Corpus of Spoken Yiddish in Europe

Introduction

Many Yiddish words end in the sequence consonant + ן (n). This is in large part because ־ן is one of the most versatile suffixes in the language. It is found in contexts including:

• plural nouns
  • גאַסן   gasn   ‘streets’
• plural verbs (first- and third-person) and infinitives
  • רעדן   redn   ‘(we/they/to) speak’
• declined adjectives (masculine accusative/dative and neuter dative)
  • פֿון דעם אַלטן רבֿ   fun dem altn rov   ‘from the old rabbi’
• declined names (accusative/dative) and some other nouns
  • מיט שמואלן   mit Shmueln   ‘with Samuel’
  • צום האַרצן   tsum hartsn   ‘agreeable’ (lit. ‘to the heart’)

The suffix in these words is “syllabic,” which means that it creates a new syllable when it is added to a root. This new syllable is not pronounced with a vowel; instead, the “n” sound itself acts as the core, or nucleus, of the new syllable. In the International Phonetic Alphabet, this is represented by a special diacritic under the letter: /n̩/. The difference between /n/ (non-syllabic) and /n̩/ (syllabic) can be illustrated by comparing the English word barn with the Yiddish word באַרן barn, meaning ‘pears.’ While the English barn is pronounced as a single syllable, the Yiddish barn contains two syllables: /ba.rn̩/.¹ No extra vowel is inserted between /r/ and the suffix.

Although /n̩/ is most often encountered as a suffix, the sound is also found in other Yiddish words ending in consonant + ן.² For example, the Hebrew-origin שכן shokhn ‘neighbor’ and the Germanic-origin שטערן shtern ‘forehead’ both contain /n̩/ as part of their root. It is also found in several contractions of prepositions with definite articles, such as מיטן mitn ‘with the’ and אונטערן untern ‘under the.’ Many irregular past participles contain /n̩/ as part of the circumfix גע…ן ge…n, such as געשריבן geshribn ‘written’ and געלאָפֿן gelofn ‘ran.’ Finally, although written ־ין (and transliterated -in), the feminine suffix used with professional nouns like לערערין lererin ‘(woman) teacher’ is pronounced /n̩/; the written vowel is silent.

For Yiddish learners who wish to sound native-like in the language, /n̩/ is notoriously tricky. There are a few different reasons for this. First, the sound may not be used — or not used as frequently — in students’ native languages. Rather than pronounce the ־ן as syllabic (i.e., /n̩/), students whose first language is English, German, etc., might insert a short vowel to create a new syllable: [ga.sən] for גאַסן gasn ‘streets,’ [re.dən] for רעדן redn ‘speak,’ etc.³

Second, although the sound is always written with a nun, it is not always pronounced like an “n.” The specific consonant that is used depends on the context — through a process known as assimilation. This is a grammatical rule of Yiddish phonology that students should strive to learn just like any other rule of the language.

This guide explains the assimilation rule that applies to /n̩/ (“syllabic /n/”), using examples drawn from the Corpus of Spoken Yiddish in Europe. It concludes with a brief set of pronunciation exercises. Additional information on this topic can be found in Yiddish textbooks and reference grammars.⁴

Assimilation of /n̩/

In standard Yiddish, as well as in conversational Yiddish in nearly all dialects, the pronunciation of /n̩/ (־ן) is affected by the consonant that comes immediately before it. More specifically, it “assimilates” to the preceding consonant in its place of articulation. The most common pronunciations are: [m̩], [ŋ̩], [ɱ̩], or [n̩]. These phonetic symbols are explained below.

After /p/ and /b/: [m̩]

The sounds /p/, /b/, and /m/ are all pronounced by closing the lips.

To facilitate pronunciation, whenever /n̩/ (־ן) is preceded by /p/ (פּ) or /b/ (ב), it is pronounced as [m̩] — a syllabic version of /m/ (מ).

Here is an example from the testimony of Sara Starkman, a speaker of Central Yiddish:

Mrs. Starkman pronounces the final sound of the verb שרײַבן shraybn ‘write’ as [m̩], under the influence of the /b/ that comes before it. In fact, we can even see visually that the excerpt ends with both of her lips in a closed position to produce [m̩]. She does not pronounce a vowel after the /b/.

Practice pronouncing the word שרײַבן shraybn with a final [m̩]. To do so, first try saying איך שרײַב ikh shrayb ‘I write,’ letting out a short puff of air after the /b/. Now, try saying מיר שרײַבן mir shraybn ‘we write.’ This time, do not let out any air after you close your lips for the /b/; instead, with your lips still closed, transition immediately into an “m” sound: [m̩].

