Re: Sh!

Pavel Iosad scripsit:

> Incidentally, 'sha!' is the rude analogue of this in Russian. It can be
> used as an equivalent of 'Shut up!', or as a signal to finish doing
> something (quarreling, or working). It was originally the slang of the
> townsmen from Ukraine, which was the hub of Jewish population. I think I
> will not err in pronouncing this a Yiddish borrowing.
Do you mean a borrowing into Yiddish, or out of Yiddish?  (The evidence
is probably nil either way, but I wondered which you had in mind.)

> In normal Russian it's 'tsss!' (ony used to make people keep quiet)
Ah.  What do languages without shibilants use?  Anybody know the Spanish form?
(I seem to be harping on Spanish a lot lately.)

--
Only do what only you can do.           John Cowan <jcowan@...>
  --Edsger W. Dijkstra,                 http://www.reutershealth.com
    deceased 6 August 2002              http://www.ccil.org/~cowan

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