better to instruct the unindoctrinated in the joys of Yiddish? How to Talk Jewish, a guide to 100 Yiddish words, phrases, and expressions, includes pronunciations, definitions, and examples of usage, along with Jackie's incomparable wit. Is your blind date haimish? Uh oh. A zhlub, worse. A doctor? The naches are almost inexpressible! Jackie Mason brings all the vivacity, spunk, and chutzpah of Yiddish to the tongues of the less fortunate. Don't be a meshugenner, buy it already!

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Such a deal!" --The Boston Globe

"A brilliant Broadway star." --Joe Cates, producer

"If the lecturers all start talking like me, the English language will be wiped out." --Jackie Mason on the inauguration of the Jackie Mason Lectureship in Contemporary Judiasm at Oxford University

About the Author

Jackie Mason studied to become a rabbi like all other male members of his family. He opted for the stage, and is now star of screen, Broadway, network and cable television, accumulating awards wherever he performs. He has been seen in The World According to Me, Jackie Mason Brand New, and is also the author of his autobiography, Jackie Oy! Ira Berkow writes for The New York Times and is author of numerous books.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (November 15, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312072368
• ISBN-13: 978-0312072360
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #985,555 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #35 in Books > Education & Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Foreign Language > Yiddish
  • #57 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Languages > Instruction > Yiddish

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lexicography that is witty and wise, February 3, 2001

By 

Eileen Galen (USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: How to Talk Jewish (Paperback)

This is a smart little book of 93 Yiddish words and expressions that are defined, illuminated, and used-in-a-sentence by comic and philosopher Mason. In his Introduction, a thoughtful essay on Yiddish, he asserts that although he born in Sheboygan, Wisconsin in 1934, he grew up in a one hundred percent Yiddish-speaking world ("I didn't know that anybody in this country spoke English until I was old enough to go to the movies.") His family moved back to New York before he was five.

This little book contains a wealth of Masonisms. Jackie Mason used to have run-ins with censors and others. He reserves the right to be both self-deprecating and insulting. Jews, gentiles, politics, marriage, family, ethnicity, money, power, and God himself - all are up for grabs. There are a lot of funny stories. In addition, he has an understanding of the Yiddish language that he is happy to share. (Harry Truman was haimish - accessible, natural - FDR was not. Colorful explanation is provided.) He offers a theory of chicken soup that links it -successfully - to most of the world's cuisines. He is never dull. Mason: "It seems that in English that you have to prove that you're not emotional in order to have class." He posits his sociolinguistic theory (which you've heard if you've seen or heard his stage show) that the more emotional the speech - content and structure - the more "low class" the speaker. He defends emotionality. He loves Yiddish, and in fact the language (black English, specifically) of any people engaged in a battle of wits to survive.

A funny and endearing book.

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars OY A KLUG!, February 5, 2002

By 

Raymond G. Meyers "joefaguda" (THOUSAND OAKS, CALIFORNIA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: How to Talk Jewish (Paperback)

Only a meshuggener would not find this book entertaining and informative. Then again, probably only meshuggeners would want to READ shtick like this. Too bad Jackie didn't record this for the blind and the goyim; LISTENING to his spiel would just make this so much more of a mecheieha. If only that gantseh macher Webster had had Jackie as his editor -- oy!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jackie Mason helps you learn to talk Jewish the Yiddish way, February 6, 2007

By 

Roberta Hannah Fruggiero "no kvetching allowed" (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: How to Talk Jewish (Paperback)

I wanted to learn some common Yiddish sayings. So I bought Jackie Masons' book titled: "How to Talk Jewish". It is an enjoyable book complete with Yiddish sayings and a taste of Jewish life as only Jackie Mason can tell it.