Here is another example of the rule from Masha Rolnikaite, a speaker of Northeastern Yiddish:

The same principle applies here for the verb שלעפּן shlepn ‘pull, drag’: because /p/ is produced using both lips, the suffix that comes right after it is pronounced [m̩]. We can see that her lips are closed as she pronounces the suffix.

After /k/, /g/, and /x/: [ŋ̩]

The phonetic symbol /ŋ/ represents the sound that corresponds to the נ found in words like רינג ring ‘ring’ and פֿונק funk ‘spark.’ Unlike /n/, which is pronounced with the tip of the tongue behind or against the upper teeth, the consonant /ŋ/ is produced by raising the back of the tongue to touch the soft palate — precisely the same place in the mouth where /k/, /g/, and (in many dialects) /x/ (the phonetic symbol for ח/כ kh) are pronounced. If you aren’t convinced that your tongue adopts different positions for נ in these words, try pronouncing the word פֿונק funk with the same “n” sound that is found in the word פֿון fun; you should feel how unnatural this is.

Now that we understand which sound the symbol /ŋ/ represents, let’s return to the rule affecting the pronunciation of /n̩/: when the consonant immediately before it is /k/, /g/, or /x/, the sound is pronounced [ŋ̩] (a syllabic version of /ŋ/).

Here are two examples from the testimony of Aizik Dimantstein, a speaker of Northeastern Yiddish. In both words, באַראַקן barakn ‘barracks’ and שיקן shikn ‘send,’ the suffix is pronounced [ŋ̩] due to the /k/ that comes before it.

Here are additional examples from Rubin Lewitan, also a speaker of Northeastern Yiddish. Notice that when he is pronouncing the word לאַכן lakhn ‘laugh,’ you cannot see the tip of his tongue anywhere near the upper teeth. This is because he is pronouncing the final consonant not as [n̩] but rather as [ŋ̩], which involves movement of the back of the tongue to the area where /x/ is pronounced. You may wish to reduce the playback speed of the video to see this more clearly.

(Note also that Mr. Lewitan pronounces the verb גיבן gibn ‘[they] give’ with a final [m̩], following the rule described in the previous section.)

After /f/ and /v/: [ɱ̩]

The consonants /f/ and /v/ are pronounced by pressing the lower lip against the upper teeth. If you allow your mouth to make the shape of /f/ or /v/ but then produce a nasal sound (like /n/ or /m/), the resulting sound is transcribed [ɱ̩].

If you’re a native speaker of English, you may notice that this same sound occurs in the words info and comfort, especially in rapid speech.

In Yiddish, when the preceding consonant is /f/ (פֿ) or /v/ (װ), the suffix /n̩/ is also pronounced with the lower lip against the upper teeth: [ɱ̩].

Consider an example from Rosa Gulchin, a speaker of Southeastern Yiddish. Here we are focusing on the final word, העלפֿן helfn ‘help’ (though she also applies the previous assimilation rule to the first verb זוכן zukhn ‘search’).

We can see visually that Mrs. Gulchin retains the mouth shape of /f/ when pronouncing the suffix in העלפֿן helfn. No vowel is inserted before the suffix.

Finally, consider this example from Meyir-Mano Daskal, a speaker of Transcarpathian Yiddish. He retains the same /f/-like mouth shape for the entire second half of the word קאַמפֿן kamfn ‘battles’:

After all other consonants: [n̩]

Unless one of the above rules applies, we can assume that the nun will be pronounced as [n̩], a plain syllabic “n” sound. In other words, this is the default or “catchall” scenario.

Here is an example from Sheytah Zilber, a speaker of Northeastern Yiddish, saying the word נײַנצן nayntsn ‘nineteen’:

Here are some examples from Gitta Kraut, a speaker of Transcarpathian Yiddish. Listen to how she pronounces the words געהײסן geheysn ‘called’ (which she says twice) and שטערן Shtern ‘Stern (surname)’:

For advanced students: Variation after /r/ and /l/

Mrs. Kraut’s pronunciation of /n̩/ in the surname שטערן Shtern raises one more factor to consider: variation across dialects, and even across specific words, in the pronunciation of the “r” (ר) and “l” (ל) sounds.

European Yiddish speakers have different pronunciations of the “r” sound, which linguists categorize roughly as either front or back. A front “r” typically involves a trill or a tap of the tip of the tongue behind the upper teeth. A back “r” involves vibrating the back of the tongue against the soft palate (transcribed /ɣ/ in the IPA) or producing a trill of the uvula at the back of the throat (transcribed /ʀ/).⁵

Returning to the topic at hand: /n̩/ shows assimilation to the place of articulation of the preceding “r” sound, whether it is front or back.

