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In Born to Kvetch Michael Wex looks into the   origins of this surplus of disenchantment, and examines how it helped to   create the abundance of striking idioms and curses in Yiddish. Michael Wex   takes a serious but funny look at the language that has shaped and was shaped   by those who spoke it. Featuring chapters on the Yiddish relationship to   food, nature, God, death and even sex, he allows his scholarship and wit to   roam freely from Sholem Aleichem to Chaucer and Elvis Presley. 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This treasure trove of linguistics, sociology, history and folklore offers a fascinating look at how, through the centuries, a unique and enduring language has reflected an equally unique and enduring culture.\"--Publishers Weekly, starred review\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe main spoken language of the Jews for more than 1,000 years, Yiddish offers a comprehensive picture of the mind-set that enabled them to survive a millennium of unrelenting persecution across Europe. 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