Yiddish's Influence on English

One of the more interesting sides of Yiddish is the effect that the language has had upon American English and its speakers -- namely how certain phrasings and inflections have drifted by way of immigration. We often see this effect in pop culture without realizing it; many of us having become accustomed to the Yiddish influence. Especially in the northeast with large Jewish populations around New York City, Boston, and Philadelphia, these language constructs became common, and have since crept into sitcoms and movies.

One of the key elements that Yiddish speakers brought with them to the United States was the syntax of their language. We now commonly understand the phrase "This you call a hospital?" to be a sarcastic or rhetorical question.

Leo Rosten expounded at length on the power of Yiddish as an expressive language that emphasized tone and inflection in addition to diction, and how much of this has been carried into English. For example, even the English question "I should buy two tickets for her concert?" can take on seven meanings depending on where the emphasis is placed -- a common thing among Yiddish speakers:

Aside from the inflection changes, Yiddish also introduced new ways of ordering of words as a device to express additional surprise, sarcasm or scorn. In the popular culture, a grandmother or grandfather is often seen muttering phrases in one of the following forms:

These language-tricks confer additional meaning; and while not as strong as the original Yiddish, lend greater expressiveness to English.

For those with an interest in more of Rosten's work, see also The Education of Hyman Kaplan and The Return of Hyman Kaplan.