If a speaker has a front pronunciation of “r,” then /n̩/ is pronounced [n̩] — just like we heard from Mrs. Kraut in שטערן Shtern. Here is another example from Esther Burekhovich, also a speaker of Transcarpathian Yiddish, saying the verb צופּאָרן tsuporn ‘pair up’:

If a speaker has a back pronunciation of “r,” then /n̩/ is pronounced at the same place of articulation. For example, if a speaker produces “r” as a velar fricative (/ɣ/) by vibrating the back of the tongue against the soft palate — the same part of the tongue and mouth involved when pronouncing /k/ and /g/ – then the following consonant is [ŋ̩]. Here are examples from Fania Fainer, a speaker of Northeastern Yiddish:

In the words געבאָרן געװאָרן geborn gevorn ‘born’ we hear [ŋ̩] — the same “n” sound as in the word פֿונק funk.

The consonant /n̩/ also assimilates to a preceding “l” sound, which can vary not only across dialects but also across words. In standard Yiddish, as well as in Northeastern Yiddish and other dialects, the letter lamed (ל) can represent either an alveolar approximant, similar to a plain “l” sound in English, or a palatal approximant, similar to the “soft l” in Russian and other Slavic languages.

Here is Fania Brancovskaya, a speaker of Northeastern Yiddish, producing a plain /n̩/ in the word פּױלן Poyln ‘Poland’:

Unfortunately, clear examples of a palatal “l” followed by /n̩/ are difficult to find in the CSYE, as the palatal “l” is somewhat rare in the language overall, and not all speakers produce it as a distinct phoneme.⁶ Possible examples can be heard in Rosa Gulchin’s pronunciation of the plural noun האָטעלן hoteln ‘hotels’ or Aizik Dimantstein’s pronunciation of אַװטאָמאָבילן avtomobiln ‘automobiles’ — although the differences are quite subtle.

Finally, speakers show variation depending on their dialect. For example, Jacob Ruppo from Dzisna (today in Belarus) often pronounces ל as [w]. In this excerpt, Mr. Ruppo pronounces [w] for ל in the verb פֿילן filn ‘to feel,’ and so the suffix is also pronounced by closing the lips:

Conclusion

The pronunciation of ־ן as a “syllabic /n/” (/n̩/) is one of the more distinctive and predictable features of Yiddish phonology. For Yiddish learners who wish to sound more natural when speaking, or to better understand others’ rapid conversational Yiddish, it is worth learning and reviewing the rules affecting the pronunciation of /n̩/ in different contexts.

Exercises

(1) For each of the following words and phrases, determine which form of ־ן (-n) is expected given the context. Then try to pronounce the word/phrase slowly, with the appropriate ־ן and without any extra vowel.

	Yiddish	Transliteration	Translation
1	שנײַדן	shnaydn	‘cut’
2	ליפּן	lipn	‘lips’
3	קװעטשן	kvetshn	‘squeeze’
4	געהאָלפֿן	geholfn	‘helped’
5	ליגן	lign	‘lie’
6	שפּאַצירן	shpatsirn	‘go for a walk’
7	בראָנפֿן	bronfn	‘brandy’
8	פֿאַרבונדן	farbundn	‘connected’
9	אַרײַנטראָגן	arayntrogn	‘carry in’
10	ליב האָבן	lib hobn	‘love’
11	דער למדן	der lamdn	‘the scholar’
12	מיטן קלוגן רבין	mitn klugn rebn	‘with the smart rebbe’
13	אױפֿן פּריפּעטשיק	oyfn (afn) pripetshik	‘on the hearth’
14	װעגן דעם חורבן	vegn dem khurbn7	‘about the Holocaust’
15	װאַקסן װי אױף הײװן	vaksn vi oyf (af) heyvn	‘grow tremendously’

(2) Search through the CSYE and find two examples of each of the following sounds: [m̩], [ŋ̩], [ɱ̩], and [n̩]. Explain why each sound is used in the words you found, referring to the rules described in this article.

(3) For advanced students: Spend some time listening to examples from the CSYE. Did you notice any speakers who didn’t always pronounce the sequence consonant + ן with /n̩/, but instead with a short vowel and a plain /n/ at least some of the time? If so, in which words or contexts? Why might this be, given what you know about the survivors’ language background, migration history, or other factors that you speculate to be relevant?

Notes and References