TRANSCRIPTION OF NINETEENTH-CENTURY EUROPEAN JEWISH GIVEN AND SURNAMES FROM YIDDISH AND ASHKENAZIC HEBREW The Late Professor G. L. Esterson Ra'anana, Israel This document presents standards for transcribing 19th-century European given and surnames from Yiddish and Ashkenazic Hebrew to Latin characters. The standards are especially designed and intended for on-line data bases and documents that will be searched using Daitch-Mokotoff Soundex, for either Yiddish or Hebrew names. The development of these Standards was part of research to create given names data bases for Ashkenazi Jews in fourteen European countries, and nine foreign countries, using archival records and other sources containing Yiddish and Hebrew given names. For written text, the Yiddish/Hebrew Transcription Standard uses modified versions of the YIVO Yiddish Standard, and of the Hebrew transcription standard of the Academy of the Hebrew Language, Israel. For both, the Yiddish/Hebrew Transcription Standard emphasizes: 1. Compatibility with D-M Soundex, 2. Compatibility with classical transcriptions, 3. Reconstruction of the original Yiddish and Hebrew names, and 4. Flexibility in presenting Yiddish dialectical variations in various European countries, as well as recording Standard written Yiddish. CONSONANTS Transcription --------------------------------- Letter Sound Yiddish Hebrew ------------- ------------------ ------------------ ------------- Alef/Ayen Silent. Write ' only See vowels ' (re'uveyn) if it is with shva, or after resting shva. Beys/Beyz B (Ball) b (Barakh) b (Barakh) [Veys/Veyz] * V (heaVy) [H] v (Yontev) v (yomtoV) Tsvey vovn V (heaVy) v (Volf) - Giml G (Give) g (Gebl) g (Gavrieyl) Daled D (Done) d (Disya) d (Dina) Hey H (Hot) h (Hodl) h (Hadasa) *** Vov W (Walk) See vowels w (daWid) Zayen Z (Zebra) z (Zakay) z (Zakai) [KHes] CH (aCHtung) [H] kh (KHayman) ch (CHayim) KHof CH (aCHtung) kh (baraKH) kh (baraKH) Tes T (Time) t (Teyvka) t (Tova) [Tof] T (Time) t (Etka) t (esTeyr) Yud (b4 vowel) Y (Yet) y (Yitskhok) y (Yitschak) [Kof] K (Kick) [H] k (Karmi) k (Karmi) Kuf K (Kick) k (Kehos) q (Qehos) Lamed L (Lake) l (Leyka) l (Leya) Mem M (Mark) m (Meyshe) m (Moshe) Nun N (Neck) n (Noyma) n (Naomi) Samekh S (Self) s (Saadya) s (Saadya) [Sin] S (Self) [H] s (Sinay) s (Sinai) [Sof] S (Self) [H] s (Simkhl) s (Simcha) Pey P (Pack) p (Peylat) p (Palti) Fey F (Fence) f (Froym) f (eFrayim) Tsadek TS (fruiTS) ts (TSalik) ts (beTSaleyl) Reysh R (French: "Rue"**) r (Ruvl) r (Re'uveyn) Shin SH (SHow) sh (Shifre) sh (SHifra) Zayen Shin S (meaSure) zh (yeyZHe) - DaledZayenShin J (Jump) dzh (DZHez) - Tes Shin CH (CHair) tsh (TSHarna) - * [] These letters occur only in words derived from Hebrew or Aramaic. ** Trill the tip of the tongue or uvula. *** The unpronounced hey is not written (Sara). ====================================================================== VOWELS AND DIPHTHONGS YIDDISH Letter Sound Transcription ------------------ ---------------------- ----------------------- Shtumer Alef (silent) - Pasekh Alef A (fAther) a (mAnish) Komets Alef O (sOrt) o (mOshka) U (hUt) u (mUnye) Vov U (pUt) u (blUme) OO (gOO) (syllable-final) u (elyakUm) Yud Between I (fIt), and i (mIkhl) EE (fEEt) i (gotlIb) Tsvey Yudn (2 yuds) EY (grEY) ey (shEYndl) Pasekh tsvey yudn Y (skY) ay (brAYne) Vov Yud OY (bOY) oy (OYzer) Ayen E (End) e (shmErl) HEBREW Patach A (fAther) a (Aviezer) Qomets gadol A (fAther) a (tAmAr) Chataf-Patach A (fAther) a (-) Segol E (End) e (ashEr) Tseyre EY (grEY) ey (aryEY) Chataf-Segol E (End) e (-) Shva Na None, or E (End) - or e Chiriq gadol EE (fEEt) i (akIva) Chiriq qatan I (fIt) i (avigayIl) Cholem O (cOre) o (aharOn) Qomets qatan O (cOre) o (miryOm) Chataf-Qomets O (cOre) o (-) Shuruk OO (gOO) u (rUs) Qubuts OO (gOO) u (Ukhmoniya)