One Word

My parent are the children of Russian immigrants. They grew up speaking Yiddish as that was their parent's first language. My sister and I understand the language, but are not fluent by any means. The other day we were discussing that the Yiddish language has many single words that can get across a point that would otherwise take up a paragraph in English. Most second generation American Jews know these words. My children also know them and probably do not even realize that they are a foreign language, as they have grown up with them. I will give you an example. If I wanted to say how I am related to my daughter in law's parents I would say the word "machatunim". If I wanted to say my relationship to all of my daughter in law's extended family, including aunts, uncles and cousins, I would say "mishpochah". If I wanted to describe a person who is nasty and mean spirited, I would say "farbissen". If I wanted to say that my children have made me proud with all of their achievements and accomplishments, I would say they give me "noches". If you listen carefully to the movie Austin Powers, one of the characters is named Frau Farbissina, meaning Mrs. Nastiness. The name was meant as a kind of an inside joke for Jewish people. I use Yiddish words in work and now my non Jewish co workers also use them, as they get right to the point.