[All Lists] [By Thread] [By Date] [Previous] [Next]
From: R. Kovacs
Subject: Token naming and cultural bias
Date: 24 Av 5782
Nu, Rav Nachmani raises a fair question, but I am not certain there is a problem to solve.
My zeyde would say (I do not know if this was his observation or something he heard): "A word is a vessel. What matters is what you put in it."
Everyone knows what a shul is. The word has crossed over. When my grandson uses it, he does not think "this is Yiddish," he thinks "this is the word for the place we go on Shabbat." The same with "beit knesset" in Israel, the same with "synagogue" in English. The vessel is different, the contents are the same.
The registry does not require anyone to use the word in speech. It is a token, a label for machines. SHUL could mean "gathering-place-for-prayer" without anyone needing to speak Yiddish.
—Shlomo Dov Kovacs
Thread: