קולטור

Dogs

In the traditional Yiddish-speaking world of Eastern Europe, dogs carried mostly negative associations. In different instances, a dog might represent cruelty, selfishness, or wanton destructiveness.

A canine character appearing in Yiddish literature would generally be depicted as antagonistic. At the beginning of the 20th century, however, influence from other European cultures sparked a greater interest in the natural world, and specifically, we see for the first time the appearance of the benevolent dog in Yiddish literature -- the good, clever dog who is sensitive to the needs of its owner and comes running when needed.

A few synonyms for “dog” in Yiddish can serve to illustrate the contradictory conceptualizations of the animal:

hunt (הונט)— This is the most neutral term, which can be used in any situation, not expressing any special emotional attachment to the creature. This is the word which is found in most of the sayings and expressions in Yiddish which mention dogs (the majority of them in a negative light).

keylev (כּלבֿ)— a word for a malevolent dog, which is unpleasant or dangerous to encounter. The same word can be used to refer to a mean or evil person.

hintl (הינטל) — the diminutive form of the first word: this word can refer to a young or small dog, or alternatively can express gentleness, sympathy, and friendliness. That is why we chose to use this word to refer to the gentle, friendly dog of this lesson’s movie.

It is interesting to note that we know of no dog character represented in the Yiddish film industry, which had its heyday in the 1930s. Therefore, Moby’s Pintl may well be history’s first Yiddish hintl!